The School Teacher and the Waif (1912) User Reviews

Mary Pickford At 20: Sent To School For the First Time

[boblipton · 7/10 · 25 August 2020]

Mary has been raised on her father's hardscrabble farm. Now the local authorities have sent her to school, and she hates it. The other students make fun of her, she can't do her lessons. Eventually, she agrees to run away with a traveling patent medicine salesman, who promises to marry her... but has no intention of doing so.

By this time, D. W. Griffith had attained such an ease of composition that he needs only a couple of the half dozen or so titles he scatters through this movie; they are there, really, only to comment somewhat poetically, on what goes on.

There are, of course, some things in this movie that will offend the modern audience; the traveling show has a black-faced entertainer, and Edwin August as the teacher shows a romantic interest in his student. Still, both reflect the mores of the era... and since Little Mary is 20 years old, who can blame him?

No, thank goodness it's NOT a romance!

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 3 February 2022]

When I saw the title, "The School Teacher and the Waif" I was worried that it would involve a student and teacher falling in love. This is not the case, and instead it's a nice little film from D. W. Griffith.

Now that I mentioned Griffith, I should address something that will doubtless be noticed by viewers today....that a couple of the background characters are white guys in blackface. Griffith was a racist, though I have heard some apologists make excuses for it. He didn't seem to like black actors and repeatedly gave the roles to white actors in burnt cork makeup. He was a product of his times. But, as a retired history teacher, I am loathe to ban or avoid films because they have offensive characters....especially in this case since the 'blacks' don't behave offensively in any way...other than really being white men! Accept it for what it is....and apart from this it's a nice little film.

The film begins with the Waif (Mary Pickford) being a bit of a wild child and who never attended school. Well, local officials didn't like this and soon this teen is in school. She takes to school reasonably well despite the taunts from the other students, but soon she storms off when her nice teacher behaves uncharacteristically nasty...making her wear a dunce cap!! But she runs into the arms of a lecher who pretends to love her and want to marry her....and it's up to the teacher to come to her rescue.

For a 1912 film, "The School Teacher and the Waif" is quite good. It also lacks some of the overacting too often seen in early films. Well worth seeing and a nice chance to see Mary Pickford just before she became a mega-star.

The School Teacher And The Waif "A Real Treasure"

[PamelaShort · 10/10 · 15 August 2013]

Mary Pickford's performance as Nora the waif, is portrayed with a vivid realism. She is able to pull out a gamut of various emotions from this character, with an outstanding magnetic effect. Nora, a young girl who lives a secluded life with her alcoholic father, must attend school. Having never played with other children, she completely lacks all social skills. This has both a frustrating and humiliating effect on the lonely and neglected waif. Mary is able to portray each sequence of emotions, with the ability to have them flow perfectly throughout the entire story. At one point the harried Nora, shakes a small tree in her grievance after the mocking from the other schoolmates and next skips with joy after the teacher pats her head with assurance of support, something Nora has never received before. Pickford's years at Biograph with D.W Griffith prove to have been valuable, for the improvisation which allowed her to develop believable characters with genuine spontaneity. Her representation of the young self-sufficient, feisty waif would continue to be enormously popular with audiences. The School Teacher And The Waif is a real early Pickford treasure and delightful to watch.

The waif is a praiseworthy bit of work

[deickemeyer · 11 December 2016]

Little Mary Pickford plays in this picture a pathetic, but very attractive waif, "Mad-cap Madge," who is forced to go to school. She is a very original harem-scarem who is the butt of the other school children. The plot of the story is very simple. She falls in love with a traveling patent medicine man. The teacher (a man) saves her from making a false step and falls in love with her himself. In the way the changing situation is developed, and in the quality of the acting, there is much Biograph atmosphere, but while part is as fine as can be, parts (the schoolhouse scenes), are very conventional. The waif is a praiseworthy bit of work; the school teacher is disappointing. As a whole, for its story, for its human-nature, and for its scene-making, including photography, we commend it as an excellent offering. It will please. - The Moving Picture World, July 13, 1912