The Underrated Coquette

So I finally was able to see Coquette...complete on the big screen (come to think of it that's the only Pickford talkie I've seen on a big screen)! Break out the confetti as this means I have now officially seen all 4 of Mary's talkies, despite even bootlegs being hard to find.

Coquette was released in early 1929, and is mostly remembered as "That film that unfairly won a token Academy Award" for Mary's performance. Film books love to repeat this story, citing Mary's shameless lobbying for the Best Actress award (complete with inviting the judges to tea at Pickfair). Mary was a founding member of the Academy, and her husband Douglas Fairbanks was the first president (and presenter of the Awards). 1929 is the year that Mary finally peaked...her popularity had been solidly stuck in 'superstar' mode since 1909. 20 straight years of wild white hot fame. And Coquette was the finale.

Given those circumstances its easy to see why people say "Oh she won it more as a lifetime achievement award poor Ruth Chatterton/Jeanne Eagels!" Hey Gloria Swanson never won an award either...get over it! But in fairness Mary's performance is quite breathtaking. No I haven't seen the other nominees for that year, but to say Mary won this award as a token symbol is very unfair. Even if her superstar status gave her an unfair advantage its still a hell of a performance, one tailor made for Oscar winning. They cut out the dead baby bit, but there's still a death and it packs a hell of a punch!

Maybe I'm just a sucker for any film that starts out with a teenage all American boy asking his black mammy for his 'afternoon cigarette with pop'. You can't make this stuff up!


Synopsis (Warning Spoilers Ahead!)

Mary plays Norma Besant, a flirtatious Coquette Southern Belle type. Norma comes from a prestigious family and adores her father Dr. John M. Besant (John St. Polis) and brother Jimmy (William Janney). Her father wants her to marry a nice respectable suitor named Stanley Wentworth (oddly enough played by Matt Moore, her ex brother in law). However Norma is over him, she recently met a man named Michael Jefferey (Johnny Mack Brown) and is madly in love with him.

However Michael Jefferey is a bit of a Jethro type, and Daddy does not approve. Norma and Michael confess their love to each other, with Michael vowing to go into the hills and 'make good' so they can marry and he can provide for her. He declares he'll leave for 6 months, at which time he'll return to marry her. Some amount of time passes (not the 6 months but awhile) and Michael (with the hell of Stanley) sneaks a kiss with Norma outside of a Country Club dance. Norma's brother and his flapper girlfriend (plus a beau or two) comes hollering for her, so she begs Michael to take her somewhere for a moment so they can have more time together. They go to his mother's cabin which is near by...and stay until 4AM. AND someone saw them! And that someone totally told everyone in town!

The next day Michael goes over to Norma's house and tells her about the innuendo spreading (we're led to believe Norma and Michael did nothing but talk and cuddle...Hays Code and all) and says he'll ask her father to let him marry her right now so as to save her reputation. But Daddy catches them hugging and (since he forbid her to see him ever again) is quite livid. They have a war of words while Norma begs them to stop. Michael leaves and well...it doesn't go well from here.

Later Daddy informs Stanley he's gonna go duel it out (including guns) with Michael. Stanley tries to have Jimmy keep Norma in the house as he's certain her intervening will endanger Michael's life further. Stanley goes to try and stop Daddy (see he's real upstanding like that) but he returns to the house telling Norma something bad has happened. Norma had a premonition before he returned, something about being shot. Indeed Michael has been shot by her father and the wound is fatal, though he's still alive. Norma is like a woman gone mad and rushes to his cabin.

There Michael lays dying, and Norma and him kiss a final time in front of many witnesses. Her Mammy takes her to another room where her father's lawyer begs her to lie when the police arrive, as its the ONLY way to save her father's life. Norma is so distraught she refuses in what has to be one of the best grief acting scenes ever.

Some time passes and we find Daddy is in jail, while Norma and Jimmy take care of each other at home. Jimmy still speaks to Dad, and Norma has tried though Daddy won't respond to her. Jimmy alludes to the hope that she will save Daddy, and Norma promises 'tomorrow on the stand' she will.

The prosecutions case has been that Michael was a good man working hard so he could marry Norma, and that he had proudly spoke of Norma to his fellow workers and shown her photo. Norma takes the stand and begins to lie, emotionally trying to say he was a brutish beast who raped her despite the truth and how heart wrenching it is. Norma breaks down and her father gets up to comfort her (apparently this was allowed back in the day). Her father says she is a good girl but its not the truth and he loves her. He also eyes the pistol on the evidence table. After consoling Norma he gets up and asks that her testimony be stricken from the record as its all lies, and he's willing to take his medicine. Then in front of everyone he shoots himself with the same pistol he killed Michael with.

Later we see Norma come out of the Judge's chambers assuring everyone she is okay. Stanley is waiting for her and asks if he can walk her home. Norma says no she needs to be alone...and walks home...alone.

Clips

Below are 3 clips from Coquette, in my opinion proving Mary deserved every bit of that Oscar









Review

I.love.this film. Mary's acting is superb and its easy to see why audiences loved it. In the beginning she starts out quite stiff...her accent is solid and believable but her acting is unusually self conscious. Mary reportedly fired Charles Rosher (her long time cameraman) during filming of an emotional scene early on. This makes me wonder about the early scenes as she doesn't look as youthful as usual (ex: Sparrows which was released 3 years earlier). The lighting isn't as good as it usually is. Despite this she's still pretty believable as a 19 year oldish girl. Frankly I think she pulled it off even better in Secrets a few years later.

The impressive part comes with the grief scenes. Mary's acting had never been finer and her vocalizations were very on the spot with what you would expect. Very VERY emotional. Not only is the acting impressive, but the technology as well. Its a very modern looking film, and thus its easy to forget that it was filmed probably in late 1928/early 1929. Microphones were so touchy then that most people couldn't even walk a certain way without setting them off. Jewelry was also a big trigger.

Yet here Mary is flinging herself around in the bedroom scene with what appears to be total disregard for the microphones. How they accomplished this in that year is beyond me but it is simply perfection.

Once Michael is dead you're pretty much hooked in. The court room scene is also another fine example of how wonderful she could act in talkies, and frankly its very believable and heart wrenching. I think more than anything I just loved the ending...her father and love are dead and she decides to walk home alone. This is a beautifully shot scene (Rosher?) with her walking out onto a dark street as the lights come on behind her. Most early talkies had to be very careful with scenery and camera movements. While its not as smooth as some of her later talkies its again quite impressive let alone for the year it was made.

The other actors are all pretty competent...and they carry the duller scenes in the beginning. Despite the use of a Mammy named Julia (Louise Beavers in the start of a very long career) there isn't really any racism. Julia is a bit sassy and seems to be a stand in mother. But shes not someone in blackface, and she speaks proper English. This in and of itself was quite ahead of its time.

Coquette was based on a popular Broadway play, made famous by Helen Hayes. The biggest difference between the stage version and the film version is the sex angle. In the original Michael and Norma have sex in the cabin and Norma becomes pregnant. Events follow as they do in the movie only when Norma feels like she's been shot that would be the cue for the miscarriage. The Hays Code would never allow this, so it was a touch sanitized.


Release, Oscars, and Talkies

When Coquette was released it did quite well at the box office and even before the Academy Award many seen it as a solid transition for Mary. Of her UA counterparts Mary was one of the first to jump into talkies. Not only did she jump but she seemed quite eager for it. Ironically its said by the 1930s she had a case of mic fright with her radio show, but maybe that came after quitting film. Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and Norma Talmadge would all hold out as long as they could before making a talkie. Gloria Swanson made one last silent before making a quick talkie that was also a success and nominated for an Academy Award (The Trespasser). But Mary went first. And boy did she knock it out of the park.

Mary would go on to make 3 more talkies, but none were as successful as Coquette. Taming of the Shrew SHOULD have been, but that damn stock market crash did it in. Kiki was an abomination, and Secrets never did as well as it should have (now THAT is an Oscar performance!)

Despite the Oscar prestige it seems this film was lost to the realm of forgettable early talkies. In the 1930s it was bought for a remake (during this time when you bought remake rights you also usually bought old versions of the story as well) and thus left Mary's control. It was officially released on VHS though the old rights issue is preventing it from being officially released on DVD at the moment (none of Mary's talkies have officially been released, all are bootlegs). Luckily ioffer comes through again, and you can get DVD version by clicking here.

The Coquette Oscar was the subject of controversy last year when BFed's heirs tried to sell it (for charity). Supposedly some sort of private deal has been reached between them and the Academy though what that is no one knows yet. Perhaps one of the saddest things of all is both Mary's Coquette, and Buddy's Wings, both Academy award winning films, have not seen official DVD releases.

Today it doesn't seem Coquette gets screened much (let alone any of Mary's talkies) which is also a shame. With so few people seeing it that continues the myth that she didn't REALLY deserve her Oscar. I dare you to watch this film and still hold that opinion!