Sally of the Sawdust (1925) User Reviews

Her Surrogate Father

[lugonian · 7/10 · 2 December 2003]

SALLY OF THE SAWDUST (United Artists, 1925), directed by DW Griffith, the man responsible for such early silent epics as THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915) and INTOLERANCE (1916), as well as Hollywood's first tragedy, BROKEN BLOSSOMS (1919), now past his prime, attempts a feature length comedy taken from Dorothy Donnelly's 1923 stage play of "Poppy," which helped establish the career of vaudevillian WC Fields. Reprising his stage role as Professor Eustace McGargle (sporting checkered pants, derby and a mustache), this not only became Fields' first important screen role, but one of his most notable characters. He would repeat his McGargle role once more (minus derby and mustache) in the 1936 sound version of POPPY (Paramount) with Rochelle Hudson taking the title role. As for the silent original, Poppy is renamed Sally as the movie itself has been retitled, with the background shifting from the 1800s to modern-day 1920s era. Being able to see and compare both SALLY OF THE SAWDUST and POPPY, it is evident that no two versions are alike. The only similarities would be McGargle (Fields), the carnival con man, rearing a young girl since childhood as his own, unaware to he that he's her surrogate father; his attempt to restore her back to her deceased mother's wealthy parents; and the girl's love for a rich man's son.

For SALLY OF THE SAWDUST, being the best known feature length film for either WC Fields or Carol Dempster during the silent era, mainly due to its current availability and frequent revivals, it's nearly forgotten that this particular assignment was actually directed by the father of film himself, DW Griffith, in spite the fact that many of his famous trademarks are evident here, such as his signature beneath the title cards; numerous closeups on the title character being Dempster; flashbacks giving insight to Sally's origins, her mother, and how McGargle was chosen as the little girl's guardian prior to her mother's death; along with cut to the chase and last minute rescues. For today's audience aware of this film's very existence, SALLY OF THE SAWDUST is remembered solely as a Fields comedy, but it's Dempster who acquires most of the attention under Griffith's careful supervision. Dressed nearly throughout the story in shabby attire, one scene, set during a society function, spotlights Dempster's Sally all dolled up in elegant fashion, styled hair, necklaces, and wearing low-cut evening gowns.

As for the story, Sally (Carol Dempster) is the circus waif reared by Professor Eustance McGargle (WC Fields), a lovable con man, sideshow juggler and entertainer. (Flashbacks reveal that Sally, whose mother had married a circus man against the wishes of her father, later becoming a widow with a child, and before she, too, dies, entrusts her little girl to their best friend, McGargle.) Now that Sally is a young adult, McGargle comes to the conclusion that Sally is growing up and decides to return her to grandparents, now living in Green Meadow. Upon their arrival, they both stir up controversy when attending a charity bazaar for homeless children which is taking place near the estate of the very wealthy Judge Henry L. Foster (Erville Alderson) and his wife (Effie Shannon), who happen to be Sally's grandparents. Complications arise when Peyton Lennox (Alfred Lunt) ,the rich young son of a respected leading citizen engaged to marry a society society girl he does not love, becomes infatuated by the visiting Sally. After her "Pop" escapes arrest for dealing in a crooked card game, Sally, in turn is arrested and jailed, while Peyton gets sent out of town by his parents hoping that he'd forget about this common girl. As McGargle learns of Sally's predicament, he's in one himself being held hostage by bootleggers in a far away cottage.

Regardless of numerous changes from the original play, SALLY OF THE SAWDUST does remain loyal to Fields' character, a juggler and shifty con man who "never gives a sucker an even break," with motto being "It's the old Army game." Fields, who makes the most of his initial movie lead, does display his given talent through several key scenes, but it's director Griffith who makes one big mistake by shifting Fields' juggling act in the background with the camera range at a far distance distracted by the heads of his curious spectators, instead of focusing in a nearer range and center stage of him. While not one of the best comedies from the silent era, SALLY OF THE SAWDUST does include some fine comedic moments, mostly supplied by Fields himself.

SALLY OF THE SAWDUST was first introduced to public television as part of the 13-week 1971 presentation of THE SILENT YEARS, hosted by Orson Welles, which was, by this time, the only known surviving WC Fields from the silent era. During Welles' profile on both film and Fields, it's interesting to note how Welles affectionately spoke of Fields by addressing him as "Uncle Claude." Out of circulation for little over a decade, SALLY OF THE SAWDUST resurfaced on video cassette by the 1980s, with one of the distributors being Blackhawk Video, accompanied by Wurlitzer pipe organ score by Jack Ward, the same score that was used for THE SILENT YEARS. The movie's length, ranging from 90 minutes to nearly two hours, depending on the distributor and the silent projector speed. For an added bonus, KINO Video distributed the restored 112 minute VHS /DVD version with new orchestral score consisting of prologue opening and some lost footage supposedly unseen since its initial release.

Because of the mild success to SALLY OF THE SAWDUST, Griffith reunited Dempster and Fields in THAT ROYAL GIRL (1926). Due to the unavailability of that reunion, SALLY OF THE SAWDUST goes down in movie history as the one that paved the way to the future comedy cinematic world of a man named WC Fields. (***)

Silent featuring Fields can almost be heard.

[st-shot · 6/10 · 21 June 2014]

Employing his juggling expertise and visible nuances he carried into his sound pictures one can almost hear W.C. Fields voice as you read his title cards in Sally of the Sawdust. Younger, thinner and with less dissipation about him Fields plays of all things a doting parent to Sally (Carol Dempster) an orphan with a traveling circus.

Before Sally is born her well bred and off mother decides to run off with a show person against parents wishes and is disowned. With the father dead and the mother dying Poppy (Fields) agrees to return the child to her parents but then he decides to raise her himself. Together they tour and perform into her adulthood when the day of reckoning approaches, further complicated by Sally's romance with a swell and member of her grandparents polite society who disdain show people.

Directed by D.W. Griffith in the latter half of his career, Sally has a dated look for a 25 silent with many scenes hearkening back to his halcyon period a decade earlier as his famous montage style looks more like a Mack Sennett Keystone short in spots. Once again he focuses on societal hypocrisy and intolerance but it comes across hackneyed. Silent film had moved into its golden era and Griffith remained inert while Vidor, DeMille and Ingram were taking form and content to another level.

Fields is both funny and touching as he protects Sally and tries to make a living in a variety of dubious enterprises. Dempster is remarkably agile as she takes her licks in more than one scene as well as have a chameleon like look that goes from homely tomboy to deco sleek vamp. It is the energy and talent of both that carry Sally as they leave D.W. anachronistic style in the dust.

Moving and Funny

[CJBx7 · 7/10 · 12 December 2013]

SALLY OF THE SAWDUST is not a major Griffith film, but it is quite good for the most part. The story has been described well in other reviews, so I'll limit my comments to other aspects of the film. WC Fields shows the beginnings of his trademark cantankerous persona; indeed, the movie survives mostly due to his presence. Fields shows natural ability and is an asset to all of the scenes in which he is present.

However, he was not the "star" of this movie. That title would go to Carol Dempster. Dempster is something of a polarizing figure for silent film fans. Many have labeled her as a talentless and unattractive Lillian Gish wannabe whose supposedly awful performances led to DW Griffith's creative and commercial downfall. It's true that Dempster could be inconsistent as a performer, but when she was good, she was superb. Dempster really appears to enjoy this role, and it shows. She is by turns irreverent, spunky, feisty, happy, and touchingly sad; you can see the ache in Sally's heart as she yearns for the love of family. Dempster is highly expressive and uses her trademark athleticism and dancing skills to great effect. She radiates a kooky charm throughout and many of her facial expressions are amusing. I personally thought she carried the role very well, and I have watched this movie multiple times in order to relive moments from her performance.

As a movie overall, the film has its strengths and weaknesses. Griffith had obviously mastered the art of cinematography and there are some nice sequences at the circus, as well as the protracted chase scene near the end of the movie. The editing, as has been noted above, is comically bad. The most outstanding example is when the cops come to bust McGargle's shell game operation and take Sally away, it's clearly night time, but the cut to McGargle's escape is in broad daylight! Also, as has been noted, Griffith was NOT a comedy director. One can only imagine the zaniness that Buster Keaton or Hal Roach would have brought to the chase scene, but Griffith doesn't have the right feel for it. The movie is more amusing than laugh-out-loud funny. Whatever does work in the movie is more due to the cast (minus Alfred Lunt, whom I found very bland as the would-be boyfriend) than the script or direction.

In conclusion, SALLY OF THE SAWDUST, while not a "great" film, has two great performances (by Fields and Dempster) and is an agreeable way for silent movie fans to spend two hours.

W.C. Fields... the Silent Movie Actor.

[geoffparfitt · 6/10 · 22 March 2005]

I am a great fan of W.C. Fields, and continue to study his life and especially his work that is available to us. This is the only movie currently available to me to judge his work as a confident silent movie actor and comedian. I admit that perhaps I am not coming to this movie with the best agenda to appreciate it as a film on it's own terms. This is a D.W. Griffiths film after all - the alleged father of movies as we know them today. Don't ask me. I wouldn't know if that's a deserved reputation or not.

I did enjoy this film. I thought Carol Dempster was good in her role, but of course I was more interested in the times when Fields is on screen. There are some specific moments for Fields fans to savour. The fleeting shots of his juggling skills, the first evidence of the subtle reactions and gestures that we know from his classic talkies of the 1930's, and the peanut cart disguise for a liquor cabinet that survives from his Zeigfield Follies days.

This won't be a movie I turn to as often as I do to the great W.C. Fields films of 1932-34, but I'm just so glad that it has not been lost to us as have been other of Fields silent film work.

Fields' smashing debut in an overlong melodrama

[mgmax · 6/10 · 26 August 2006]

(SPOILERS, THEORETICALLY) Judge Foster throws his daughter out for marrying a circus guy (so inconsequential to the story he only appears in the rear of a longshot). Daughter proves to be just as inconsequential and promptly dies of Little Nell's disease, leaving infant Sally in the care of Larson E. McGarrisouse (accent on the ague), who raises her among tigers and lecherous acrobats (Glenn Anders, years later to resurface indelibly as the guy who wants to go for "a little tarrrrrget practice" in Lady From Shanghai). Luckily, none of them seem to go around with their arms strapped down as if amputated. Prof. McGargle is offered the chance to write for the Chuckles the Chipmunk show-- wait a minute-- they take little Jackie away from him but-- anyway, it all ends happily with her being wooed by a rich young idiot (Harry Backstayge, in one of his few silent roles) despite her indeterminate age (she's either 14 or 30, the movie seems vague on that), a fairly endless car chase, an even more endless courtroom scene, and a group hug.

The first half of this quite long melodrama is focused on Fields and Dempster in the circus. Since D.W. was only sleeping with one of them, we catch frustratingly fleeting glimpses of Fields' cigar box act while long sequences go by like freight cars in which Dempster is allowed to demonstrate goofy clowning (showing off a heretofore unnoticed resemblance to Harry Ritz), ballet (not since Leni Riefenstahl in The Holy Mountain has a dancer danced so galumphingly), and ultimately the full Gloria Swanson glamor gal treatment in glowing jewelry and peacock headdresses, which she pulls off about half as well as Conrad Veidt in The Indian Tomb. Nevertheless, the relationship between the two is simple, Fields is effortlessly amusing, not just stealing every scene from the overworked Dempster with a minimum of effort, but fencing it and spending the boodle while she's still grimacing like Christ in the Passion Play to show teenagerdom.

The second half, alas, has to bear the heavy lifting of resolving the plot and reuniting daughter with grandparents and their money, and does so at a length and laboriousness which strains credulity (can anyone explain why the courtroom is packed for a hearing to determine if a minor should be committed to a juvie home? Or why the bailiff allows comic characters to do their business for minutes at a stretch?) Nevertheless, Fields manages to wrap it up with some panache, and it's not surprising that he was given his own series after this breakthrough role (the first movie taking its title from an oft-repeated line here, "It's the old army game").

As a movie Sally of the Sawdust falls into the watchable but frustrating category. That Fields gets so few chances to really let fly (yet cunningly takes every one of them all the same) is one frustration. But the greater one, perhaps, is seeing D.W. Griffith settle in so comfortably with such second-rate melodramatic material. At his best in the teens Griffith is like Elia Kazan, alive to every moment and every twitch in his actors' faces, seeking truth 24 times a second (well, 16 to 18, anyway). But Sally is the sort of piece in which real actors need not apply, the movie wouldn't know what to do with a truthful moment that really got you in the heart (though the actress who plays the grandmother looks like she'd manage a few, if the director could be bothered to pay attention). Easily read caricatures are the order of the day. As a character the stern Judge is no more than the sum of his mustaches. The relationship between McGargle and Sally is a selfless, sexless, bloodless thing with none of the awareness of actual neediness, none of the sense of newfound purpose and maturity, that you get in Chaplin's Tramp when suddenly he has a Kid to look after. The legendary Alfred Lunt, playing the rich young blood, could be any young man who looks well in an Arrow shirt- collar. The mystery of how Griffith, once so alive to movies and actors, could have been so dead to them just a few years later is one of the great mysteries of Hollywood-- forget William Desmond Taylor, what killed David Wark Griffith?

"Entertainers use the side entrance"

[Steffi_P · 7/10 · 23 April 2011]

It's not often realised how strong the links were between silent cinema and the theatrical entertainment world of Vaudeville. W.C. Fields, like many Vaudeville comedians started out in pantomime – juggling, pratfalling and other staples of silent comedy. Fields would later add dialogue to his act and cultivate his now familiar persona, eventually progressing onto full-length comic dramas. Sally of the Sawdust, his first feature-length movie creates an odd shift in his career. It is adapted from his most recent stage hit Poppy, and yet the very different medium of pre-talkie cinema meant he had to rely upon the old routines from his pantomime days.

The picture sees him teamed up with pioneer director D.W. Griffith, now sadly long past his glory days. Griffith was never really much of a comedy director. He doesn't seem to have the confidence in his performers to let them do their stuff and allow the scenes to play out. Instead he seems stuck in the Keystone Cops mode of slapstick, which is always very frenetic, with lots of cuts. In a way this works out well because Griffith could at least direct a good action sequence, and scenes like the punch-up at the circus even if not very funny are at least nicely timed and escalated. Besides, even if the comedy fails the general air of irreverence stops the picture from getting too mawkish.

It is also rather nice to see Griffith returning to a simple, human story, as his usual epics with ride-to-the-rescue finales had been getting a little stale of late. Sally of the Sawdust more than any other harks back to the short films he made in the early teens for the way he focuses on individuals rather than wider social processes. There are some good examples of the way he builds up an emotional story. In the prologue, when the daughter is kicked out, we see the mother and father turn away from each other to face opposite walls, the camera well back in the large space, a perfect evocation of this cold, fractured household. And Griffith is still so good at expressing a feeling with the most delicate of close-ups, showing us for example Carol Dempster's hand clutching at the grass as she canoodles with Alfred Lunt. Acting performances vary immensely across Griffith's body of work, but the relatively restrained turns from Dempster and Elfie Shannon as old Mrs Foster add immensely to the poignant final scenes.

But what of W.C. Fields himself? We here and there see him going off into some bit of comedy business, but the truth is as a slapstick comic he is nothing really exceptional. He doesn't have the energy or flexibility to keep up with the wilder slapstick, and sequences like the one where he keeps knocking off his own hat just look out of place. Of course there is a lot more for him to do in Sally of the Sawdust, and Fields is at his funniest when simply acting out bits of the play (presumably kept intact from the original stage version) in his own characteristic manner. When trying to evade the police, he emerges from his hiding place wrapped in a cloak disguised as an Indian, and it is the way he strolls towards the camera, nonchalantly puffing on a cigar, that makes the moment funny. Still, there is clearly something missing from the act – the delivery, the voice, not to mention the opportunity to develop a curmudgeonly character without having to occasionally play the clown. It is no wonder his screen career never really took off until the arrival of the talkies.

A must for W.C. Fields fans

[psteier · 7/10 · 2 July 2001]

Seems to have been made as a vehicle for W.C. Fields and Carol Dempster and they dominate it. Fields already has his film character well developed. Carol Dempster seems to dance through the film and her acting reminds me of Mary Pickford, who also worked a long time under D.W. Griffith. Typical of later Griffith films technically.

Later remade as Poppy (the original title) with Fields in the same role.

The Old Shell Game

[movingpicturegal · 9/10 · 1 October 2006]

Well done melodrama that tells the story of Sally, tomboy dancer in the circus, raised by sideshow performer McGargle (played by W.C. Fields), he of the top hat, little mustache, checkered pants, and proficiency as juggler, pickpocket, and runner of carnival con games like Three Card Monte and the Old Shell Game. McGargle has raised Sally, who worships him as her "real father" since Sally's mother (kicked out of her home by her father, a judge, when she married a "circus man") died and left Sally orphaned. Sally is feisty and loyal to McGargle no matter what he gets up to - but McGargle seems to feel a bit of guilt over keeping her in the circus instead of with her own family all these years. When they end up performing in a carnival in the town where her wealthy grandparents live, McGargle uses the opportunity to "investigate" Sally's real family, with the idea that he may restore her to them. But grandfather the judge takes an immediate disliking to Sally 'cause he doesn't like a "show girl" - what a stern, narrow-minded man he is, a real piece of work that guy! And meanwhile Sally is busy being pursued by a handsome and rich young man, son of the man who helped grandpa get his riches.

This is a very good film with a few laughs here and there and a sort of odd editing style (I don't know how to describe this other than it shows long shots, then sort of jumps back a few seconds or changes angle suddenly as a close up is shown). Carol Dempster, who plays Sally, is delightful here - quite cute and comical in her performance. W.C. Fields, even without his famous voice, is very funny - just the way he moves and his amusing, comical reactions to things (like a small dog seen in one funny scene), we even see him juggling briefly in this. I love the few peeks at the old-fashioned circus and carnival that is shown here. The print of this featured on the DVD is very nice looking, tinted a light sepia tone, and the piano score for this is really excellent, performed by Philip Carli based on the original cue sheets.

Technically well made but not exactly a comedy

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 20 April 2011]

Technically speaking, this movie is well done. The camera work is nice, the acting is pretty good and the story is well developed. Howeve, despite W.C. Fields in the lead, the film isn't particularly funny--and as a result, is very different from the 1936 version ("Poppy") which also starred Fields.

The film begins with a self-righteous family disowning their daughter when she runs off with a man they do not approve of nor were willing to consider for their fine New England family. Eventually, the woman ends up in a traveling carnival--pregnant. Later, she dies--leaving the baby with McGargle (Fields)--a shifty juggler and carney. The child (Sally) grows up in this less than honorable environment--totally unaware that she has rich relatives. As for Fields, he knows the truth but figures the child is better off not knowing--after all, they disowned her mother and were obviously not very nice people. Later, however, he decides that perhaps the carnival is not the best life for her, and so, broke, they head to Connecticut to find her family. But, some of them STILL are big butt-heads AND there's a romance waiting for Sally. What will happen next? Well, we sure know it won't involve comedy! While I am not a huge fan of "Poppy" (1936), it did have good comedy as well as being a rather sweet story. Here in the silent version, that sweetness and the laughs are missing and too much time is spent on her romance. As a result, it's decent but wholly unremarkable and a rather inauspicious film for Field--who looks a bit odd underneath that huge mustache. Mostly of interest to Fields completists.

Never Give a Sucker an Even Break

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 8 March 2008]

From a modern prospective, this is a most underwhelming film. Carol Dempster (as Sally) would seem, athleticism being one of her strengths, to be a natural choice to play a circus performer; she is, however, mostly unremarkable. W.C. Fields (as Professor McGargle) is more graceful; however, without his distinctive voice, he is somewhat disappointing. And, Alfred Lunt (as Peyton Lennox), known for his brilliant stage presence, is difficult to appreciate. Of the three, Mr. Fields is the most watchable.

The breathtaking beauty of earlier D.W. Griffith-directed films is noticeably absent. While some of the shots are lovely, nothing equals the artfulness evident throughout many past Griffith efforts. "Sally of the Sawdust" is beautifully preserved (if only all Griffith prints were as well preserved); and, it is an enjoyable comedy (certainly more so in 1925). It was adapted from Dorothy Donnelly's popular play "Poppy" (1923), with Madge Kennedy and W.C. Fields. It was re-filmed as "Poppy" (1936), with Rochelle Hudson and W.C. Fields. Norma Talmadge's popular film was an altogether different "Poppy" (1917), and did not co-star W.C. Fields.

***** Sally of the Sawdust (8/2/25) D.W. Griffith ~ Carol Dempster, W.C. Fields, Alfred Lunt

W. C. Fields In His First Feature Film

[springfieldrental · 9/10 · 29 January 2022]

Stage comedian W. C. Fields spent years on the vaudeville circuit perfecting his comedic dialogue and his juggling tricks. As his popularity grew, so did his presence on the Broadway stage, especially his skits with the Ziegfeld Follies from 1916 until 1922. He starred in the wildly successful Broadway musical comedy 'Poppy' in 1923, playing his schtick for over 340 straight performances.

It was this play that Fields secured his first feature film lead in D. W. Griffith's August 1925 "Sally of the Sawdust." Fields plays a circus juggler and hustler who's left with a little girl. As she lay dying, her mother, a good friend of Professor McGargle (Fields), gave him her daughter, Sally, to raise. The little girl grows up to be a circus dancer (Carol Dempster). Griffith pours on his trademark sentimentality when the two return to the mother's hometown in Connecticut, where her father, a judge, had years earlier thrown out her daughter because she was marrying a circus performer. The movie also allowed Fields to showcase his juggling talent, whipping balls and objects to the amazement of the circus crowd.

Fields by this time had developed his acting persona that would carry him throughout his film career, with the exception of a clip-on mustache he gave up after his first talking pictures. He adopted his fake mustache on stage to aggravate his audiences since he knew they hated it on him. The other exception to his future screen personality was in "Sally of the Sawdust" the script called for him to be a loving surrogate parent to the young Sally. In his later movies children gave him the heebe-jeebies. "Sally of the Sawdust" was a big hit and launched Fields' career in film. He made eight more silent movies before being one of the few actors of that era to make a successful transition into sound films.

After Griffith left United Artist, Paramount Pictures hired the director, with the proviso that his tight scripts had to be completed on time and under budget. The director had seen Fields on stage in 'Polly,' and adapted the play for film. In Griffith's next movie, the now-lost December 1925 'That Royle Girl,' he brought in Fields in the middle of the production for comic relief. Fields' character is Dempster's inebriated stepfather. Paramount loved Fields' performance so much in that movie as well as "Sally of the Sawdust" the company signed the actor for lead roles in a series of feature films.

Fields, Griffith, Dempster, and the divine Alfred Lunt

[Irie212 · 7/10 · 7 October 2009]

The plot of "Sally of the Sawdust" is the usual melodramatic stuff-- an orphan, rags-to-riches-- but the film rises above most silents thanks to four people:

This is not, of course, D. W. Griffith's masterpiece, but it does showcase his film-making savvy in full maturity. He uses all his innovations, which are techniques we take for granted now: close- ups, cross-cutting, a mobile camera, and the ability to modify acting from theatrical exaggeration to cinematic subtlety.

W. C. Fields also showcases his skills-- not his signature gruff delivery, but his remarkable dexterity as a physical comedian. He does a few inventive juggling acts, cut too short to be fully appreciated, and some very deft pickpocketing, but it seems that every prop that comes within reach gets manipulated for comic effect-- hat, cane, car roof, dog, cash. He's a joy to behold.

Much has been said against Carol Dempster as an actress, but her performance here is also richly comic. She was 22 at the time, playing a teenager, and her approach to the role is a combination of grace and awkwardness that may not be wholly convincing, but she truly engages the eye when she's on screen-- particularly when she's dancing. She's not a beauty--though she's positively luminous in the one scene where she's gussied up like a Talmadge sister-- but her plainness only adds to Sally's character, especially in the many moments when she shows very obvious affection for Fields as her guardian/"father." Few, if any, Hollywood performers could compete with Fields when it came to comedy, but Griffith gives his leading lady every chance to match her co-star, and Dempster absolutely holds her own.

Finally, there is Alfred Lunt in one of his extremely rare film roles-- a handsome, even dashing leading man. Wisconsin-born Lunt and his British wife Lynne Fontane made one talkie together-- a wonderfully funny one, THE GUARDSMAN, in 1931-- after which they quit movies forever for the Broadway stage, where they reigned for most of the 20th century. So famous and powerful were they that they would only accept theatrical contracts which allowed them to work together. As for Hollywood, Fontanne wrote to the producer who tried to lure them back with huge flippin' wadges of cash, "We can be bought, but we cannot be bored."

Hard core Fields fans only

[Ron in LA · 5/10 · 18 April 2008]

Chaplin-esquire comedy/melodrama directed by D. W. Griffith starring Carol Dempster as a plucky orphan raised on the road by a sideshow hustler (W. C. Fields) without knowing she is the granddaughter of a rich New England family. The only real attraction of this film is the chance to see a young, fit W. C. Fields in the early version of his likable-hustler persona. There are some cool juggling scenes, and some big-circus scenes that are nice but not worth going out of your way for.

Everything else is a couple beats off. Griffith's strength is in melodrama and social commentary, but here he bogs down in a bad version of of slapstick, forcing Fields to imitate Chaplin in a way that detracts from our enjoyment of Fields being Fields.

Griffith also cast his generally untalented girlfriend-at-the-time Carol Dempster in a role she was not equal to. She needs to carry the whole film and can't. With Fields we miss too much by not hearing his voice.

Then there's the length which should be shorter by a good twenty minutes given the reliance on slapstick and the simplicity of the plot. So for Griffith you're better off with his earlier work, and with Fields you want his later work, and for mid-20's slapstick you want to stick to Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd, Charley Chase and Harry Langdon.

Sentimental, Intriguing, Curious, Enjoyable

[mbanak · 6/10 · 23 March 2009]

One reason I dig the old flicks because of the historical settings. After seeing this movie, I have decided to deduct points for poor editing for all films going forward. Indeed, a decent editor would have put this film into high orbit.

W.C. Fields seems a little out of place in this silent flick, awaiting peak performance in the talkies. Carol Dempster's natural energy makes her the most interesting character of the bunch. She grows on me. Nice sentimental story, whose predictable ending comes about in an unpredictable way.

The editing was so bad that I started to guess when the next discontinuity would come. This was 1925, where silent film was approaching its zenith. The butchery is inexcusable.

It's hard to escape the impression that Chaplin's "The Circus" (released 2 years later) was in some way inspired by this offering from his friend, DW Griffith.

The nice clean print, available on DVD, was a pleasure to watch. But let's face it: Stuff like this is of greatest interest to film buffs and WCFields aficionados. Enjoy!

Also, I now close all silent reviews with this tip: If you can play it on a PC, using a media player with speed adjust, you can enjoy these gems at 1.2x or 1.4x speed, with no loss of intelligibility or tonal distortion in the music. It works best for dramatic work. The comedies are already speeded up!

Not the disaster I was promised

[MissSimonetta · 7/10 · 10 December 2021]

I put off watching SALLY OF THE SAWDUST for years. Comedy was never Griffith's best genre and the 1920s were not his best decade. However, it turned out to be better than I expected, though that might be more because of WC Fields than anything else. He's funny, though decidedly lacking the misanthropic edge he had in his great 1930s work (the man warmly hugs a child in an early scene so you know you're not dealing with pure Fields here). The story is a 1920s take on Dickens' style melodrama: an eccentric con-man tries to reunite his adopted daughter with her rich relatives. The plot is stretched out, but there are charming episodes throughout and I was never bored.

Carol Dempster is quite mixed. I tend to find her unremarkable in most of her work and she only tended to shine in less glamorous/winsome roles (see ISN'T LIFE WONDERFUL for a genuinely great performance from her). Here, she veers between outright badness and inspired in what might be the most uneven performance of her short career. It often does not feel like she's playing a character so much as employing several facial tics repetitively in front of the camera: she winks, she coos, she does little dancing motions. It's supposed to come off as peppy but it often grates. Her emotional scenes are disastrous, complete with shameless mugging. However, Dempster excels in the physical scenes, like when she escapes a courthouse through a high window or when she's interacting with an elephant. I maintain that Dempster was best at playing active, everyday characters and not the Victorian girl-women Griffith liked to populate his movies with.

SALLY OF THE SAWDUST was one of Griffith's last films and is quite unlike anything else in his filmography. It's definitely worth seeing, though if you've never seen a silent movie before, I would not make this one your first.

Good Film With Grifith's Favorite and Fields Starring

[DKosty123 · 7/10 · 17 August 2020]

This film is based upon the play Poppy which was on Broadway in this era. The silent treatment is quite long due to DW Grifith direction as his silents were often quite long. It mixes drama and Comedy.

One thing to know, Dempster, who plays Fields daughter Sally is quite charming. So much so, that she was having an affair with the Director when this film was made. She would live a long life but would only do a small number of films and retire in a short time after this one. Griffith's affair with her aroused jealous feelings with Lillian Gish and other actresses Griffith had worked with. This might have been part of what shortened Dempster's career as peers tended to band together against them.

Fields is a bright light and the emotion of his relationship with daughter Sally is quite genuine on the screen. There are a few clips of Fields cigar box juggling routine which would be better shown in another of his films, The Old Fashioned Way. The shell game sequence is repeated too, when the sound film is made -Poppy. 1936 Fields is one of the few cast members in both films.

This is a younger more energetic Fields versus the sound version where verbal comedy replaces some of the physical. Fields always does physical comedy, even in his later films. It is one of his trademarks and is shown off to great benefit here.

This is a comedy drama, and worth it for any silent fan or Fields fan to look at as so many silent films have been lost, thankfully this one still exists. It is on You Tube where I saw it.

Familiar DW Griffith - Same theme, Same ending.

[bull-frog · 5/10 · 27 June 2007]

I have watched a number of Griffith's films including Intolerance, Way Down East, Birth of a Nation, Broken Blossoms, and Orphans of the Storm. I have to say the more of his films that you watch, the more predictable they become. I'm not talking just a predictable ending. It's predictable everything - the lame acting, the drawn out and overextended scenes, the over-reliance on subtitles to tell the story, the same camera angles, etc. You compare Griffith's work to another film from the same era (ones starring Harold Lloyd) and you see an immediate difference in directing quality. Griffith doesn't seem to want to take chances and that may have cost him his career. I do have to say that Sally of the Sawdust is far technically and aesthetically superior to any of Griffith's previous films.

The fight scenes near the beginning would have benefited from being edited out. They were very fake and cheesy looking. The film is very drawn out and moves at a glacial pace. Many of the scenes got very repetitive and overly long. After seeing more than a few minutes of the circus scenes, courtroom scenes, it just got old. I felt this film could have been half it's length without effecting the storyline. There were a lot of continuity errors, which is common for films of it's day, but especially true of Griffith's work. The picture quality was surprisingly good though. The background settings and camera work were much better done any of Griffith's previous work.

This film's ending simply lacks the excitement that I'm used to seeing - such as in Birth of a Nation and Orphans of a Storm. The suspense and choreography was not well done. Sally's escape from the courthouse also lacked credibility. You're like, this is so fake! How could a whole mob of people in an enclosed building not get to her? Overall this film is average. It may be worth watching from a historical perspective. If you're looking for a good story, skip it.

Beautiful print, boring movie

[wadetaylor · 5/10 · 10 April 2007]

I really wanted to like this movie since I am going through W.C. Fields' films. I just became really bored especially towards the end. It seemed like the courtroom scene was so repetitive, and long, and dull. I remember Buster Keaton talking about how he hated this kind of movie, in which one line of dialogue ("This is your granddaughter") would end the movie. It just doesn't ring true. I also am not a big Carol Dempster fan, I think she is good in light comedy, but not in drama. I did enjoy seeing some of Fields' routines, but they were few and far between. However, the print was amazing looking, and music worked well with the movie. 5 out of 10, in my opinion.

Griffith and Fields

[Michael_Elliott · 25 February 2008]

Sally of the Sawdust (1925)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Judge Foster (Erville Alderson) throws his daughter out when he learns that she has married a circus man. The mother, before dying, leaves the kid with Professor McGargle (W.C. Fields) who raises her as his own. Years later the girl (Carol Dempster), now an adult, goes with McGargle back to her hometown where he wants to tell her the truth but they end up in the Judge's court where perhaps the truth might come out. This is really just a so-so film for the most part. It never gets bad but at the same time it never really reaches a good level either. As with many of Griffith's later pictures, this one suffers from its technical style as the movie looks like it was made in 1915. Griffith never advanced with the times and that's one of the problems here. Another problem is that it runs a tad bit too long especially when the ending is pretty predictable. Fields offers up a good performance but just don't expect to see him as most think of him. We really don't see too many characteristics of his later style, although there's a couple nice circus scenes, which will remind fans of later work. The most controversial stuff from Griffith's later period is his constant use of Dempster in these big roles. From what I've seen, she can come off very badly or very well. She's somewhat mixed here as she's a tad bit too wild with facial gestures during quieter scenes but during the final courtroom battle she comes off extremely well and her performance then is quite touching. As far as the direction goes, Griffith really doesn't come to life until the end when Dempster is in court fighting to stay out of jail and Fields is racing to get there so he can tell the truth about her. There are several long chase sequences and some nice humor. The overall speed of the film picks up here as well and these are the moments that Griffith handles the best. Fields later remade this as Poppy. Griffith and Fields would go onto do another film the same year, That Royale Girl, which based on original reviews was suppose to be a lot better but sadly that film is lost.

Sweet, entertaining story of fatherly love, lacking a climactic wallop

[rick_7 · 24 March 2011]

Sally of the Sawdust (D. W. Griffith, 1925) is a nice film from the director of The Birth of a Nation, with nary a heroic Klansman in sight. The engrossing storyline, adapted from a hit stage musical, sees carnival barker W. C. Fields looking to restore orphaned waif Carol Dempster to her rightful place in society. The much-maligned Dempster is actually very good here (save for a bit of over-acting among the rushes as the police close in on her), backed by a couple of unimpeachable heavyweights: Fields and Effie Shannon. There are flaws. We could probably have done without the knockabout comedy for a start. The slapstick interludes aren't as jarring as in Way Down East, where the wrenchingly powerful narrative is offset by some of the most inscrutable alleged comic relief ever slapped onto the screen. For one thing, it's quite funny. But it does jar a little with the dramatic elements, particularly when we see Dempster striving desperately to avoid capture and ruin, intercut with Fields bouncing down a hill in an old banger. And there's also the sense of a missed opportunity. For a film that's not afraid to be melodramatic, the climactic reveal doesn't really carry an emotional punch at all, let alone the assault on the tear ducts I was anticipating. But I liked the film on the whole: interesting story, strong performances and - once you adapt to Griffith's style, revolutionary in 1915, a touch staid 10 years on - very watchable indeed.

Trivia notes: Alfred Lunt, who plays Dempster's love interest, was Monty Clift's mentor and acting tutor. The film was remade as the talkie Poppy, also starring Fields, in 1936.