Silent Film Sources - Reviews

Produced under the personal direction of D.W. Griffith. Copyright 1925 by D.W. Griffith, Inc. Passed by the National Board of Review. 

Cast: Carol Dempster, W.C. Fields, Alfred Lunt, 
Effie Shannon, Erville Alderson, Glenn Anders, Charles Hammond, Roy Applegate. 
 
 

Griffith made few comedies, and comic relief was often the weakest element of his dramas. He was obviously not comfortable staging the gag sequences in Sally, but they still effective. There is a nice fight scene where the chumps try to recover their losses from Fields and Dempster pitches in to save him. Later Dempster innocently fires up a bread oven that contains a sleeping W.C. Fields, and the inevitable race-to-the-rescue when Fields steals a car to reach the courthouse where Dempster is on trial. A few bits in questionable taste (including when Fields mistakes the spray from an unseen watering can as coming from a nearby dog) are funny situations, though Griffith does not build the comedy, he just lets it happen. 

In his later films, Fields was the focus, and the 'girl' was just an ingenue, included for plot motivation. However, the focus of Sally is Carol Dempster. After so many roles in dramas, she finally gets a Constance Talmadge part and makes the most of it. She and Fields play off each other well. Dempster displays a fine comic sense, and Griffith shows off her as impish, perky, and playful, with close-ups that emphasize her large, expressive eyes. She even gets an opportunity to dance. Dempster works hard to be appealing, and is in full control, giving a fine, textured, and very physical performance. Her character is somewhat awkward (she is playing an adolescent), and she often seems bird-like in her movement against Fields and bland romantic lead Alfred Lunt. 

While predictable, the story is never less than enjoyable, and the plot takes a few unexpected side trips, as Griffith adds sequences not in the play. As with most of Dempster's films for Griffith, the romantic leads are more apart than together, and Dempster is mostly seen with the older man and protector (in this case, Fields). It was no secret that Griffith was involved in a relationship with Dempster, and the plot of Sally sends the love interest out of the way for the last third of the film. Even in the final scene of the picture, she is in the front seat of a car with Fields; her fiancé is sitting in the seat behind. 

The oddest element of the film is that Sally of the Sawdust has the worst continuity of any major studio release I have ever seen. This goes beyond lack of care in the editing, as events are repeated in consecutive shots (a car stops in a long shot and again in the subsequent medium shot), and shots are pulled out of context (we see a rake stoking the fire under Fields in the bread oven, when the surrounding shots have established that no one is in the room). Still, this is a welcome trade-off to be spared Griffith's habit of close-ups that don't match the rest of the action. Sally of the Sawdust is an excellent presentation of one of Griffith's least typical films. The image quality of this release is excellent. It is generally very sharp and clean, with a light sepia tint. The piano score by Philip Carli, adapted from the original 1925 cue sheets, captures the mood of the characters and keeps the playful mood of the film. (Review © 1997 David Pierce)