M'Liss | 1918 | Silent comedy-drama

Title: M'Liss | 1918 | Silent comedy-drama Director: Marshall Neilan Studio: Mary Pickford Film Corporation Starring: Mary Pickford, Thomas Meighan, Theodore Roberts, Tully Marshall, Charles Ogle, Monte Blue, Winifred Greenwood Based on: M'Liss by Bret Harte Release Date: May 13, 1918 Runtime: 73 Format: Silent, black-and-white, 1.33:1, 5 reels Country: United States Language: Silent Genres: Comedy-Drama --- Summary: In the rough-and-tumble mining town of Red Gulch, spirited M'Liss Smith cares for her down-on-his-luck father and defies local convention. When kindly schoolteacher Charles Gray encourages her to seek an education, a sudden murder and a false accusation thrust them into a fight against vigilante justice. As secrets about a contested will and hidden motives come to light, M'Liss’s loyalty and courage help expose the real culprits. The story balances frontier humor with melodrama, tracing M'Liss’s passage from mischief to hard-earned maturity. --- Background: Adapted by Frances Marion from Bret Harte’s popular tale, the film pairs Mary Pickford with director Marshall Neilan during a peak period of their collaborations. Produced by the Mary Pickford Film Corporation and released under the Artcraft banner of Famous Players-Lasky through Paramount, it features cinematography by Walter Stradling and art direction by Wilfred Buckland. Location photography included Mount Lowe and mountain settings in Southern California to evoke the Sierra mining milieu. --- Trivia: Assistant director Alfred E. Green worked on the production early in his career before becoming a prominent Hollywood director. The Chicago Board of Censors required cuts, including an intertitle urging a “necktie party,” reflecting period concerns over depictions of lynching. The story was filmed several times: a 1915 version preceded this film, and later adaptations included The Girl Who Ran Wild and another M'Liss . The film survives and is available from archival sources, a relative rarity for features of its era. Copyright was registered in April 1918, shortly before the film’s May 1918 U.S. release. Monte Blue appears in an early role as Mexican Joe Dominguez. --- Hashtags: MLiss MaryPickford SilentFilm ComedyDrama ClassicCinema PublicDomain MarshallNeilan FrancesMarion 1918