Movie spotlight
Little Angel
Engelein is a comedy of deliberately mistaken identity. If Jesta, a 17-year-old, can play the part of a 12-year-old, her family will gain a large inheritance from a rich uncle from Chicago. Her unruly “play-acting” for the uncle is preceded by an earlier incident in the film that results in Jesta being evicted from her girl’s school. Wearing a long, woman’s skirt, she climbs up a ladder and onto a thatched roof. She reaches over the top of the wall to kiss her boyfriend, who appears from the other side. However, Jesta is caught by the headmistress, and her forced descent is precipitous. Pulled downward, she reveals a great deal of a black-stockinged leg. She looks distinctly sexual as she falls into the matrimonly arms of the law, whose duty is to enforce the rules of female decorum.
Insights
Plot Summary
As a silent short film from 1914, detailed plot summaries for "Little Angel" are scarce. It is generally understood to be a comedy focusing on a child or a character embodying childlike innocence and the humorous situations that arise from their interactions with the world. The film likely relied on visual gags and physical comedy typical of the era.
Critical Reception
Due to the film's age and obscurity, contemporary critical reception is not well-documented. Silent films of this nature were often produced quickly and were part of a larger output of shorts for early cinema. Reception would have been primarily local and ephemeral, with reviews often focusing on the novelty of film itself rather than in-depth analysis.
What Reviewers Say
Lacked significant critical attention due to its era and format.
As a short comedy, its appeal would have been tied to simple, visual humor.
Information on audience reception is not preserved.
Google audience: No audience reviews or ratings are available for this extremely old and obscure short film.
Fun Fact
Finding specific details about "Little Angel (1914)" is challenging because most records and reviews from that early period of cinema have been lost or were never extensively documented, especially for short, non-feature films.
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