The NFR Class of 2007: Umber-ella-ella-ella-ay-ay-ay

December 27th, 2007: The NFR bumps it up to 475 movies with its Class of 2007. As I find it increasingly difficult to come up with new ways of saying “I’ve watched all 25 movies, so here’s my recap”, I’ll just say that I’ve watched all 25 movies, so here’s my recap:

Other notes

  • The Class of 2007 is comprised of movies that aren’t so much “minor classics” as they are “near-essentials”. While none of these movies are untouchable classics in the pantheon of American film, their absence on the NFR would be too conspicuous, so their appearance almost 20 years into this list is unsurprising. I echo this sentiment in most of my write-ups on these 25, which by and large endorse their induction (although two of these movies get my “meh” rating. Yikes).
  • The big NFR-related news in 2007 was the completion of the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia. Construction was finished in mid-2007, with the Center opening up to the public in 2008.
  • Shoutout to the Hollywood Reporter for interviewing “Naked City” co-writer Malvin Wald about the film’s NFR induction less than three months before his passing. There’s also a quote from NFPB staff director Stephen Leggett talking a bit about the NFR’s goal to include more sci-fi and films from the ‘70s (with “Close Encounters” at the center of that Venn diagram). More insider quotes, please!
  • We have a healthy amount of double dippers this time: Actors Joan Crawford and Gloria Grahame, screenwriters Vicki Baum and Albert Maltz, director Edmund Goulding, cinematographer William H. Daniels, art director Cedric Gibbons, composer Edward Ward, and costume designer Orry-Kelly. Most of these are thanks to having two ‘30s MGM movies on the list: “Grand Hotel” and “The Women”.
  • Thematic double dippers: Female empowerment amidst the sexist studio system, heavy-handed pleas for tolerance, pigs in prominent roles, big wide-open plains, territories on the verge of statehood, love triangles, dancers played by non-dancers, starry ensembles, makeovers, Oscar winning ‘70s cinematography, lesser silent-era comedians, and lots of Blacklisted artists.
  • Some more interesting overlap within the Class of 2007: two of these films inspired Edward Albee while writing “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (well, one film and another filmmaker, but I’m counting it). Also worth noting: both “Close Encounters” and “Back to the Future” make quick references to “Star Wars”.
  • When the Class of 2007 was announced, the number one movie at the US box office was “National Treasure: Book of Secrets”. Also playing was future NFR entry “No Country for Old Men”, and such noteworthy entires as “I Am Legend”, “Sweeney Todd”, “Enchanted”, “Juno”, and “Bee Movie”. We also got two films from Class of 2007 directors: Robert Zemeckis (“Beowulf”) and Sidney Lumet (“Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead”).
  • Favorites of My Own Subtitles: Alpha Mail, Moor to Love, A Man and His Musings, True-ish Detective, Dix Chix Fix Pix, The Plot Thickens, and H.G. Wells’ Oedipus Rex.

Before we go, some housekeeping. Once again real life is calling me away from the blog, so “The Horse’s Head” will be taking a summer hiatus. The goal is to be back in the fall with more posts (plus my Class of 2026 nominations), but I’ll keep you up to date if things change. As always, thanks for reading, and please keep taking care of each other.

See you soon,

Tony

#808) Days of Heaven (1978)

#808) Days of Heaven (1978)

OR “Fields of Vision”

Directed & Written by Terrence Malick

Class of 2007

The Plot: Around 1916, steelworker Bill (Richard Gere) flees Chicago with his girlfriend Abby (Brooke Adams) and younger sister Linda (Linda Manz) following an altercation at work. The trio end up in the Texas panhandle working as grain shockers for a wealthy farmer (Sam Shepard). To avoid gossip among the other hired hands, Bill and Abby pose as siblings, though rumors persist. When Bill learns that the Farmer is dying of an unknown disease, he convinces Abby to marry the Farmer so that they can inherit his fortune. From here we get a complicated love triangle, set against some of the most beautiful visuals ever committed to film.

Why It Matters: The NFR calls the film “an impressionist painting for the screen”, praising Néstor Almendros’ “sublime” cinematography and Ennio Morricone’s “elegiac” musical score.

But Does It Really?: This is another NFR entry I would partially preserve. That cinematography? Print out each frame and hang it in a museum. That score? Have it playing on a loop in the same museum. Everything else about this movie? It’s fine. Ultimately, “Days of Heaven” is remembered for specific elements that are so good they help make up for the less successful story beats, plus compared to Malick’s other NFR entry “Badlands”, “Days” is more in line with what we think of as a “Terrence Malick movie”. I understand the NFR induction of “Days of Heaven” (it is beloved and respected enough that its absence would be too conspicuous), but personally it’s not my thing.

Shout Outs: Abby, Linda, and the Farmer briefly watch a scene from Charlie Chaplin’s “The Immigrant”.

Title Track: The film’s working title was “Stay Hungry”, which co-producer Harold Schneider used for his 1976 bodybuilding movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The title “Days of Heaven” was taken from a Bible passage; something about the land being heaven on earth. Deuteronomy: Look it up.

Seriously, Oscars?: “Days of Heaven” received four Oscar nominations, winning one for Néstor Almendros’ cinematography. To date, this is the sole Oscar win for a Terrence Malick film. Even more surprising, Ennio Morricone’s nod for Original Score was his first Oscar nomination ever, and it would be another 28 years and four nominations before they finally gave him a lifetime achievement Oscar (he would also win a competitive Oscar for 2015’s “The Hateful Eight”).

Other notes 

  • When we last saw Terrence Malick on this blog, he had achieved critical success with “Badlands”. While on vacation in Cuba in 1975, Malick talked with Bert (brother of the aforementioned Harold) Schneider about possible story ideas for his next movie, which led to what would become “Days of Heaven”. Schneider was able to use his recent clout from “Hearts and Minds” to get this unorthodox project set up at Paramount.
  • Production took a full year from 1976 to 1977 in Alberta, Canada. Two weeks into shooting, Malick, unhappy with the results, threw the script out and began shooting as much footage as possible, hoping to fix everything in post, which took nearly two years!
  • The opening credits feature one of my favorite pieces of music: “Aquarium” from Camille Saint-Saëns’ “Carnival of the Animals”. I always associate it with this Criterion commercial, and therefore classic movies in general.
  • Richard Gere is giving a very different performance than his later work, but then again it’s a very different movie from his later work, too. Malick originally wanted John Travolta for Bill, but Travolta couldn’t make it work with his “Welcome Back, Kotter” schedule. “Days” was one of Gere’s first movies, though he filmed his breakout performances in “Looking for Mr. Goodbar” and “Bloodbrothers” during the “Days” lengthy post-production.
  • At first I thought that the Farmer’s house was the Benedict estate from “Giant”, but it turns out it was made specifically for this film by production designer Jack Fisk.
  • It’s time to praise the many beautiful compositions of Néstor Almendros. What helps make this movie’s cinematography stick out is the reliance on natural light, giving the film a more earthy, modern quality. It also helps that much of the film is shot during “magic hour”. Everything looks better with a sunset sky as your backdrop. Bonus shoutout to  Haskell Wexler, credited here as “additional photography”. Turns out Almendros had to leave production halfway through, and Wexler came in to complete the project, filming by his estimation more than half of the finished film. While Wexler was initially pissed about not receiving a co-cinematographer credit, he eventually came to accept that he was ultimately carrying out Almendros’ vision for the film rather than his own.
  • I always used to get this movie mixed up with “Heaven’s Gate”, Michael Cimino’s epic period piece from around the same time that killed the New Hollywood movement once and for all. There’s a little bit of overlap between the two movies (both are profiled in Peter Biskind’s “Easy Riders, Raging Bulls”) but watching “Days” made me see that they are very different films.
  • One of the ways Malick “fixed it in post” was scrapping most of the film’s dialogue and filling any gaps with improvised narration/commentary from Linda Manz as Bill’s little sister. I’m not quite sure it works, especially given her thick Chicagoan accent. 
  • On a related note, I appreciate the film’s spare usage of dialogue, but it means everything is conveyed through subtle glances and camera compositions. I had to stay on my toes during this viewing.
  • This is a good point to reiterate that the film is an original screenplay and not, as I assumed based on the film’s epic yet meandering tone, an adaptation from a novel. 
  • Much like Gere’s performance, it’s hard to judge Brooke Adams’ work because the movie she made during production is not the same movie that got released. But I think she’s doing okay as the object of everyone’s affection. Fun Fact; Brooke Adams is married to Tony Shalhoub!
  • The brother/sister thing is a weird plot point to have. Just…why? I guess the idea of two adults not being married was just too much for people in 1916.
  • The locust invasion is probably the film’s highlight, and contains the most repeated bit of trivia about this movie: The shot of the locusts flying out of the field was filmed by dropping peanut shells onto the field and then playing the footage in reverse. To everyone’s credit, I didn’t notice any of the trickery involved. Well done, Malick.
  • I love seeing which random people get mentioned in a movie’s Special Thanks section of the credits, and “Days of Heaven” has a doozy: Redd Foxx! Apparently a punchline from Foxx’s stand-up act is used in the film, which required Foxx’s permission. Definitely missed that.

Legacy 

  • “Days of Heaven” was released in September 1978, and while it didn’t make its money back, it went over okay with critics, who loved the cinematography, if not the story. In the ensuing decades, the film received a reevaluation from critics and historians, and its reception in recent years has been much more positive.
  • In addition to its Oscar win, “Days of Heaven” played at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival, where Terrence Malick won their Best Director prize, one of the rare Americans to do so.
  • Following “Days of Heaven”, Terrence Malick began work on his next film “Q”, which ultimately fell through. In the early ‘80s, Malick moved to Paris, and although he continued writing screenplays, none of them were produced. Malick spent nearly a decade trying to make a film adaptation of “The Thin Red Line”, which was finally released in 1998, a full 20 years after “Days of Heaven”.

#807) The Big Chill (1983)

#807) The Big Chill (1983)

OR “Grief Is the Word”

Directed by Lawrence Kasdan

Written by Kasdan and Barbara Benedek

Class of 2025

The Plot: 15 years after their college activist days, seven friends reunite for a weekend in South Carolina following the suicide of their colleague Alex. Sarah and Harold Cooper (Glenn Close and Kevin Kline) serve as hosts, the only two of the friend group to marry each other, though Sarah still feels guilty about her affair with Alex years earlier. Karen Bowens (JoBeth Williams) is unhappy with her somewhat square husband Richard (Don Galloway) and no-so-secretly pines for Sam Weber (Tom Berenger), who’s now a famous TV star. Meg Jones (Mary Kay Place) is determined to have a baby but can’t decide which of her male friends should be the father. Michael Gold (Jeff Goldblum) is trying to pursue Alex’s girlfriend Chloe (Meg Tilly), who is more attracted to Nick Carlton (William Hurt), a Vietnam vet and drug addict. It’s a long weekend as these Baby Boomers come to terms with what their lives have become…wait, this all sounds very familiar…

Why It Matters: The NFR praises the film’s ensemble, as well as its “humor, tenderness, honesty, and an iconic soundtrack”.

But Does It Really?: I’m okay with “The Big Chill” being on the NFR, but just okay. The film is iconic enough and well-remembered and beloved by Boomers, but a modern day viewing is just…fine. As much as I love everyone in this ensemble, I ultimately didn’t care about these characters. Making matters worse is fellow NFR entry “Return of the Secaucus Seven”, a movie that covers much of the same ground as “Big Chill”does, but three years earlier. We’ll get to the comparisons later on, but long story short: “Big Chill” earns its NFR standing on its reputation for its ensemble and its soundtrack, and while that’s more than enough to warrant NFR induction, that’s about as generous as I’m feeling right now.

Shout Outs: When Harold runs up to the attic to fight off a bat, he sings the “Raiders of the Lost Ark” theme. Nice touch, Lawrence.

Everybody Gets One: Barbara Benedek began her career as a sitcom writer before teaming up with Lawrence Kasdan to write “The Big Chill”. Benedek’s post – “Chill” screenwriting resume includes uncredited rewrites on “Pretty Woman” and the screenplay for the 1995 “Sabrina” remake. “The Big Chill” is also the NFR debut for a surprising number of its actors, including Glenn Close, Kevin Kline, and JoBeth Williams.

Title Track: Kasdan described the “big chill” as the departure from the warmth of youthful idealism towards the coldness of a more cynical adulthood. Although no one in the movie says the phrase “big chill”, this sentiment is discussed in so many words.

Seriously, Oscars?: “The Big Chill” received three major Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Original Screenplay, and Supporting Actress for Glenn Close. Unfortunately, “Chill” was left out cold, losing to, respectively, “Terms of Endearment”, “Tender Mercies”, and Linda Hunt in “The Year of Living Dangerously”. Coincidently, the 1984 Oscars were hosted by Johnny Carson, whose production company Carson Productions Group Ltd. produced “The Big Chill” as their first feature.

Other notes 

  • Let’s get the “Secaucus Seven” comparisons out of the way. While “Big Chill” is based on Lawrence Kasdan’s time at the University of Michigan, the movie is not without its similarities to “Secaucus”, also about a group of college friends reuniting years later and reassessing their beliefs and life choices. Having now seen both films, I feel like Pam in that “Office” meme: “They’re the same movie.” There is some pretty noticeable overlap between “Big Chill” and “Secaucus”, with a few differences preventing one from being a carbon copy of the other (to start with, the budget for “Big Chill” was literally 100 times more than “Secaucus”). The biggest difference is the thematic grief that permeates “Big Chill”, making it a seemingly more serious film than the more lighthearted reunion of “Secaucus”. While I was originally under the impression Kasdan was unfamiliar with “Secaucus” while working on “Big Chill”, it turns out he was; he and Benedek didn’t start writing the screenplay until five months after “Secaucus” was released (though Kasdan claims he had conceived the story years earlier). To “Secaucus” director John Sayles’ credit, he seems to hold no grudges against Kasdan, and is quick to point out the differences between the two movies.
  • On a related note, I bet the “Secaucus” gang could beat up the “Big Chill” gang in a rumble. They just seem like they fight dirtier.
  • How much of this movie’s budget went to the music? Seriously, this movie is wall-to-wall hits. They even got the Stones! Given how much of a downer the subject matter is, you need the uplifting soul of the early ‘60s to keep things moving.
  • If this movie were made today, this friend group would have all gone to college in the early 2010s and the film’s soundtrack would consist of Rihanna, Adele, Bruno Mars, and Lady Gaga. Oh Time, why are you so mean?
  • Everyone’s favorite bit of casting trivia: Alex’s body being prepped for the funeral is all that remains of a performance by a young, unknown Kevin Costner. We’ll get into what happened to his other scenes later on.
  • This movie has a great ensemble (almost all of them on the brink of greater fame), I just wish they got more to do than sit around and talk. This all being said, if you’re going to nominate one of these actors for an Oscar, Glenn Close is the right choice. I wouldn’t call Sarah the beating heart of the story, but she does quietly hold the movie together with her warmth. It’s crazy to think we’re only four years away from her stalking Michael Douglas and cooking a rabbit. Hey when is that making the NFR?
  • A few questions about Kevin Kline/Harold: Is he doing a South Carolinian accent or a watered-down Michigan accent? And when did he buy Forrest Gump’s house? And for the love of God will someone please get him a bigger pair of shorts?
  • Shoutout to Jeff Goldblum; “Big Chill” came out the same year as “The Right Stuff”, another Best Picture nominee and future NFR entry featuring Goldblum. This film shows us the very beginnings of what an unrestrained Jeff Goldblum performance could look like. Be afraid, be very afraid.
  • The problem with trying to talk about this movie is that there aren’t really scenes, just conversations. When I think back on “Big Chill”, it’s people sitting in chairs talking about life and stuff (and who within the friend group they’re trying to nail). I think that’s why people recall the soundtrack with such fondness, and why the “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” scene is the best remembered moment in the movie. Halfway through the proceedings, “Ain’t Too Proud” revives the sagging energy and allows our characters the freedom to finally cut loose after all their grieving. It’s a fun moment, I just wish it lasted longer. 
  • Let’s see, who haven’t I mentioned yet? Mary Kay Place is good, though admittedly she gets the weirdest subplot. I enjoyed JoBeth Williams, as well as her frequent scene partner Tom Berenger as a Tom Selleck-type (I guess any Tom will do. Thank you!) I even liked Karen’s boring husband, as appropriately bland as the mayo sandwich he’s eating. William Hurt’s character had a bit too much going on to do it all justice, but Hurt’s clearly relishing the challenge. Side note: Nick was written specifically for Hurt, having starred in Kasdan’s directorial debut “Body Heat” two years earlier. Meg Tilly does decent work as the group outlier, but doesn’t get much to do other than look cute and be creepily hit on by Goldblum’s character. Don’t worry Meg, the religious theatrics of “Agnes of God” aren’t too far away.
  • Shoutout to “It Came from Beneath the Sea”, the ‘50s monster movie the gang watches on TV at one point. I used to work by those piers being destroyed by that octopus.
  • If the film’s ending seems abrupt, that’s because it wasn’t the original ending. The initial plan was to end with a flashback to 1968 with everyone in college, including Kevin Costner as Alex. Ultimately, it was decided that after spending the whole movie talking about Alex, no performance could live up to audience expectations of the character, and the scene was understandably (and rightfully) cut. 

Legacy 

  • “The Big Chill” was released in September 1983, and was one of the big hits of the year, grossing $56 million on an $8 million budget. The accompanying soundtrack was also a hit, going certified Gold in less than three months and certified Double Platinum within two years of the film’s release.
  • Lawrence Kasdan’s next film was 1985’s “Silverado”, in which he cast Kevin Costner as an apology for cutting him out of “Big Chill”. “Silverado” ended up being a breakout performance for Costner, so technically we can draw a direct line from “Big Chill” all the way to “Yellowstone” and those “Horizon” movies Costner’s trying to make.

Listen to This: Three of the songs from this film’s iconic soundtrack are featured in the National Recording Registry: “My Girl” by The Temptations, “Tracks of My Tears” by The Miracles, and “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” by The Beach Boys. “Big Chill” artists Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Steve Miller Band, The Rolling Stones, and The Band are represented on the NRR with other songs.

The National Recording Registry Class of 2026

I was starting to get worried that we weren’t going to hear from the National Recording Registry, but much like its sister Film Registry, better late than never. Here is the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry picks for 2026. In chronological order:

  • “Cocktails for Two” – Spike Jones and His City Slickers (1944) (single)
  • “Mambo No. 5” – Pérez Prado and His Orchestra (1950) (single)
  • “Teardrops from My Eyes” – Ruth Brown (1950) (single)
  • “Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)” – Kaye Ballard (1954) (single)
  • “Put Your Head On My Shoulder” – Paul Anka (1959) (single)
  • “The Blues and the Abstract Truth” – Oliver Nelson (1961) (album)
  • “Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music” – Ray Charles (1962) (album)
  • “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)” – The Byrds (1965) (single)
  • “Amen, Brother” – The Winstons (1969) (single)
  • “Feliz Navidad” – José Feliciano (1970) (single)
  • “The Fight of the Century: Ali vs. Frazier” (March 8, 1971) (broadcast)
  • “Midnight Train to Georgia” – Gladys Knight and the Pips (1973) (single)
  • “Chicago” Original Cast Album (1975) (album)
  • “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” – The Charlie Daniels Band (1979) (single)
  • “Beauty and the Beat” – The Go-Go’s (1981) (album)
  • “Texas Flood” – Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (1983) (album)
  • “I Feel For You” – Chaka Khan (1984) (single)
  • “Your Love” – Jamie Principle (1986) / Jamie Principle/Frankie Knuckles (1987) (singles)
  • “Rumor Has It” – Reba McEntire (1990) (album)
  • “The Wheel” – Rosanne Cash (1993) (album)
  • “Doom” Soundtrack – Bobby Prince, composer (1993)
  • “Go Rest High On That Mountain” – Vince Gill (1994) (single)
  • “Weezer (The Blue Album)” – Weezer (1994) (album)
  • “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” – Beyoncé (2008) (single)
  • “1989” – Taylor Swift (2014) (album)

Other notes

  • As always, the LoC has included a playlist of all these songs for wherever you listen to music.
  • Much like his recent NFR picks, Acting Librarian of Congress Robert R. Newlen has picked 25 diverse, safe choices. Nothing too controversial, just 25 picks from artists we can pretty much all agree are historically significant and worthy of inclusion. Newlen also continues the recent NRR preference of songs and albums over other types of recordings (“The Fight of the Century” is the only one of the 25 that isn’t a musical recording).
  • “Put Your Head on My Shoulder”, “Feliz Navidad”, “Midnight Train to Georgia” and “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” make my list of “Weren’t those already on the Registry?” songs. Also, we got two “Georgia” songs this year, plus a Ray Charles album, but not his cover of “Georgia on My Mind”. That’s a pretty major oversight if you ask me.
  • Like “Fortunate Son” and “Somebody to Love”, it’s not a movie set in the ‘60s until you hear The Byrds’ “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)”.
  • I didn’t realize there was a “Mambo No. 5” before Lou Bega. According to the NRR press release, Bega sampled the original Prado version for his “Mambo No. 5”. Sadly, the original “Mambo” does not highlight the significant contributions of Monica, Erica, Rita, Tina, Sandra, Mary, Jessica, and most importantly, you.
  • Speaking of covers, I had no idea that “Fly Me to the Moon” was a Kaye Ballard song first. Even more suprising, the Sinatra version wasn’t released until a full decade later in 1964!
  • The inclusion of Spike Jones and HIs Orchestra reminds me; when is Weird Al gonna make this list? Surely there’s room on the Registry for “Eat It”.
  • Very disappointed to learn that the “Ali vs. Frazier” fight is not, I repeat, NOT, the fight where Howard Cosell announces “Down goes Frazi-ah! Down goes Frazi-ah!” That was two years later when Joe Frazier was defeated by George Foreman. (For the record: Frazier beat Ali in “the Fight of the Century”.)
  • I always appreciate when the NRR finds room for an original Broadway cast recording, though “Chicago” is an interesting choice. If you’re going to pick a Kander & Ebb musical, why not their first breakthrough “Cabaret”? Regardless, it’s nice to see Barney Martin, aka Morty Seinfeld, now represented on both National Registries. 
  • Weezer’s debut album includes “Buddy Holly”, which has a music video that is unironically my favorite episode of “Happy Days”.
  • Last but definitely not least, the NRR’s major headline inductees this year are Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. Given their massive popularity I’m surprised we’re only now getting to their NRR induction. I’ve got nothing for or against either of them (though Beyoncé gets points for being Foxxy Cleopatra), so I’ll just shrug my shoulders, nod in agreement, and move on before my indifference incurs the wrath of either of their fanbases.

As always, you can nominate recordings for consideration for next year’s induction right now! You have until October 1st, 2026, but as with the Film Registry, I recommend nominating early so that the Powers That Be know how popular both registries are with the public and renew their respective preservation acts. 

Happy Listening,

Tony

#806) Sparrows (1926)

#806) Sparrows (1926)

OR “Children of the Swamp”

Directed by William Beaudine

Written by Winifred Dunn (story), C. Gardner Sullivan (adaptation), and George Marion Jr. (titles)

Class of 2025

The Plot: Molly (Mary Pickford) is one of several orphan children living on a baby farm and forced to do labor for Mr. Grimes (Gustav von Seyffertitz). The children are unable to escape due to the farm being surrounded by a bottomless swamp, itself surrounded by a creek infested with alligators. One day Mr. Grimes purchases another baby for the farm, who unbeknownst to him is the daughter of a rich man named Dennis Wayne (Roy Stewart), who calls the police to organize a manhunt for the kidnappers. Once Grimes learns who the baby is, he plans to kill her and Molly, which prompts Molly and the children to finally attempt an escape. There’s a lot more to unpack in one of Mary Pickford’s final outings as “Queen of the Movies”.

Why It Matters: The NFR write-up is mainly a shoutout to Mary Pickford and her role as a “key founder in the creation of the American film industry”. There’s also a detailed plot synopsis, and a shoutout to the film’s cinematography “akin to German Expressionist cinema”.

But Does It Really?: “Sparrows” gives us two NFR favorites of the silent era: Mary Pickford and child labor. While the subject matter can be hard to swallow at times, I found the film to be an effective melodrama. I haven’t cared for Pickford’s other vehicles on the NFR, but I’ll admit to caring about Molly and the children as they try to escape their plight. “Sparrows” is far from an essential American film, but it carves out just enough of a niche spot for itself that I can’t begrudge its NFR standing.

Wow, That’s Dated: As mentioned in the film’s opening text, baby farms were where children were left by their mothers (typically unwed or deserted) to be sold for slave labor. While there were several instances of these farms in the United States, it was primarily an issue in the United Kingdom (the term “Dickensian” gets thrown around a lot to describe baby farms, and that’s not far off: Oliver Twist briefly lives on a baby farm in his eponymous novel). Britain had already been cracking down on baby farms for decades by the time “Sparrows” was released, and news of baby farms in the U.S. were still making headlines in 1925. Obviously there’s a lot more to say about baby farms, but that’s as much research as I’m willing to stomach right now.

Title Track: “Sparrows” began production under the title “Scraps”, changing its name to “The Baby Farm” mid-production. The title “Sparrows” came during the film’s re-shoots, and is a reference to Matthew 10:29: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.” This passage is alluded to in the movie when Molly explains to the children that God hasn’t helped them yet because he’s too busy “watchin’ every sparrow that falls”.

Other notes 

  • The version I watched was the 2020 restored print courtesy of the Library of Congress. It’s all connected, people. There is an opening text giving historical context for baby farms (which I appreciated), and a minor spoiler for the ending (which I did not).
  • When I saw director William Beaudine’s name in the credits, I knew it sounded familiar and figured he had directed one of the many other silent films on the Registry. While he does have one more movie in the NFR, it’s the 1945 sex-ed exploitation film “Mom and Dad”. Didn’t see that coming.
  • It took me a minute to realize that 33-year-old Mary Pickford is playing one of the orphans. Unsurprisingly, this is the final Pickford film in which she played a child. It’s also worth noting that Pickford’s height was somewhere in the 4’10” to 5’0” range, which helps sell the illusion that she is a child. In some scenes Pickford is literally eye to eye with her child co-stars.
  • Oof, they really layer it on thick with Mr. Grimes. Aside from von Seyfferititz’s striking German features, Grimes walks with a limp (as all evil character do in the 1920s). And in our introduction to him, he squishes one of the children’s dolls and throws it into the swamp. Come on, give me more; he’s not evil enough.
  • Grimes’ annoying son Ambrose is played by Walter “Spec” O’Donnell. I remember him as Max Davidson’s son in the NFR short “Pass the Gravy”, but really I remember that face. You don’t forget a face with that many freckles. Dear god, so many freckles.
  • The first really sad moment in the movie comes when Splutters, the kid with the stutter, is sold to a visiting farmer. As he is loaded into the farmer’s truck, the other children (hiding in the barn) wave goodbye to Splutters by sticking their hands out through the slits in the barn. I was not expecting this movie to get me like that.
  • The new baby, Doris Wayne, is played by the aggressively cute Mary Louise Miller. Seriously, she is the cutest. She’s like a proto-Shirley Temple with her adorable curly-top. You immediately hope that she and the other children will escape this misery. 
  • I was not expecting Jesus to make an appearance in this film, but here he is in what is undoubtedly his saddest NFR appearance. It’s a real downer, but this moves him up to six NFR films, which I believe is the record for film portrayals within the NFR. Take that, Lincoln!
  • As Molly and the children trudge across the swamp and a creek filled with alligators, this is a good time to mention Mary Pickford’s safety concerns for her child actors, going to great lengths to ensure they were all comfortable and taken care of during the shoot. Pickford often told a story of how director William Beaudine insisted that she carry a real baby (rather than a life-size doll) past the alligators. This was debunked by Hal Mohr, one of the film’s cinematographers, who stated, “There wasn’t an alligator within ten miles of Miss Pickford! Do people think we were crazy?”, and explained how those shots were achieved optically. What we do know is that Pickford and Beaudine clashed on the set, and Beaudine walked off the picture mid-production, leaving A.D. Tom McNamara to finish the shoot.
  • The escape from the baby farm is appropriately tense, to the point where I didn’t appreciate the weird moments of comic relief interspersed throughout. I get why they’re there, but now is not the time for pants humor!
  • This movie throws a lot at you in its third act, but I was not expecting there to be a boat chase. Shoutout to the effects team; nice model work with the boats. It’s primitive by today’s standards, but it works.
  • My one question once the bad guys are captured: Shouldn’t this be over? We get another 10 minutes of Molly and Dennis talking about what’s best for baby Doris, and it just feels like a lot of treading water. Oh well, at least we get a happy ending. 

Legacy 

  • “Sparrows” was released in spring 1926 as a double feature with fellow NFR entry “The Black Pirate” starring Pickford’s then-husband Douglas Fairbanks. The film received positive reviews, even if critics were starting to grow tired of the Mary Pickford formula.
  • According to the opening text of the 2020 restored print, “Sparrows” “helped to increase pressure to pass child welfare laws and restrict private adoptions.” I couldn’t find any specific laws that I could attribute to “Sparrows” (admittedly I was hoping a “Sparrows Act” would fall into my research lap), but the film came out when an alarming number of states were rejecting the Child Labor Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (which, as of this writing, is still pending over 100 years later). Montana finally accepted the amendment in 1927, but that’s about it in terms of action taken in the immediate aftermath of “Sparrows”.
  • “Sparrows” was Mary Pickford’s second-to-last silent film, followed by “My Best Girl” in 1927. Pickford was one of the biggest casualties in the transition from silent film to talkies, quickly retiring from acting after a few unsuccessful forays into sound. Although Pickford stayed out of the limelight, she still produced a number of films and stayed involved with United Artists (which she co-founded in 1919) until the mid-1950s when she sold her shares and went into retirement. Mary Pickford died in 1979 at age 87.