The title of this Russian comedy may seem misleading; well, it is, but only slightly. While on a goodwill visit to the Soviet Union in 1926, silent film stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks made a tour of the movie studios. Here, Ms. Pickford was prevailed upon to briefly participate in the making of a film. In the spirit of glasnost (though that wasn't what they called it back then) she agreed; following directions, she walked over to an actor she'd never met before and planted a kiss on his cheek. With this brief vignette in the can, director Sergei Komarov constructed a feature-length farce about a nebbishy young man who has no luck with the ladies. But once he's kissed by Mary Pickford, he virtually has to beat off his throngs of adoring female admirers with a stick! Inasmuch as Mary Pickford was perhaps the best-known woman in the world, her fleeting contribution to A Kiss From Mary Pickford enabled the film to rake in the rubles for many years to come.
by Hal Erickson
synopsis
- Nerd
- Kiss
- Filmmaking
