In 1919, Mary Pickford was 27 years old, but due to her petite form and adaptable image, she was still able to play children. Daddy Long Legs (1919), directed by Marshall Neilan, falls into this category. Such films were not necessarily typical of her output, but they were fan-favorites and money makers, and Pickford was a savvy little businesswoman. Already, in 1916, she had negotiated a contract that gave her authority over the films in which she starred, and earned a whopping $500 a week. Entrepreneurial and adventurous in spirit, the same year Daddy Long Legs was released, Pickford founded United Artists with her husband Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin and D.W. Griffith.
Found abandoned in a trash can as a baby, Jerusha Abbott (Mary Pickford) is sent to live in an orphanage, where she grows up...
 |
| Mary Pickford: Daddy Long Legs. 1919 |
Jerusha is smart and diligent, but has a propensity for mischief...
 |
| Mary Pickford: Daddy Long Legs. 1919 |
Based on her promising personality, an anonymous benefactor agrees to send Jerusha to College...
 |
| Mary Pickford: Daddy Long Legs. 1919 |
Not knowing his name, Jerusha calls him "Daddy Long Legs" and sends him letters regularly...
 |
| Mary Pickford: Daddy Long Legs. 1919 |
As she matures into a woman, however, Jerusha finds success and the desire for love...
 |
| Mary Pickford: Daddy Long Legs. 1919 |
 |
| Mary Pickford: Daddy Long Legs. 1919 |
and is still curious about her kind benefactor's identity...
 |
| Mary Pickford: Daddy Long Legs. 1919 |
"Daddy Long Legs" (1919)- full feature film
