sbasu-47-608737 Even at the late 1920s standard, (This is a 1927 movie.) this is a very amateurishly made movie. Except showing of the beauty of Marion Davies, and she was beautiful, one can't blame Hearst for falling head over heels in love, there is nothing in the movie worth mentioning. If I limit myself to Hollywood, it may not be that low scoring, but if I move out, in to European masters Sjostroms, Murnau, Stiller, Sternberg or even Renoir, this is an infantile effort. In fact it is interesting to compare the quality of Hollywood with European movies and then see the situation reverse somewhere around thirties. Probably migration associated with environment that strangled the art there ? There is no doubt of Marion's talent, but that talent could be unearthed only when she was out of Hearst's complete control. Well she remained under emotional control, but not the financial one, after the depression wiped off his fortunes. And the quality of her movies then had a dramatic change, and especially once she moved into talkies. This movie is supposed to have Romance, Drama, Horror and Comedy, unfortunately one has search to appreciate depiction of either of these factors. Probably Arbuckle has over-stepped in capability. Not worth the time, unless one just wants to watch Marion at her full youth and beauty (that too in last quarter).

Antonius Block Marion Davies may not have the highest comedic talent in this film, but she does have a certain girl-next-door appeal, and 'Red Mill' was reasonably entertaining. She plays a Dutch servant who is used cruelly by her boss, a tavern owner played by George Siegmann with appropriate snarl and meanness. In one scene, he's dragging her near-frozen body along the ice back to work; in another, he's literally whipping her. She keeps a little ray of sunshine in a pet mouse who lives in a large hole in one of her clogs, and then soon sees and falls for a young man played by Owen Moore. It's not so straightforward, however, in that her identity is confused with another woman (Louise Fazenda), who has her own troubles, being betrothed to an old man but wanting another (Karl Dane). It gets a bit silly and some of the intertitles are oddly worded, but there are some nice scenes at the end in the "haunted" old mill, especially as the chase moves outside to the windmill blades themselves. There is also a brief scene of riches in the imagination of the young lovers which then returns to the present, a touching reminder of what the important thing is in life – true love.

bkoganbing The saddest thing about The Red Mill is that it never got a sound adaption so the Victor Herbert-Henry Blossom score was never heard. Watching it I was hoping at least to hear some of the songs on the sound track. But there was nary a note of Herbert's heard in the film.The Red Mill was a vehicle for the famous vaudeville team of Fred Stone and David Montgomery and ran in the 1906-07 season for 274 performances. The score consisted of such Herbert classics as In Old New York and Every Day Is Lady's Day With Me and Moonbeams. Purportedly there was a planned remake of it that was shelved that would have starred Laurel and Hardy. It might have been a great film.This version has the plot somewhat altered to fit Marion Davies who plays a Dutch barmaid who falls in love with visiting Irishman Owen Moore. It's a good thing that Roscoe Arbuckle directing under the pseudonym William Goodrich was in charge. He saw that Davies got some nice comedy bits at which she was so much better at than some of the heavy dramatics that William Randolph Hearst her patron and paramour saw as her strength.MGM spent a lot of money designing some great sets including a Dutch mill where Davies spends the climax trying to elude the villain with Moore trying to rescue her. It's similar to the rather outlandish and funny climax in the rollicking film Many Rivers To Cross that starred Robert Taylor and Eleanor Parker with Davies her own worst enemy in the rescue.The mill itself is very similar to the one in the Frankenstein movies over at Universal. It's quite remarkable even for today.I'm disappointed in not hearing any Victor Herbert music, but Marion Davies is quite good in this film.

movingpicturegal Very enjoyable silent romantic comedy set in Holland which stars Marion Davies as Tina, pigtailed drudge of the Red Mill Tavern - she cleans the floor by skating around with scrub brushes attached to her feet and has a little pet mouse who lives in her wooden shoe. The man who runs the tavern is a real meanie who goes around with a snarl and a whip and likes to lock local boys in the "Haunted Mill". Handsome Dennis (played by Owen Moore), visiting Holland (attracted by the damsels not the dams) along with his valet, is outside skating where Tina observes him through her window, immediately falls for him, and races right out there to meet him! Well, they are soon skating together while she swoons on his shoulder - but he leaves town before anything can come of this, spring comes, and she dreams of love. Meanwhile, the Burgomaster's daughter Gretchen (Louise Fazenda) is being forced by her father to marry the Governor - and is being locked in her room at the Inn until the wedding day. But Gretchen loves another - so to help her out, Tina gets the idea that they should exchange clothes so Gretchen can sneak out to meet her secret love. Misunderstandings ensue when Dennis, now back at the Inn, meets Marion dressed as Gretchen and falls in love with her.This is a really excellent film - well done and full of charm. There are a number of amusing, laugh out loud scenes in this - Marion Davies has a face full of expression and is really wonderful here. There is one very funny scene when she first meets Owen Moore's character - she enters a skating race which he is judging (with the prize of a kiss for the winner!) and ends up with a face covered in ice (and no kiss - ah). Another funny bit shows her with no make-up as she covers up her face with a "mud massage" which magically comes off to reveal her now fully made-up, beautiful face. Snitz Edwards, who plays the valet, also adds a lot of humor to this - I think he's funny when he's just standing there! This film was very reminiscent to me of the type of film that Mary Pickford might have starred in - so it's interesting that Owen Moore stars in this, Mary's first husband. The version of this as shown on TCM featured a gorgeous clear print with a lot of contrast and a really terrific music score that I loved - I thought the music really helped enhance this film. A romantic, funny, and delightful film.