{"id":35754,"date":"2016-04-02T00:31:44","date_gmt":"2016-04-02T07:31:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/?p=35754"},"modified":"2016-04-02T00:31:44","modified_gmt":"2016-04-02T07:31:44","slug":"challenge-week-13-my-best-girl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/04\/challenge-week-13-my-best-girl\/","title":{"rendered":"Challenge Week 13: My Best Girl"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve literally been looking forward to this one since even before the Challenge started, as Dan let me know earlier that he would probably pick this one. It did not disappoint! I think it probably came up in conversation after I saw and LOVED Why Be Good?<\/em> (1929) at last year’s TCM Fest. This film does bear some similarities to that one.<\/p>\n

In fact, the story of My Best Girl<\/em> is fairly routine and even cliched – Joe, the son of the wealthy owner of a 5-and-10 cent store gets a low-level job at the store under an assumed name in order to prove himself; while there he falls in love with shopgirl Maggie, but oops, he’s supposed to be marrying a high society girl. All this goes pretty much as expected, but here’s the thing – Mary Pickford and Charles “Buddy” Rogers are freaking adorable, and all the little in betweens and moments and stage business are wonderful. Truly a case of the execution far exceeding the premise.<\/p>\n

\"Clearly

Clearly a promo shot, but cute<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

We’re introduced to Maggie as “the stock girl” bringing up a fresh supply of pots and pans for a busy sale. We see only her feet for what seems like minutes. She drops pots, tries to pick them up, drops more, gives up, tries to drag one along with her foot, then gets her foot stuck, and finally shuffles along the floor until her shimmy slips down around her feet. Pan up to her face for the first time. Horrified, she steps out of her slip and over to the side to get rid the pots so she can pick up her underthings – by this time, another woman has unconsciously stepped into the slip on the floor; glancing down, she thinks HER underclothes have slipped off, and she tries to pull them up surreptitiously and sidle over out of sight. Five minutes into the movie, and I’m already totally charmed by this little bit of gentle slapstick.<\/p>\n

Later, Maggie’s eating her lunch on the back of a truck when it pulls off, and her lunchbox gets knocked off. Joe sees and rushes to bring it back to her. Coyly, she knocks something else off. He’s onto her by the third one, but he doesn’t care – the grin he flashes her before grabbing it and running up to the truck is pure silent screen magic. I love Charles “Buddy” Rogers in Wings<\/em> as well, but after this, he may be on his way to my pantheon of silent star crushes.<\/p>\n

\"tf-table\"<\/p>\n

I must confess that this is only the second Mary Pickford film I’ve seen; the other, Coquette<\/em>, was a 1929 attempt to cash in on the flapper rage and remake Pickford in the mold of Clara Bow and Colleen Moore. It didn’t work for me at all (though I should rewatch it; it was one of the first silents I ever saw, and maybe I just wasn’t ready yet). Here, Maggie attempts to play a jazz baby (imitating her sister Liz) toward the end, and fails miserably – Pickford playing someone who fails at being a flapper is way more convincing. What she was is America’s Sweetheart, and you can definitely tell why from this film. She is adorable and sweet and genuine, and when Maggie finds out about Joe’s fiance, her heartbreak and determination not to visibly break down are palpable.<\/p>\n

The end breaks down just a tad, and here’s where the comparison with Why Be Good?<\/em> becomes really interesting. In Why Be Good?<\/em>, Colleen Moore plays a good girl (like Maggie) who’s really good at pretending to be bad, at playing the flapper role (unlike Maggie). A lot of the story is very similar, shopgirl, store owner’s son and the whole bit. But at the end when Why Be Good<\/em>‘s male lead starts patronizing her (and to be fair, being much more of a jerk than Joe ever is in My Best Girl<\/em>), Moore tells him off but good, and she 100% means it. In My Best Girl<\/em>, Maggie’s attempts to break free from Joe’s patronizing “I know what you want” attitude are totally false and he never believes her. Instead, it’s more like “let the girl have her little hysterical moment and then I’ll step in and she’ll see I’m right,” and that’s how it plays out.<\/p>\n

So that was a LITTLE disappointing in comparison with Why Be Good?<\/em>, but I can’t totally fault a 1920s film for having patriarchal attitudes, and the rest of the film is so completely charming and delightful that I can forgive that one small issue.<\/p>\n

\"tf-box\"<\/p>\n

Stats and stuff…<\/h3>\n

1926, USA<\/em>
\ndirected by Sam Taylor; written by Allen McNeil and Tim Whelan<\/em>
\nstarring Mary Pickford, Charles “Buddy” Rogers<\/em><\/p>\n

I’m ranking all my Challenge films on Flickchart (as I do all the films I see), a movie-ranking website that asks you to choose your favorite between two movies until it builds a ranked list of your favorites. Just for fun, I will average out the rankings and keep a running tally of whose recommendations rank the highest. When you add a film to Flickchart, it pits it against films already on your chart to see where it should fall. Here’s how My Best Girl<\/em> entered my chart:<\/p>\n

My Best Girl<\/b> > A Corny Concerto
\nMy Best Girl<\/b> > 28 Weeks Later
\nMy Best Girl<\/b> > Titanic
\nMy Best Girl < Fish Tank<\/b>
\nMy Best Girl<\/b> > The Others
\nMy Best Girl < A Man Escaped<\/b>
\nMy Best Girl < For Heaven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Sake<\/b>
\nMy Best Girl < Fort Apache<\/b>
\nMy Best Girl < Footlight Parade<\/b>
\nMy Best Girl < The 39 Steps<\/b>
\nMy Best Girl<\/b> > Babette\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Feast
\nMy Best Girl<\/b> > The Grand Budapest Hotel<\/p>\n

Final ranking #335 out of 3608 films on my chart (91%)<\/p>\n

It is now my #2 Sam Taylor film, my #1 Mary Pickford film, my #2 Charles “Buddy” Rogers film, my #19 Silent Film, and my #5 film of 1927.<\/p>\n

My Best Girl<\/em> was recommended by Dan Kocher, a friend from the Flickcharters group on Facebook. Averaging together this #335 ranking with my #263 ranking of his other film, Europa ’51<\/em>, gives Dan an average ranking of 299.<\/p>\n

A few quotes…<\/h3>\n

Maggie:<\/b> [to Joe] You know, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re awfully dumb.<\/p>\n

Ma Johnson:<\/b> I’ve been to the loveliest funeral, pa. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t remember the name, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the nicest funeral I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been to this week.<\/p>\n

Liz:<\/b> My life is my own and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll live it my own way!<\/p>\n

Maggie:<\/b> You wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have kissed me if I weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t your best girl.
\nJoe:<\/b> Maggie, you ARE my best girl.<\/p>\n

Maggie:<\/b> [defending her sister Liz in Night Court] She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s honest! We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re such a happy family, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t break my mother\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s heart! (<-- apparently a great defense)\n\nLiz’s douche boyfriend:<\/b> Rich men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sons don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t chase after shop girls for the exercise.<\/p>\n

Maggie:<\/b> [while failing to do the Charleston] That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s me all over – a red hot mama!<\/p>\n

Maggie:<\/b> I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not a bad girl, Joe, I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean a word I said. I love you, Joe, but I can never marry you. My family needs me more than you do.
\nPa Johnson:<\/b> Like hell we do! From now on I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be the father of this family. *sneezes* *trips on bucket* If this feller goes to Honolulu, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going with him!<\/p>\n

A few more screenshots…<\/h3>\n
\"This

^ This is Carole Lombard. She’s in it for this one scene, uncredited.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"tf-courtroom\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-full-car\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve literally been looking forward to this one since even before the Challenge started, as Dan let me know earlier that he would probably pick this one. It did not disappoint! I think it probably came up in conversation after I saw and LOVED Why Be Good? (1929) at last year’s TCM Fest. This film […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3027],"tags":[3102,2674,3101,3103,2530],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/tf-feat-My-Best-Girl.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":34052,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2014\/06\/2014-tcm-film-festival-hat-check-girl-1932\/","url_meta":{"origin":35754,"position":0},"title":"2014 TCM Film Festival: Hat Check Girl (1932)","author":"Jandy","date":"June 6, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"After each TCM Film Festival, I've had a film that I considered my \"discovery\" of the Fest. It helps that TCM has a Discovery section dedicated to lesser-known and rediscovered films, but even out of that group, there's usually one I latch on to as the one that makes me\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "TCM Film Festival"","block_context":{"text":"TCM Film Festival","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/tcm-film-festival\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/TCM-Fest-feat.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/TCM-Fest-feat.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/TCM-Fest-feat.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36433,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/11\/challenge-week-41-midnight-mary\/","url_meta":{"origin":35754,"position":1},"title":"Challenge Week 41: Midnight Mary","author":"Jandy","date":"November 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Cheery little Pre-Code drama told mostly in flashback while Mary Martin awaits the jury's decision in her murder trial. Turns out growing up poor, getting locked up for a crime you didn't commit, becoming a \"lady of the night\" (hence the nickname), then falling in with gangsters can lead one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/tf-feat-midnight-mary.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":36497,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/11\/challenge-week-44-condorman\/","url_meta":{"origin":35754,"position":2},"title":"Challenge Week 44: Condorman","author":"Jandy","date":"November 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"What a fun little adventure espionage movie! Woodrow Wilkins is a cartoonist who likes to test real-life costumes for his comic book character Condorman. Also, his best friend is a CIA desk agent who ends up asking Woody to do an innocuous civilian exchange for the agency. Only Natalia, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/tf-feat-condorman.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":36389,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/11\/challenge-week-40-moonrise\/","url_meta":{"origin":35754,"position":3},"title":"Challenge Week 40: Moonrise","author":"Jandy","date":"November 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Wow. I had high hopes for this, as I've been heard good things about it (not from a lot of people, as it's pretty obscure), I loved the Frank Borzage film Jeremy gave me earlier (here's that review), and I generally like film noir no matter what. I was unprepared\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/tf-moonrise-feat.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":36654,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/challenge-week-50-some-kind-of-wonderful\/","url_meta":{"origin":35754,"position":4},"title":"Challenge Week 50: Some Kind of Wonderful","author":"Jandy","date":"December 21, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Teen\/coming-of-age\/1980s movies are often a hard sell for me, but John Hughes-penned ones have a bit of heart and tenderness that hit me in the right place, so I was hoping Some Kind of Wonderful, one of the few I'd missed up to this point, would fit the bill as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/tf-feat-somekind.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":36223,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/challenge-week-33-the-blues-brothers\/","url_meta":{"origin":35754,"position":5},"title":"Challenge Week 33: The Blues Brothers","author":"Jandy","date":"September 10, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"WHERE HAS THIS MOVIE BEEN ALL MY LIFE. I didn't know which way this one would go, frankly - comedies from the '80s are pretty hit or miss with me. I knew it was a musical of some sort, which is a bonus, but I didn't know really what kind\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/tf-feat-blues2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35754"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}