Johanna Enlists (Silent) (DVD)

Mary is Johanna Renssaller, a poor country girl who dreams of finding a husband. When an entire regiment of soldiers arrives on her father's farm, her prayers are answered...and then some! Hoping to draw their attention, Johanna undergoes a makeover with the help of fashion magazines and milk-filled bathtubs. Her sexy new look is a hit, and soon the soldiers are fighting over the chance to date the pretty girl. With so many handsome suitors to choose from, Johanna can't believe her luck. But the drums of war can be distantly heard on Johanna's farm, and soon the boys will have to go 'Over There'....

With World War I underway, the government asked Hollywood to produce features that would boost morale both abroad and on the homefront. Mary Pickford, widely considered the "Queen of the Movies", was an obvious choice to star in such films. Johanna Enlists began as 'The Mobilizing of Johanna', a short story by Rupert Hughes (the uncle of billionaire industrialist Howard Hughes). It was adapted for the screen by Frances Marion, later an Academy Award winner for The Big House (1930) and The Champ (1932). Behind the camera was director William Desmond Taylor, who previously had collaborated with Pickford on How Could You, Jean? (1918). A popular member of the silent era Hollywood elite, he is sadly best remembered today for his still-unsolved 1922 murder. Cinematographer Charles Rosher won Oscars for Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1928) and The Yearling (1946). Screen legend Wallace Beery, here relatively early into his career, has a small role as one of the flirtatious soldiers. Despite the film's title, Pickford never actually enlists in the armed services, though she does break character at the film's conclusion to be appointed honorary Captain of the 143rd MIlitary Regiment.

• silent