User Reviews

Billy Quirk's last film for Biograph before his defection to Vitagraph is a so-so Griffith comedy with a few mild laughs. Mary Pickford, who at the age of 18 was already a veteran of more than 50 shorts, provides the love interest.

In Billy Quirk's last film for Biograph before he went off to Brooklyn for Vitagraph, he is Muggsy, a roughneck uncomfortable in the genteel home of adorable Mary Pickford's family -- his mother is Flora Finch who was also about to leave for Vitagraph where she would achieve fame as John Bunny's leading lady.

Although Griffith is not remembered for directing comedies, he did a large number of them in his more than 500 titles, and here he is very comfortable in his direction. The movements are larger than under his usual methods, but certainly Billy's reaction when he embarrasses himself before Mabel's parents is quite real and heartfelt and if this is not the sort of heartless laugh riot that Griffith's disciple, Mack Sennett, would begin producing for Keystone in a couple of years, it still stands on its own as a good situational comedy of manners.

Muggsy's First Sweetheart (1910)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Muggsy (Billy Quirk), a young punk, falls for the beautiful Mabel (Mary Pickford) and goes to her house for a visit but her jokester father plays a trick on him, which sets forth all sorts of problems. Griffith will never be known for his comedies and most people don't even realize that he made quite a few of them but this here certainly isn't the best work he did in his career. The biggest problem here is that the laughs really don't come and we're left with a pleasant movie but not a funny one. Quirk left Biograph after this picture and he turns in a pretty good performance as he's very light on his feet and manages to play the part quite well. Pickford doesn't get to do too much but it's always fun seeing her in these early roles. The supporting players include George Nichols as the father and he clearly steals the film in the few scenes that he has. The "twist" in the film, or gag if you will, doesn't really work too well and the entire film is pretty much wrapped around this joke and it just didn't make me laugh. There's a twist in the second act but it too didn't work as well as I'm sure the filmmakers were wanting. Fans of early cinema will still see plenty of Griffith's style here as he does manage to keep the film moving and his editing choices are still very interesting and certainly a step up from various other productions of this period.

In May 1910, Mary Pickford was selected to play opposite Billy Quirk in this film (which was Billy's last film for Biograph). It was at this point that the industry began to feel that Pickford was outclassing such adolescent roles.