Kiki (1931)

Director:

Sam Taylor

Writers:

David Belasco (play), André Picard (original French play),

Stars:

Mary Pickford, Reginald Denny, Joseph Cawthorn

Cast

Cast overview:
Mary Pickford	...	Kiki
Reginald Denny	...	Victor Randall
Joseph Cawthorn	...	Alfred Rapp
Margaret Livingston	...	Paulette Vaile
Phil Tead	...	Eddie
Fred Walton	...	Bunson
Edwin Maxwell	...	Dr. Smiley

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

cheesecake | stockings | based on play | character name in title

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Genres:

Musical

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 March 1931 (USA)

Box Office

Budget:

$810,568 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sam Taylor Productions, Feature Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Remake of Kiki (1926)

User Reviews

Funny Mary Pickford Film

A total delight! This famous flop for Mary Pickford is VERY funny and totally fun.

Pickford plays a French chorus girl in New York trying to make good and survive. Pickford's French accent may not be as good as Marion Davies' in "Marianne" but she's wonderfully funny in this role. It's a talkie extension of all the great comic parts she played in silent films.

Pickford was a great comic and proves she had what it takes to make it in talkies. KIKI is a terrific comedy and she's better in this than in her other three talkies. KIKI was based on the Norma Talmadge silent film which was based on the Broadway play. Oddly I just read in the Valentino biography that he had seen Lenore Ulric in New York and then Gladys Cooper in London in the stage versions.

The film opens with a LONG panning shot of backstage doings all in time to the song the chorus girls are stomping away to. Pickford gets fired but insinuates her way back into the chorus via the producer (Reginald Denny). On opening night she makes a shambles of the big number starring Margaret Livingston as the vain star. Pickford is hysterically funny.

Not realistic at all but great fun. Co-stars include Joseph Cawthorn, Phil Tead (funny as the butler), Edwin Maxwell, and Fred Walton.

The sets for the apartment are atrociously ugly. Not to be believed! An explosion of Victoriana and Art Deco.

Mary Pickford was definitely one of the greats!