Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley

1918
6.1| 1h7m| en| More Info
Released: 10 March 1918 Released
Producted By: Mary Pickford Company
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

Amarilly comes from a large family in a working-class neighborhood. She is happy with her family and her boyfriend Terry, a bartender in a cafe. But one day she meets Gordon, a sculptor who comes from a rich family, and she begins to be drawn into the world of the upper class.

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Reviews

ChampDavSlim The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.
Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.
Beulah Bram A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.
Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
Stefan Willa After watching a few films of her, I have to say Mary Pickford is not at her best in this movie. Mainly, this is because of the weak plot, which doesn't always seem to be coherent, especially the triangle love story, when you think about it. Furthermore, the film tries to be moralistic and funny at the same time, which doesn't seem to work really well either. However there are one or two funny scenes, whenever the washer family's mother is depicted. However, even there, it is just about exploiting stereotypes to get a few cheap laughs, or so it seems. In my opinion, one major problem are the monotone settings of the scenes, which do not vary enough to make the whole movie more interesting. All in all, it does only take an hour to watch it, but I think there are better films from 1918 than this one.
PamelaShort Mary Pickford gives a most delightful performance in this story about a young girl living with her mother and younger brothers. Her mother is an Irish laundrywoman and supports the family by taking in wash, while Amarilly is a working-class girl who works hard scrubbing and cleaning. When the theater she cleans is burnt down, Amarilly takes a job as a cigarette girl at the popular Cyclone Cafe, where her boyfriend works as a bartender. When a wealthy young man is injured during a brawl at the Cafe, the caring Amarilly takes him home to nurse his wounds. Unfortunately Amarilly's beau misunderstands and believes she is in love with the wealthy fellow. The young man is very interested in the spunky girl and offers her a job cleaning his apartment, where his rich, snobby Aunt takes it upon herself to experiment with Amarilly, and tries to teach her high-class manners needed to live among the wealthy high-society. Knowing her nephew is in love with Amarilly she invites her family to a social party to embarrass the girl. Amarilly is proud of her hard-working Irish family and always having good sense, she realizes she will always be a great deal happier married to the Irish lad she loves. This story works so well due to the charming script written by Frances Marion that is enhanced by director Marshall Neilon's typical clowning humour. The conflicts dealing with the upper class reformers in this story are cleverly examined with light comedy and satire. Pickford gives an especially lovely performance, along with Kate Price who is extremely delightful as the Irish mother. All of the supporting actors deserve praise for the fine performances they give of their characters. I really enjoyed this story of a young girl who gives up the opportunity to marry into wealth, and stays faithful and proud in the end to her one true love. Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley is one of Mary Pickford's underrated gems, but stands out as one of her most brilliant films. I highly suggest this film is worth watching.
Cineanalyst "Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley" is a somewhat interesting film technically and is rather representative of its times. Francis Marion and Mary Pickford departed from Pickford's persona as a child character for this one, which I consider a good thing. And, Marion's scenario involving two characters from opposing social classes, two story-lines that begin separately but are destined to collide, is something that was becoming more common in cinema as a means of making social commentary. The rapid crosscutting, in addition to the extensive scene dissection (changes of camera placement within a scene), was also cutting edge.The print quality isn't the best now, the look of the images (the tinting and such) probably alters too frequently, and the editing and construction seems rather unpolished at times, but the film does remain fresh today compared to the slower films from around this time and before. This film isn't especially innovative in any of this, as D.W. Griffith probably deserves the most credit, but it is representative of the way Hollywood films were going. Future films would be less hasty in their montage, creating images that are more lasting.The social commentary isn't particularly enlightening: the rich ones come off badly, and the film mostly explores contrasts. Much in the intertitles is vernacular, too. Nevertheless, "Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley" is entertaining enough, although the film's conclusion is odd, including Marion drawing attention to herself as the film's author. That was more up fellow screenwriter Anita Loos's alley; she unraveled Douglas Fairbanks's (soon to be Pickford's husband) comedies in clever, self-referential ways. Anyhow, Pickford is fun to watch as a lower-class hoyden in her lighter vehicles, and Kate Price is especially amusing in the supporting role of her mother in this one.
Snow Leopard This is a charming old-fashioned story, featuring a delightful performance by Mary Pickford, two good male leads, and a plot that includes a good variety of material. The lead character makes it a perfect star vehicle for Pickford, and the rest of the film also complements her talents nicely.The story is about Amarilly, a girl from a working-class Irish family. She has a boyfriend, Terry, who works at a cafe, but she also meets a sculptor from a rich family and becomes involved with his circle. There are some very funny moments, some (melo)dramatic parts, and some thoughtful social commentary as well. All of these come together nicely in a key scene when Amarilly's family mingles with the upper crust.Besides Pickford, charming as always, the two make leads (William Scott and Norman Kerry) are very good, presenting believable and interesting characters who form a nice contrast with each other and a good complement to Amarilly. They all help a fairly simple story come to life. This is the kind of old-fashioned film that unfortunately does not get a lot of attention today, but it's a real pleasure for those who enjoy the silent classics.

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