Coquette (1929)

Directed by Sam Taylor. Starring Mary Pickford, Johnny Mack Brown, John St. Polis, Matt Moore, William Janney, Henry Kolker, George Irving.

Insipid melodrama sunk by poor acting and weak credibility. In her first talkie, Pickford won the Oscar, but it was a case of shamelessly schmoozing voters long before that became the norm; she plays a chronic flirt with several suitors, but the low-class lug (Brown) she fancies most won’t do for her disapproving father (St. Polis). Pickford can’t escape her childish mannerisms, and her overacting in a key death scene earns snickers. Following that display is the courtroom climax, which can’t be believed for one moment. Director Taylor co-produced and co-scripted from a George Abbott/Ann Preston Bridgers play.

34/100