Main Cast: Carol Dempster, W.C. Fields, Alfred Lunt, Erville Alderson, Effie Shannon
Release Year: 1925
Country: US
Run Time: 124 minutes
Plot
Pioneering filmmaker D.W. Griffith directed W.C. Fields in his first starring role in this silent comedy. When Mary Foster runs away from home to marry her sweetheart, a circus performer, she does so against the wishes of her socially prominent parents (Erville Alderson and Effie Shannon), who make no secret of their anger and disappointment. Mary begins travelling with her husband, and she makes friends with Prof. Eustace McGargle (W.C. Fields), a crusty but good-hearted cardsharp working with the carnival. When both Mary and her husband die, their daughter Sally is left in McGargle's care. Sally grows to adulthood (now played by Carol Dempster) and becomes a dancer with the circus; while McGargle has grown quite fond of the child, he wonders if she might not be better off with her grandparents, who can better provide for her and give her a stable home, though he's kept their identity a secret from her. While performing in the town of Green Meadows, Sally catches the eye of the wealthy and charming Payton Lennox (Alfred Lunt), but Sally must overcome the prejudices of Payton's parents, who do not consider a showgirl to be fit company for their son. However, a sympathetic local woman hires Sally to dance at an upcoming society recital -- not knowing that Sally is, in fact, her granddaughter. Sally of the Sawdust was based on a play that Fields had starred in on Broadway; he also starred in a sound remake entitled Poppy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Released on DVD in a crisp and clear restored version, D.W. Griffith's slightly altered screen version of Broadway star Dorothy Donnelly's circus comedy drama Poppy is, truth be told, far too much Carol Dempster. A singularly unattractive actress whom Griffith unaccountably doted on (à la Susan Alexander), Dempster is allowed to hog the camera at every opportunity. This, sadly, takes attention away from her co-star W.C. Fields, who performs -- or attempts to perform, if only the smitten Griffith hadn't let his camera wander back to Dempster -- several of his legendary routines, including "The Old Army Game," and all too-brief examples of his famed juggling dexterity. Alfred Lunt, who was starring opposite wife Lynn Fontanne in their greatest hit, The Guardsman, at the time, plays Dempster's love interest, but is as colorless as she. As in the original 1923 Broadway production of Poppy, it is in the end left to Fields to fill the many gaps, which he does in his inimitable way while proving what a fine silent comedian he really was. Although he would repeat his McGargle role in the 1936 sound remake of Poppy (and variations of him in several other comedies), Sally of the Sawdust remains historically important as a showcase for the younger and more adroit W.C. Fields in his Ziegfeld Follies period. Watch for plug-ugly William "Shorty" Blanche, Fields' longtime stage partner, performing his "stooge" routine. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
Charles Hammond - Mr. Lennox, Sr.; Florence Fair - Miss Vinton; Marie Shotwell - Society Lady; Glenn Anders - Leon the Acrobat; Roy Applegate - Detective; William "Shorty" Blanche - Stooge; Tammany Young - Yokel in the Old Army Game
Credit
Erville Alderson - First Assistant Director, Frank Walsh - First Assistant Director, D.W. Griffith - Director, James Smith - Editor, Donald Sosin - Composer (Music Score), Charles Kirk - Production Designer, Harry A. Fischbeck - Cinematographer, Hal Sintzenich - Cinematographer, D.W. Griffith - Producer, Forrest Halsey - Screenwriter, Donald Sosin - Musical Performer, Dorothy Donnelly - Play Author
