The Wicked Darling (1919)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Tod Browning

Writers:

Evelyn Campbell (story)
Harvey Gates (writer)

Release Date:

24 February 1919 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Crime

Plot:

A slum girl is forced to steal for a living. After she swipes a rich society's matron's necklace, she hides out at the home of a man who turns out to be the socialite's former fiance.

Plot Keywords:

Pearl | Pickpocket | Financial Ruin | Theft | Threat

Cast

Priscilla Dean	...	Mary Stevens
Wellington A. Playter	...	Kent Mortimer
Lon Chaney	...	Stoop Connors
Spottiswoode Aitken	...	Fadem
Gertrude Astor	...	Adele Hoyt
Kalla Pasha	...	The Bartender

Also Known As:

The Gutter Bride (USA) (working title)
The Gutter Rose (USA) (working title)
The Rose of the Dark (USA) (working title)
The Rose of the Night (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

59 min (restored version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

Universal Film Manufacturing Company

Movie Connections:

Featured in L'affaire Marcorelle (2000)

Gritty Despite

'The Wicked Darling' is one of some eleven films directed by Tom Browning that stars Lon Chaney. In this one, Chaney has the supporting role of the villain Stoop Connors. He does well enough, and one can see here the beginnings of one of America's greatest silent film actors. As well, Browning's direction is impressive.

The nighttime photography and low-key lighting add grittiness to the story of crime and reform. Chaney's hard-bitten performance also helps. The pacing is rather quick, too, with smooth editing. Even with the typical bad girl turned good through the love of a man story, there are some uncompromisingly real moments during her reform, as well as the suspenseful ones that keep the film going. In one scene at the restaurant, for example, the gutter rose protagonist returns food to a costumer's plate after it falls on the floor.

There is, however, a gaping hole in the story, as I see it. That three criminals, headed by Connors, are seemingly only intent on making the life of the gutter rose miserable is believable enough, I suppose. But, why do Mary and Kent not tell the police that Connors shot Kent? At this time, Kent doesn't know that Mary has the necklace, so it can't be because he's afraid of her arrest, too. I don't understand it, and it's a major fault for a director of films that tend to rely greatly upon their subject matter and characterizations. It seems to be merely an excuse to continue with the story.

(Note: The newly restored version released by Image Entertainment is excellent, except for some deterioration in the form of mottling, which I found easy to ignore. Additionally, some still photos are used in place of some, brief missing footage.)