SPARROWS

Part film noir, part melodrama, original mix of Dickens and Poe, William Beaudine’s masterpiece stands out for the accuracy of its performers, its gothic settings and its suspenseful, emotionally rich narrative. Inspired by the phenomenon of private ‘asylums’ for the children of prostitutes or unmarried girls, which in fact concealed infamous criminal activities in parts of the United States during the 1920s, ‘Sparrows’ dramatises the difficulties of growing up amidst abuse, misdeeds and betrayal.

The ‘sparrows’, to whom the title refers, are the ones who care for these children and try to save them from this fate. The greatest of these is Mama Molly, played by a candid, thirty-three year old Mary Pickford, who managed to play the role of a teenager with effective enthusiasm.