'MY BEST GIRL'

Evening Star, Issue 20052, 18 December 1928, Page 7

'MY BEST GIRL'

MARY FICKFORO RETURNS ‘My Best Girl,’ which will bo screened at the Strand Theatre oil Friday next, is considered to lie Mary J/ickford’s finest starring vehicle to date. Still the world’s sweetheart, though she has bobbed her hair, Mary Bickford appears in one of the roles she has made famous, that of the_ little workgirl who in the end, like Cinderella, gets all she deserves. I My Best Girl ’ is a comedy drama which never forgets that comedy is its main purpose. ‘My Best Girl’ is a perfectly simple story adopted from a little novel by Kathleen Norris, its theme is by no means new, but somehow these old situations never quite lose their fascination. . Mary, the stock girl in the Merril 11) cent, store finds that she has to work in company with Joe Grant, a young man making his first appearance in commerce. Joe, of course, is really the son of old man Merril, and ha is in the store for the purpose of proving that he can win advancement for himself without the aid of paternal influence. Time goes on, and Joe begins to see that Mary has qualities lacking in the society girl, his mother lias chosen for his bride. The climax comes when the parents propose to give a dinner party at which the desired engagement is to he announced. Joe, however, decides to have a little unanticipated celebration of his own. Mary gives him a little present, and then things move on swiftly to a declaration of love. There Were complications and difficulties following this, but old man Merril, who was a much better judge than his wife, saw the beauty of Mary’s unsullied heart and mind, and in the end wedding bells pealed joyously, and the honeymoon was spent in Honolulu. ‘My Best Girl’ has been splendidly produced. Every scene and every setting ring true to the down-town life of a city of the United States. The cast is a big and impressive one. Charles Rodgers Young, enthusiastic and handsome, is the likeable Joe Grant. As the downtrodden husband of Mary’s mother, Lucian Littlefield makes a first-rate character study. Hodiart Bosworth, star of many big films, is there as Mr Merril. Others in the play are Evelyn Hall, Mack Swain (of ‘Gold Rush’ fame), and the beautiful Avon no Taylor.