Product Description

America's sweetheart, Mary Pickford, in a powerful story of survival. In this all-fired melodrama, wealthy Elias Graves builds a house on a hill and tries unsuccessfully to evict the squatters who live in the valley below. Tess (Pickford) leads the squatters' struggle for survival and wins the sympathy and love of Graves's son, Frederick. This 1922 remake of Pickford's 1914 version of the same story demonstrates the remarkable growth of Pickford as an actress, producer and filmmaker--and of cinema itself.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #46664 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-12-14
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, DVD, Silent, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 118 minutes

Amazon.com
Tess of the Storm Country might be seen as the archetypal Mary Pickford film. Pickford plays Tessibel Skinner, a dirt-poor fisherman's daughter living with a community of squatters in ramshackle huts by the water's edge. Tess was reportedly one of Pickford's favorite roles (both in this 1922 version and in an earlier one, shot in 1914), and it shows. She brings a sparkling energy to her performance. Dressed in rags, her hair a frazzled mop, she creates an indelible character. ("The more ragged and dirty I look, the better I can play," declared Pickford in a 1914 Photoplay Magazine interview.)

Every man in squatter town has eyes for the beautiful, fearless Tess, from brutish Ben Letts (Jean Hersholt) to pathetic Ezra Longman (Danny Hoy). But Tess's heart belongs to her sweet daddy (Forrest Robinson). High on a hill above these indigent folk dwells the wealthy Graves family. Father Elias (David Torrence) considers the squatters a stench in his nostrils and tries to evict them; son Frederick (Lloyd Hughes) sympathizes with them and falls in love with Tess; daughter Teola (Gloria Hope) finds her life becoming inextricably bound with Tess's, in ways neither girl could have imagined.

Like so many films in which Mary Pickford appears, Tess of the Storm Country pits rich against poor. In the microcosm of this movie, the rich are steeped in moral turpitude; it takes poor, pure-hearted Tess to, in the words of a chastened Elias Graves, teach them the true "meaning of Christianity." This densely plotted picture also takes on such weighty themes as murder, perjury, out-of-wedlock pregnancy, suicide, and attempted rape. A rousing melodrama, the film draws the viewer right in and doesn't let go until its riveting climax. --Laura Mirsky

Customer Reviews

Pickford's Best!
This 1922 remake of the 1914 version is far superior, and my favourite Pickford. Mary moves effortlessly from mischief, to humour, to eye watering scenes and shows why she was perhaps the greatest star of the silent era. The cinematography is fabulous, as is the orchestral score. A must have DVD

Marvelous Mary Pickford, A MUST
There is little doubt as to Mary Pickford's brilliance. As a silent screen star she was not the most beautiful nor the MOST dramatic, but she was by far one of the most marvelous stars on the silent screen. With expressions and mannerisms so refined and masterful and ability that far exceeded many of those around her she made any role a GREAT one.

"Tess of the Storm Country" is a masterful film. It really does show Mary Pickford at "top form" her acting is superb and her performance clearly does her justice. The film quality is not as good as some of her other roles that have been transposed to DVD but if you love Mary you MUST watch this movie.

Mary Pickford plays "Tess" a fisherman's daughter who lives in a shanty town just below the "hill toppers" a rich family whose patriarch despises his low brow "neighbors". With manipulation and cruelty he will do anything, even use his daughters would be fiancee to get rid of the shanty people to give him an "unrestricted" view of the water. Mary Pickford plays Tess with vitality, warmpth, and a certain rough neck edge that will have you laughing and crying at the same time. Tess eventually catches the eye and the heart of a rich young man, who... oh no happens to be the "hill toppers" college bound son. With classic twists and many developments "Tess of the Storm Country" will captivate you. Be aware that this movie has a heavy Christian theme and is quite "heavy handed" when doling out its doses of morality. There is little doubt as to the good vs. evil in this film and the ideal of sinners and repenters. However, "Tess of the Storm Country" is a certain MUST for all Pickford fans.

fine Mary Pickford vehicle
Mary Pickford stars in one of her greatest films ever, Tess Of the Storm Country. The plot moves along at a good pace even though the movie is two hours long; and the convincing acting impressed me every step of the way.

When the movie begins, we see the wealthy Elias Graves (David Torrence) who is aggravated, to say the least, by the poor squatters living on the shore of his land. One squatter who is particularly colorful is Tess Skinner (Mary Pickford), who loves her father who fishes in the sea. When Elias Graves cannot evict Tess and the rest of the squatters he tries to catch them breaking the law by fishing on the shore. Along the way we also meet Elias's daughter Teola (Gloria Hope) who plays a woman who is pregnant with her boyfriend Daniel 'Dan' Jordan's (Robert Russell) child. Just as Teola and Dan are about to be married, one of the squatters, Ben Letts (Jean Hersholt) kills Dan Jordan and frames Tess's father (Forrest Robinson) for the murder of Dan Jordan.

Well, suffice it to say that the plot gets fairly complicated; there are several subplots along the way. There is the issue of Teola's baby born out of wedlock; we see an innocent man framed for murder; and we see the tug of war between the squatters and Elias Graves. When Elias's son Frederick (Lloyd Hughes) falls in love with Tess, things get only more complicated when Tess eventually returns his love.

Despite it all, however, the movie never gets too hard to follow; and many topics are dealt with in very different ways than they would be today. For example, we see a slender Teola who is supposedly nine months pregnant flinging herself into the river rather than be caught bearing a child without a father. They didn't even show Teola with a pillow under her blouse to make it seem she was pregnant! My, those were different times.

But more than anything else, this is a strong Mary Pickford vehicle. We see Mary as Tess playing with Teola's baby, fighting physically against Ben Letts when he tries to molest her, and we see Tess sweeping the house to make it clean as she prays for her father to return from being in jail for a crime he didn't commit. Mary shines throughout this fine picture!

The DVD doesn't come with much in the way of extras; we get a scene selection feature and there is a filmography for Mary Pickford. I wish the print had been clearer, especially in the first 30 minutes or so of the film; but this is an old film and it's quite a good one at that so I can forgive it.

Overall, Tess Of The Storm Country is a fine Mary Pickford vehicle that also deals with many social issues of the day with grace and well crafted artistry. I highly recommend this film for Mary Pickford fans; and people who enjoy high quality silent films should be pleased as well.

Great job, everyone! Thank you, Mary Pickford--we will never forget you!