Tess of the Storm Country (1922)

Director:

John S. Robertson

Writers:

Grace Miller White (novel)
Elmer Harris (adaptation)
(more)

Release Date:

12 November 1922 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Wealthy Elias Graves builds his home on the top of a hill, where a group of squatters have taken up residence at the bottom...

Plot Keywords:

Squatter | Murder | Trial | Brother Sister Relationship | Church

Cast

Mary Pickford	...	Tessibel 'Tess' Skinner
Lloyd Hughes	...	Frederick Graves
Gloria Hope	...	Teola Graves
David Torrence	...	Elias Graves
Forrest Robinson	...	Orn 'Daddy' Skinner
Jean Hersholt	...	Ben Letts
Danny Hoy	...	Ezra Longman
Robert Russell	...	Mr. Daniel 'Dan' Jordan
Gus Saville	...	Old Man Longman
Madame De Bodamere	...	Mrs. Longman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Milton Berle	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Jeanne Carpenter	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
John S. Robertson		(as John Robertson)

Writing credits
Grace Miller White		(novel)
Elmer Harris		(adaptation)
E. Lloyd Sheldon		(scenario) and
Josephine Lovett		(scenario)

Produced by
Mary Pickford	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Jeffrey Silverman		(1998) (as Jeffrey Mark Silverman)

Cinematography by
Charles Rosher

Art Direction by
Frank Ormston		(uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Shaw Lovett	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Paul Eagler	....	trick photographer (uncredited)

Other crew
Adolph Zukor	....	by arrangement with

Production Companies

• Mary Pickford Company

Distributors

• United Artists (1922) (USA) (theatrical)
• Milestone Film & Video (USA) (DVD)
• Milestone Film & Video (USA) (VHS)

Runtime:

USA:118 min (1998 alternate version) | USA:137 min (18.7 fps)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Mary Pickford Company

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Les portes tournantes (1988)

Good Melodrama & A Showcase For Pickford

Besides being a good melodrama with some fine moments, the role of Tess offers Mary Pickford quite a showcase, providing some good comic moments, a number of moving scenes, and some tense confrontations. You can see why it was not only one of her most popular roles, but also one of her own favorites. The story is quite involved and sometimes thought-provoking, although there is more than one occasion when it sacrifices believability for cinematic effect.

At the beginning it introduces an interesting assortment of characters, and sets up the conflicts to come between the family of rich, mean-spirited Elias Graves and the poor squatters (including Tess), whom Graves is devoted to driving out. The tumultuous events that follow test their loyalties and perspectives. It does have more implausible or coincidence-laden developments than do most of Pickford's movies, but if you can suspend disbelief on those occasions, it's an entertaining story that makes you care about the characters. It's also quite a bit longer than most of Pickford's features, but that is primarily because there is so much going on; there aren't too many slow spots. In its time it was one of her signature roles, and it's still well worth watching.