The Little Princess (1917)

Little Sara Crewe is placed in a boarding school by her father when he goes off to war, but he does not understand that the headmistress is a cruel, spiteful woman who makes life miserable ... See full summary »

Director:

Marshall Neilan

Writers:

Frances Hodgson Burnett (novel), Frances Marion

Stars:

Mary Pickford, Norman Kerry, Katherine Griffith

Cast

Cast overview:
Mary Pickford	...	Sara Crewe
Norman Kerry	...	Capt. Richard Crewe
Katherine Griffith	...	Miss Minchin
Anne Schaefer	...	Amelia Minchin (as Ann Schaefer)
Zasu Pitts	...	Becky
W.E. Lawrence	...	Ali-Baba (as William E. Lawrence)
Theodore Roberts	...	Cassim
Gertrude Short	...	Ermigarde
Gustav von Seyffertitz	...	Mr. Carrisford
Loretta Blake	...	Lavinia
George A. McDaniel	...	Ram Dass (as George McDaniel)

Storyline

Little Sara Crewe is placed in a boarding school by her father when he goes off to war, but he does not understand that the headmistress is a cruel, spiteful woman who makes life miserable for Sara.

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Plot Keywords:

boarding school | adult actress playing minor | female protagonist | based on novel

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 November 1917 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mary Pickford Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

62 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Version of The Little Princess (1939)

User Reviews

Some lovely moments, needed tighter script

This version of A Little Princess has some very fine moments, particularly when little Sarah is saying goodbye to her beloved father, but it would have been much better with a tighter script and more character development among the children at the school.

There is a story dream sequence in India which takes up a big chunk of this movie which I considered superfluous and unnecessary. That time would have been much better utilized showing more in-depth interaction between Sarah and her special friends at the school, and her relationship with her adversaries, and the maid, Becky. The ending also comes upon the film too quickly, with hardly any time devoted to showing the real suffering that the character of Sarah Crewe endured.

The DVD version has a pleasant piano score that complements the film very well. All in all a nice film, but the later versions of this story on film, even Shirley Temple's, which took quite a few liberties with the original story, are more enjoyable, especially the most faithful adaptation, the 1986 Wonderworks version starring lovely Amelia Shankley.