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Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917 film)

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Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
Theatrical poster
Directed byMarshall Neilan
Written byFrances Marion
Based onRebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
1903 novel
by Kate Douglas Wiggin
1910 play
by Charlotte Thompson
StarringMary Pickford
Eugene O'Brien
CinematographyWalter Stradling
Production
company
Mary Pickford Company
Distributed byArtcraft Pictures Corporation
Release date
  • September 22, 1917 (1917-09-22)
Running time
70 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is a 1917 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Marshall Neilan based upon the 1903 novel of the same name by Kate Douglas Wiggin. This version is notable for having been adapted by famed female screenwriter Frances Marion. The film was made by the "Mary Pickford Company" and was an acclaimed box office hit. When the play premiered on Broadway in the 1910 theater season the part of Rebecca was played by Edith Taliaferro.[1][2][3]

Plot

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As described in a film magazine,[4] Rebecca Randall (Pickford) is taken into the home of her aunt Hannah (Eddy), a strict New England woman. Rebecca meets Adam Ladd (O'Brien), a young man of the village, and they become great friends. One day Rebecca promises to marry Adam when she becomes of age. Unable to withstand her pranks any longer, her aunt sends her away to a boarding school. She graduates a beautiful young lady. Shortly thereafter, Adam demands a fulfillment of her promise.

Cast

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Scene from the film

Production

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Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm was filmed in Pleasanton, California.

Reception

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Like many American films of the time, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. The Chicago Board of Censors required a cut of the intertitle "I have just learned the Simpsons are not married."[5]

Critical Assessment

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Acknowledging that Rebecca was a “huge hit.”, biographer Jeanine Basinger observes that “Today, when an excerpt is chosen as a typical Mary Pickford scene, it’s often one from this film.”[6] Basinger continues:

It’s unfortunate...because actually it presents one of Pickford’s more heavy-handed performances. More than one film historian has suggested that Rebecca is the main source of misunderstanding of Pickford’s image...Its certainly true that Mary never lets up for a minute in Rebecca—winking, stomping, prancing, too cute for words...[but] her actions lack the spontaneity she displays in her best roles...[7]

Basinger adds that, by 1917, moviegoers favored the then 25-year-old Pickford “when she pretended to be a little girl” in her character portrayals.[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Progressive Silent Film List: Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm at silentera.com
  2. ^ Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm as produced on Broadway at the Republic Theatre, beginning October 3, 1910; IBDb.com
  3. ^ The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: 1911-20 by The American Film Institute, c.1988
  4. ^ "Reviews: Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm". Exhibitors Herald. 5 (13). New York: Exhibitors Herald Company: 26. September 22, 1917.
  5. ^ "Official Cut-Outs by the Chicago Board of Censors". Exhibitors Herald. 5 (13): 33. September 22, 1917.
  6. ^ Basinger, 1999 p. 30-31
  7. ^ Basinger, 1999 p. 30-31
  8. ^ Basinger, 1999 p. 31

Sources

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