The Pride of the Clan

This is a good movie for such a little-remembered feature. In itself, its main strength is probably the interesting setting on an island off the coast of Scotland. The setting is used throughout the movie, both as a background setting and in the story itself. There are some interesting sights and views, although (due to the fact that the surviving print is so dark) it's hard to tell just how good it may have looked originally - but that's hardly the fault of those who made the original film.

The story is similar in nature to many of Mary Pickford's later, better-known features, in that it looks at the ways that relationships are affected by considerations such as wealth, social status, change, and the like. After the opening sequence, much of the first part is episodic, but pleasant. The main part of the story comes later, when Pickford and Matt Moore, as sweethearts, must face some unexpected developments together.

As one of Pickford's earliest full-length features, it's also interesting to see her growing into the style that soon made her a great star. Later on, she could do even more with this kind of role, but she already knew how to hold the attention of the audience and to make the viewers sympathetic to her character. There are even some scenes - such as the opening scene in which she prepares dinner while waiting for her father, or her scenes with the cynical Pitcairn, or her discussions with Moore's family - that parallel similar scenes in her later movies. Later on, she would be able to make scenes like these unforgettable, but even here she is already much better than most, which makes this little-known movie worth tracking down to see.