Editing The Poor Little Rich Girl (section)

==Retrospective appraisal==
Film historian [[Edward Wagenknecht]] identifies ''The Poor Little Rich Girl'' as an inflection point in Mary Pickford’s screen portrayals: ““[I]t was not until after the beginning of the feature film era that Miss Pickford became definitely associated with ''ingénue'' roles and it was not until ''The Poor Little Rich Girl'' that she appeared all through a feature as a child.”<ref>Wagenknecht, 1962 p. 156</ref> Wagenknecht adds that Pickford’s character Gwen “is very different from either [[Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917 film)|Rebecca]] or [[Pollyanna (1920 film)|Pollyanna]]—more helpless and less resourceful and considerably more wistful.”<ref>Wagenknecht, 1962 p. 156</ref>

Twenty-five-years-of-age when the film was released, Pickford struggled to transition to more mature roles later in her career.<ref>Wagenknecht, 1962 p. 156: “The public's preference for seeing her in youthful roles became an ever-increasing problem to her as she grew older, and she made a number of attempts to break away.”</ref>