The story is indeed hackneyed, and the title cards ("it's gran", "Baa- Baa") are a minus, but this is a simple little romance back when sentiment and honest emotions were allowed to be expressed, instead of drowned in cynicism as they often are in today's films. Janet Gaynor was the bigger star, but Charles Farrell is the heart and soul of this film and he gives a moving performance. He never allows Tim to be an object of pity even when the script presents him as one. He expresses his emotions on such a pure level. There's a scene where Tim hugs Mary ("Baa Baa") and as she clings to him, we see expressed on his face the full, startling realization of how much he loves her. It is a gorgeous performance and one which, if you see the film, I don't think you will forget.

This is not an all-time great film, but it is surely washable. One thing that amazed me was Janet Gaynor's performance. Two years earlier, she played a rather haggard-looking wife in Sunrise (1927) and yet she plays a very believable child in this movie. Then there's Charles Farrell. In every other film I'd ever seen him in, he looked like he'd been beaten up a short time earlier, but in this one, he looks quite a bit cleaner. Speaking of Sunrise (1927), this film's atmosphere very much reminded me of it. It had that dark surrealistic type of setting. It was the same company (Fox), but different director (Frank Borzage as opposed to F.W. Murnau). It was also neat to see Paul Fix in an early role. I've seen nearly every episode of The Rifleman, where he played Micah, the Marhsall, but here he is many years earlier. He looks quite a bit different, too. Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, he did fine. His character was supposed to be a jerk and he does a good job on it, too. The reason I don't rate this film higher is because of his character, particularly when he's a boss over Charles Farrell. Like I say this film is watchable, but the ending made me go "huh?" For much of the film, Charles Farrell's character is crippled, but all of a sudden, he isn't anymore! While I do like happy endings, it's bit far-fetched. It sort of reminded me of a 1923 Warners Brothers movie in which a mute actress all of a sudden speaks (so to speak in a silent film), but the sudden change was handled better in that film than this one. While not great, I do say it is worth a look.

"Lucky Star" boasts an exceptional performance by Charles Farrell as the handicapped Tim, who falls in love with a pathetic waif, "Baa-Baa", played by the sweet and petite Janet Gaynor. Whereas in "7th Heaven", Janet Gaynor gives the performance of a lifetime, here in this film it is Charlie Farrell who wows you with his believable, dynamic acting as Tim, a good man maimed in World War One, who comes home in a wheelchair and has to cope with being lame. One can easily see Charles was much more than your typical Hollywood "pretty boy", so it is kind of bizarre that the studios quickly forgot his excellent silent film performances, and put him in vehicles like musicals once sound came in, thereby destroying what should have been a continued dramatic career throughout the coming decades. Frank Borzage was a sentimental director whose work I have always enjoyed. He continued to make some excellent sound films as the years went on, but his silent films are his most memorable, for he had a knack of drawing excellent and subtle pantomime performances from his actors which communicated emotions far more profoundly without words than with them. I would like to see this film restored and placed on DVD so that future generations can see it. Keeping it locked up - and forcing people to watch poor bootlegs - does not do honor to this film, or to Borzage, Farrell, and Gaynor. They deserve the best showcase for this moving film. I do feel the ending - which I won't reveal - is a cop-out, but other than that "Lucky Star" is a film well worth seeing.

This film was the last silent film Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor made as a team, and their soulful chemistry is more evident in this film than any other they made together. Is this movie so poignant because it marked the end of their silent career together, or because they had really reached the peak of their artistry together? This was also their last film with director Borzage, who also reached the peak of his art with this film.To me, LUCKY STAR also demonstrates what made Farrell great as an actor. Although he is often unfavorably compared to Gaynor, he is restrained, elegant, and utterly believable as the handicapped Timothy Osborne. The scene in which he bathes Janet, or later when they embrace before she heads off to the party, is masterful. His expression tears your heart out.If you have a chance to see this film, please do--you won't be sorry. This is the kind of film that makes you realize how truly great the art of silent cinema was (and remains). 10 stars.