In this 1914 version of the story
Tess of the Storm Country, Mary
Pickford plays Tessibel “Tess” Skinner. Tess and her father live on a piece of
land near a body water as squatters. They are poor but peaceful making a meager
living net fishing. The wealthy land owner who’s land they squat on wants all
the squatters to leave. Tess, through a local lawyer, finds out about squatters’
rights and they can all stay. The wealthy land owner, Elias Graves, is not
happy about this. To get back at the squatters he has some environmental people
come around and ban net fishing.
Elias
has a son named Frederick who studies at a theological school. They take a walk
down by where the squatters are settled and there they meet Tess. Frederick
likes Tess and she likes him. He comes back occasionally to see her when he his
home from school.
Another
squatter is murdered and the blame is falsely placed on Tess’s father. She
tries to prove he is a good man and a good father but that does not swing the
jury who accuse him of the murder and send him to hang. After the sentencing
Frederick comes around more to be with Tess. He feels awful about what happened
to her father.
Sometime
later Frederick learns that Dan has been killed. In grief Frederick goes away
for a while to get his mind off of his loss. Frederick has a sister named
Teola. Teola had been in love with Dan and finds out that she is pregnant with
his child out of wedlock. Teola likes and trusts Tess and stays with her until
her baby is born. The baby stays with Tess since Teola’s family cannot know
about what has happened.
Of
course there is then a mix up with Frederick and this no good squatter thinking
the baby is Tess’s. Tess is a good friend and never reveals who the baby really
belongs to. Towards the end of the story the baby becomes sick and is not going
to survive very long. The baby has not been baptized so Tess tries to bring the
baby to the church to be so. The priest is willing but Elias Graves is there
and gets into an uproar about Tess being there thinking she is an unwed mother.
Tess performs her own prayers on the baby. Teola is at church and breaks down
and confesses that the baby is hers.
Fredrick
goes to see Tess later on. He tells Tess that his mother and father send their
thanks and gratitude for watching over the baby and helping Teola and also that
Teola has died. But the story does not end on a sad note. Fredrick and Tess
share their first kiss.
Tess of the Storm Country was a typical
melodrama. It was not too bad. Seeing a twenty-one-year-old Mary Pickford play
a feisty, strong character was great. She made Tess, and the whole film
enjoyable to watch. Pickford would reprise her role of Tess Skinner eight years
later in a remake of Tess of the Storm
Country. This 1914 version is definitely worth seeing especially if you
like Mary Pickford. The film is available to view in full on YouTube.
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