Fresh and Exciting

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Blistering performances.

Pickford's screen swan song is her best talkie, admittedly not a high bar, that moves at breakneck speed through its tale of the romance, marriage, struggles and ultimate success of its main couple. It crams too much into its 83 minute running time but as early sound films go it's not bad.At 42 she's unconvincing as a young belle at the beginning of the film but after about ten minutes she's out of that guise and from then on her performance is quite good. Unsurprisingly her strongest moments, as well as the film's, are the one's without dialog. It gives a peek at why she was one of the queens of silents and it seems regretful that just as she was adjusting to sound she chose to withdraw. The film wasn't a hit on release and Mary, nothing if not canny, sensed that though the parade had not passed her by as of yet it was just around the corner. So she retired, enormously wealthy and a power broker behind the scenes.

This is an average movie as movies go and it is only the presence of the glorious Pickford and the fascinating Howard that makes it worth the while, not to mention of course the two scenes that everybody remembers, both of them by Pickford.Others have mentioned here and elsewhere that this movie was also a vehicle for Pickford to make a statement to her estranged husband Douglas Fairbanks, and his reply in his 1934 movie is the stuff of Hollywood legend, as was their relationship.This film is important for it being the last of Mary Pickford's many movies.We are fortunate to have still available many of Pickford's movies, stories about her films and acting from contemporary media and colleagues and her own interviews then and later.The extreme talent of Pickford is easily revealed by the fact that for twenty years the whole world was deeply in love with her (from China, to Russia to Australia), not just for what she was, a movie star, but for the person they thought she was through watching her movies. People were convinced that this acting Mary had to be the real Mary and that this acting Mary was a very special person indeed. It is testament to her skill that through silent films Mary could affect so many so deeply in such a way.She was attractive, a little short and dumpy at times but never the stereotypical tall glamorous elegant type.Mary was no fool, already a tough heavily traveled veteran of stage for 12 years by the time she came to film at the age of 17. A woman with her head screwed on tightly, deeply thoughtful and analytical and assertive. But equally as sweet and gentle and fun loving.Mary came into early film, saw how it looked and very early transformed it into something entirely new. Her gift was not only knowing how to act and convey a message in silence but when to apply what techniques, and art in itself.Her last movie Secrets gives a few looks at her skills though the movie itself was struggling with the new technology which badly affected its directing. Nevertheless, Mary was still the natural.Pickford was the first and last of the greats, in fact the only real great. All learned their art from her template. She was being Chaplin before Chaplin got going, she was at times a Katherine & Audrey Hepburn, she was the sweet and gentle Lillian Gish.Last of all she was one of the toughest businesswomen of the times, never intimidated. For two decades she was the heart of the nation.

This in 1933 was Mary Pickford's last movie though she would not have known it at the time. Historically this is a particularly special movie for Mary's personal life.Mary used this movie to make a statement to her husband Doublas Fairbanks (they were separated at this time and seemingly finished as the intense and deeply passionate couple they were). She at this time was telling Douglas Fairbanks she could forgive his meanderings and in fact the tenor of the whole movie is also about these sorts of choices.Mary was in fact seemingly desperate to get back together with Douglas. I think Mary chose this movie because it spoke to her current marital problems with Fairbanks.Douglas Fairbanks responded to Mary in his last movie in 1934 - appropriately in the role of Don Juan in 'The Private Life of Don Juan'. His response - that he was tired, he needed to rest and to sleep. In real life Douglas Fairbanks in the end couldn't get Mary Pickford out of his heart and made a number of attempts to restart their relationships, but Mary had hardened her heart. And when eventually Mary did relent and decided she couldn't live without Douglas she was a few hours too late. Fairbanks in the end gave up, resolved himself that Mary wouldn't come back and booked himself on an overseas cruise. Mary sent him a message but it was too late, he had already left. And thus it was one of the great and passionate relationships of Hollywood finally died. It should not be under estimated how much these two loved each other. It was something neither got over for the rest of their lives.Secrets was an odd movie that apart from the message it directed at Douglas Fairbanks certainly show cased some of Mary's great skill at comedy and at evoking an emotional response from the audience not to mention the last we got to see some her acting habits that created an attachment between her and the viewer. Mary's acting has always been effortless, always natural with a natural tempo. A study of her movies through the years is a revelation. Lillian Gish always thought Pickford the greatest of all actors.Right from the beginning in 1909 Mary Pickford worked out and stated clearly many times that Stage Acting was NOT the way to act in moving pictures. Pickford pioneered method acting and the skill of silent acting, inventing a new type of acting for film, - where very subtle movements, gestures facial use and so forth had to be used to tell a story and engender emotion. She became the greatest and most skillful silent actor of all time. Revealing also are around 24 newspaper interviews she gave during her early and mid career that showed, that even the very young Mary Pickford made a very careful study of acting for the silver screen and her development of method acting. Even the teenage Pickford took the job extremely seriously. Another thing people viewing this movie must remember about 1933. Sound was still new to film and the film technology for it still very young and the means of recording actors still in it's development stage, sound quality was not very good. In Mary's movie Coquette, her first talkie, sound microphones were stationary. Actors couldn't speak until they were in proper range of the microphone which created all sorts of problems and curiosities in the earliest talkies. They would speak their line, remain silent until the moved to the next designated spot where a fixed mike was and speak their lines and so on. Mary's other talkie Kiki wasn't a success at the time, though now it is thoroughly entertaining and in some parts great fun and one of the funniest comedic dance scenes you will run across in movies.The success of Mary Pickford's talkie movies wasn't about Mary but what the public wanted Mary to do. She went in to totally different and unfamiliar roles. But one has to understand what was going on in Mary's life at this very time. She lost her deepest love and closest friend, her mother, which caused her to cut her hair for the first time every - totally changing her image and to reassess her life. She was devastated. Her other family members sister and brother were also in great troubles through alcoholism and sickness and of course she was having trouble with her husband. On top of this her studio UA needed to put out movies to make some money, this being the Great Depression, and Chaplin wasn't pulling his weight at the time. Pickford was under huge emotional, family and business pressures at this time.Pickford never decided to make this her last movie - it just turned out that way as other business and family pressures kept her too busy and eventually she thought not to bother with it anymore - wrongly thinking that her popularity had gone past its use by date.In this movie the comedic undressing scene bespeaks the effortless grace, timing and organizational skill of Pickford. The death of the baby silent scene fittingly gives us one last glimpse of the great actress.It was a pity that Pickford never returned, she still had much to give and all the skill in the world to apply. Her acting was as good as anybody and probably would have reached its great heights again.The main reason Mary Pickford never made movies again one feels, despite all the other reasons, is the loss of Douglas Fairbanks. If these two had reconciled, rejoined, it is inevitable their great passion and love of life would have seen Mary back in movies, instead this time being a great pioneer of the talking movies. Her career in acting spanned from the age of 5 when she traveled by train day after day, year after year, learning her trade.

In director Frank Borzage's 1924 original version of this film, the character "Mary Carlton" (played by a matured Norma Talmadge) looks back on her life, and its "Secrets". For this re-make, Mary Pickford (as Mary Marlowe) is initially photographed to appear as young as possible. Later, Ms. Pickford is "aged" (although, she is photographed in soft focus throughout). So, the entire "framing" of the film - as about an old woman looking back on the "Secrets" of her life - is lost. Moreover, the movie misses an opportunity to startle audiences by opening with an "aged" Pickford."Secrets" is not a bad film - but, it is frustrating to look at a miscalculation, in this last career appearance for Mary Pickford. Both Pickford and Borzage should have had the storytelling wherewithal to go ahead with the "old age" framing. Borzage had success with Talmadge's version, and Pickford supported Charlotte Smith (her mother) in Thomas H. Ince's similarly structured "Sweet Memories" (1911). Without the framing, the story blindly lurches, uncomfortably, through the years.Pickford surely knew audiences weren't responding well to her recent features, and likely made what she thought were wise decisions about the filming of "Secrets". So, it is a first class production. This shows in Pickford's selection of director Borzage, photographer Ray June, and co-star Leslie Howard (as John Carlton). Mr. June's photography is beautiful. Mr. Howard, a stage star close to Pickford's own age, is a smart choice for leading man. Ironically, Howard looks much younger than his years.Pickford's choice of vehicle and co-star reveal her continued belief in "stage" acting as a way to succeed in talking pictures. To her portrayal, Pickford adds some of the cutesy mannerisms which came to be expected by fans, but plagued much of her later work. These factors help mar her overall performance. Yet, watch for a stand-out scene featuring Pickford and a baby, played silently, during the film's "western" portion. Pickford and Howard would never appear on film into their 70s, which makes the ending of "Secrets" a sweet farewell.****** Secrets (3/16/33) Frank Borzage ~ Mary Pickford, Leslie Howard, Mona Maris, Allan Sears