Since film began, stars have struggled with typecasting and taken measures to change their image. Mary Pickford, one of the first film stars, was beloved as The Girl with the Golden Curls and America's Sweetheart, her Canadian birth notwithstanding. Rosita was a step in Pickford's efforts to be more risqué, culminating with her alliance with up-and-coming filmmaker Ernst Lubitsch. Rosita showcases Pickford's skills as a silent film actress and worth watching for that alone.
The randy King of Spain (Holbrook Blinn) is no stranger to decadence and debauchery. However, the good citizens of Seville seem to outdo their merry monarch in the libertine lifestyle. Either shamed into taking action or himself being shocked at how Seville is licentious, His Majesty sneaks into town to investigate things himself.
There, he spots the beautiful and popular street singer Rosita (Pickford). She is pretty and slightly risqué, but it is her anti-King song that gets her into hot water. His Majesty finds her very pretty, but his troops will not allow this act of lese-majeste to take place. As he is incognito, the King cannot stop his troops from arresting her or Don Diego (George Walsh), the army captain who defends Rosita.
She and Don Diego fall quickly in love, even if she has no idea who he is. The King, seeing an opening for a new seduction, using all his powers to get Rosita to submit. Perhaps in jest, perhaps in cruelty, the King has Rosita and Don Diego marry, albeit blindfolded to stop one from knowing who the other's spouse is. The King will also have Don Diego executed. Will Rosita and Don Diego truly reunite? Will the Queen (Irene Rich) find herself playing a hand in the torrid love lives of our group?
Rosita, from what I understand, was an effort by Mary Pickford to expand both herself artistically and work with the very best people around. Pickford was best known at the time for playing literal children, to where she was thought of in almost childlike terms rather than the shrewd businesswoman who was one of the founders of United Artists. Rosita therefore was a chance for Pickford to be more adult, almost alluring. It therefore is a mystery as to why Pickford decided against preserving Rosita when she was meticulous about preserving her filmography.
It is impossible to decide why Pickford opted to have Rosita fade away given how good she is in the film. Perhaps she had so embedded herself as "America's Sweetheart" that something as risqué, even in a somewhat tame manner as Rosita, was too much for her. History, however, decided to spare Rosita from being a lost film, which is a good thing in that the film is a showcase for both Pickford and Lubitsch.
Mary Pickford is quite strong as our street urchin. She is still the plucky figure that audiences had grown to love. However, Pickford showed a fun and flirtatious side to herself, wryly amusing and amused at how she can make the King frustrated. She, however, could handle the dramatic parts too. Late in the film, Rosita clearly wants to assassinate His Majesty for sending Don Diego to be executed. You can see in Pickford's eyes that desire for murder, making for a genuinely tense moment.
Lubitsch for his part created a world of delightful decadence in Rosita. He was able to get his actors to play the parts well, even if Walsh's Don Diego had that silent overacting for which silent films are usually mocked for. Lubitsch used some surprisingly advanced techniques in Rosita, such as shots of people spying on others with mirrors and flashes of color during the Carnival sections of the film.
Rosita has at least one flaw that was driving me a bit bonkers. The constant "will he or won't he kill Don Diego" was getting on my nerves. To my mind, you can pull the rug from the audience only so many times before it becomes repetitive and irritating. That is curious given that Rosita is only 90 minutes long. However, because it seemed that poor Don Diego kept getting dragged in and out of executions that I soon found myself wondering if we were ever going to settle things one way or another.
It should not have been a surprise to see how things went, as Rosita is supposed to be something of a romantic comedy. Exceptionally well-acted by Mary Pickford, ably directed by Ernst Lubitsch, Rosita is a strong film that works on almost every level.
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