Romance at the Redwoods, A (1917)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Jenny Lawrence (Mary Pickford) goes to stay with her Uncle in California at the height of the gold rush after her grandmother dies. What she doesn't know is that her Uncle has been killed by Indians and an outlaw known as "Black" Brown (Elliott Dexter) has taken his identity. When Jenny finds out the truth she decides to stay with the outlaw in hopes of reforming him. As is the case with many of DeMille's silents, this one here is rather hit and miss. The biggest problem are some logical issues, which ring out very loudly with the first one being why in the heck does the religious Pickford stay with this guy when she has plenty of opportunities to escape or turn him in. All of this makes for a very predictable story, which leads to a very silly ending, which doesn't do the film any good. Pickford is very charming and delightful, as usual, in her role and she makes the film worth watching. Dexter is also very good in his role as is Tully Marshall and Charles Ogle (Edison's Frankenstein) in his small role. Character actor Raymond Hatton is also very good. The cinematography is rather bland considering the era that the film was made and I think this is something DeMille, and his ego, wasn't allowing himself to expand on. Those expecting something epic or big in terms of production since this is DeMille will be disappointed because this is a pretty small melodrama that never tries anything in larger terms. This might be due to the fact that the budget was set at $135,000 with $97,000 of that going towards Pickford's salary.
