Secrets

CinemaSerf

It's a little bit of a shame that this proved to be Mary Pickford's last role. It's all just a bit of a melodrama in which she doesn't really get much of a chance to shine. Born of a wealthy family "Mary" falls in love with her father's assistant Leslie Howard ("John"). Outraged by the very though of the idea, her father (C. Aubrey Smith) and mother (Blanche Friderici) regale against the relationship and he is fired. Not to be beaten they elope, move to California and make their fortune. Initially they are a close, loving couple with a young baby but time, wealth - and his philandering ambition, soon begin to challenge their idyllic lifestyle as he sets his sights on the Governor's Mansion. The first half hour as they struggle to be together and then to make a go of their new livelihood is engaging and, at times, fun - the remainder, though leaps forward by the decade and the characters are largely abandoned to the need to conclude the story in 90 minutes. Still, easy to see why both principals had star quality!