The Delicious Little Devil

Trailer—The Delicious Little Devil

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Even in her day, Mae Murray tended to garner love or hate reactions. I find her face scrunching and hopping about as exhausting as any Jim Carrey comedy-- a little goes a long way. Here, she does her best Mary Pickford impression and I was less than charmed. The story is very slight. It's a farce about a good girl who pretends to be a European courtesan to score a job. She catches the eye of a wealthy young Irish lad played by a pre-stardom Rudolph Valentino, who looks like a living corpse in that awful pancake make-up intended to hide his olive complexion. All the role calls him to do is smile or sulk on command-- it might actually be the least interesting of his pre-stardom roles. (Say what you will about the belly flopping, blackmailing "count" he played in the hilariously bad THE MARRIED VIRGIN, at least he and that movie were entertaining.) A disapproving dad and a lecherous count complicate the central love story. Like I said, your level of enjoyment will vary depending upon how much you like Mae Murray. I was sporadically amused, but if you want a better Murray movie, go for THE MERRY WIDOW and if you want a(n intentionally) funny pre-stardom Valentino, watch ALL NIGHT.

It took a murder to have one of the most popular film stars in cinematic history kick start his way into the entertainment business. The eventual movie star 'The Great Latin Lover,' Rudolph Valentino, who was escaping a sordid affair with a rich heiress, joined a musical touring company. He used his experience as a taxi dancer, one who gets paid to dance with customers, to become a stage performer. In 1917 a friend persuaded him to be in movies because of his good looks, charm and physical agility. One of his earliest films where he had a major role was with Mae Murray in May 1919's Universal Pictures' comedy "The Delicious Little Devil." An immigrant from Italy at 18, Valentino in 1914 stayed in New York City to become a paid dancer at Maxim's Restaurant-Cabaret. There, he befriended Chilean heiress Blanca de Saulles, who was in an unhappy marriage. After the divorce and a bitter custody dispute, she killed her ex. Valentino, not wanting to get involved in the scandal, left town and joined an Al Jolson musical production that brought him to California. Operating a dance studio, Valentino was recommended by a friend to get into movies. He took up the suggestion in 1917, becoming first an extra, then eventually a minor role character, usually a villain, because of his dark looks. In "The Delicious Little Devil," he plays a son of a wealthy contractor who falls in love with cabaret performer Murray, impersonating herself as an exotic famous dancer escaping a scandal overseas. Things unravel when the Duke discovers Murray, who looks like his estranged lover, placing Valentino in a rival-lover's role. "The Delicious Little Devil" is one of the few existing films for the talented Mae Murray. As a major star for Universal Pictures, her films proved highly popular with the public and were financial hits. Her career peaked in the early 1920's, where she was labeled as a Mary Pickford-type of actress in looks and mannerisms. Murray was one of the many silent movie stars who failed to make the transition to sound in the early 1930's. As for Valentino, his stardom didn't really take off for another two years, when he appeared in a major role in 1921's "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." His life would change forevermore.

Mae Murray (as Mary McGuire) works as a coat and cloak check girl; when she dons one of the customers garments and dances around in it, she is fired. Ms. Murray decides to apply for a job as hostess and dancer at the "Peach Tree Inn" managed by William Mong (as Larry McKean). In order to clinch the job, Murray pretends to be infamous dancer Gloria De Moin. Murray is also the only dancer available to hire, as all of the other applicants walk out. Randy Rudolph Valentino (as Jimmy Calhoun) is a "Peach Tree Inn" patron who becomes enamored with Murray - he wants to marry her, but his wealthy father is wary. Meanwhile, Bertram Grassby (as Duke de Sauterne) returns to complicate matters; he was involved with the real Gloria De Moin, and is on the lam from the law Handsome Valentino and smarmy Grassby are the highlight of the film, which picks up considerably whenever the two strut their stuff over Murray. Otherwise, the story is uninteresting, and the comedy doesn't work. Unfortunately, the film is "speeded up" - possibly, this is done to enhance its comedy effect; instead, it can make you dizzy, or put you to sleep. "The Delicious Little Devil" is not the place start, if you want to appreciate silent films fully. ***** The Delicious Little Devil (4/13/19) Robert Z. Leonard ~ Mae Murray, Rudolph Valentino, Bertram Grassby

Always enjoy looking back at the past and how people enjoyed their favorite screen stars and the way you had to read lines through out an entire film. Mae Murray, (Mary McGuire) plays the role of a poor girl who has relatives who are very lazy and have big desires for food and she decides she wants to get a job as a dancer in a night club and assumes the name of a famous European dancer and goes on to make a very successful career. Mary meets up with Jimmy Calhoun, (Rudolph Valentino) in the night club she dances in and finds out he is the son of a very rich business man who does not like his son getting involved with a dancer and does everything he can to investigate this young woman. All these actors had a great magic in their expressions on the screen and their eyes all tell a story without any talking. Great look back at the past and great actors.

Delicious Little Devil, The (1919) ** (out of 4) This film was lost until a print was found in 1991 but it doesn't do much outside of that little fact. A poor girl (Mae Murray) loses her job but decides to take on the identity of a mistress to a world famous Duke so that she can get a job as a dancer in a roadhouse. She soon becomes a hit and falls for the son of a millionaire (Rudolph Valentino) but his father isn't too fond of the romance. This comedy has very few laughs, although it remains interesting throughout. Thankfully the film only runs 55-minutes and it moves by pretty quickly. Valentino only has a supporting role but he does a fine job even though I still don't see the reasons behind his big sex appeal. This is the first film I've seen Murray in and I enjoyed her enough to search out more of her films. She brings forth a very innocent appeal and although I didn't find her sexy she did have some sort of strange sexuality, which come off very well.

Mary McGuire works as a hat-check girl, but she is canned when her boss sees her dancing with a customer's coat. Mary sees an ad for a hostess/dancer at the Peach Tree Inn, and applies for the job. She convinces the manager she is really Gloria Du Moine, a famous dancer who has been involved in scandal with the Duke de Sauterne. At the Inn, she meets Jimmie Calhoun, son of a rich Wall Street bigwig. Jimmie's father thinks Mary is a gold-digger, and sets out to prove it. Meanwhile, the Duke shows up and Mary finds herself in a mess. Will true love win out? This is a fun film, smartly directed and acted, and moves along at a great pace. Murray is a terrific physical comedienne, and Valentino (looking like he is barely out of high school) shows a good flair for comedy. The supporting cast is quite good, and the conclusion is hilarious. While there are no belly laughs, this is a pleasant film and a good way to kill an hour.

I caught this 88 year old movie on TCM the other evening. Interestimg. Mae Murray, as others have said, plays a Mary Pickford dancing girl, and we have a glimpse into Rudolph Valentino playing a suave man smitten with her. Such a extremely dated film, and so fast..meaning everything looks like it is in full speed. Everyone is always running here and there,running all around, no one seems to stand still. And such a short movie, less than 60 minutes. In any case, it is a rare glimpse into movie making of so very, very, VERY long ago. Great to see these long gone stars of the so silent days of Hollywood. Silent film buffs and those familiar with the actors in this movie will have a treat; I am not so sure it will appeal to the hi tech generation of 2007.