Summary
In the subterranean labyrinth of early 20th-century Chinatown, Happy O'Brien—colloquially christened 'The Microbe'—navigates a precarious existence through a calculated performance of masculinity. This androgynous newsgirl, portrayed with kinetic ferocity by Viola Dana, adopts the sartorial and linguistic armor of a street urchin to circumvent the predatory gaze of an urban landscape. Her trajectory intersects with DeWitt Spense, a decadent man of letters whose initial foray into the district’s shadows is motivated by a pursuit of narcotic escapism rather than philanthropy. Captivated by Mike’s unyielding pugnacity during a street-side skirmish, Spense extracts her from the clutches of the law, envisioning her as a primitive specimen for his literary vivisection. The subsequent transition from the gutter to the gilded cage of Spense’s mansion precipitates a profound metamorphosis. Upon the revelation of her biological sex, Spense’s clinical interest curdles into a Pygmalion-esque obsession, endeavoring to sculpt a refined woman from the raw marble of her street-hardened persona. This domestic alchemy is threatened by the machinations of Judith Winthrope, a socialite whose claim on Spense is rooted in class-conscious entitlement. Forced into a self-imposed exile to preserve Spense’s creative integrity, Mike finds herself in the monotonous drudgery of an artificial flower factory. It is here that she initiates an epistolary romance, assuming the ethereal pseudonym 'Bianca.' Her letters, imbued with a soulfulness that her street-persona lacked, become the catalyst for Spense’s magnum opus. The narrative culminates in a high-stakes masquerade where Judith attempts to usurp the identity of the mysterious correspondent, only for the truth to emerge through the undeniable authenticity of Mike’s spirit, ultimately bridging the chasm between the newsboy and the novelist.
Synopsis
Happy O'Brien, called "The Microbe," or "Mike" for short, a female street urchin who sells newspapers dressed as a boy to avoid harassment, is saved from arrest for fighting other newsboys in Chinatown by wealthy author DeWitt Spense. DeWitt, there to purchase drugs, is so moved by Mike's pugnacity, that he takes her to his mansion for literary inspiration. When DeWitt learns that Mike is a girl, he resolves to educate her. As Mike blossoms, DeWitt's attentions turn to love, to the dismay of Judith Winthrope, who wants to marry him, and his friend Robert Breton, who, with Judith, convinces Mike that DeWitt's writing is suffering because of her. After Mike leaves and gets a job making artificial flowers, she writes DeWitt daily letters, signing them "Bianca," which inspire him to write a best selling novel of replies. Although DeWitt nearly marries Judith when she claims authorship of the letters, he weds Mike when he learns that she penned them.
Review Excerpt
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The Kinetic Anarchy of Happy O'Brien
In the pantheon of silent cinema’s gamine archetypes, few performances possess the raw, unvarnished electricity of Viola Dana in The Microbe (1919). This is not merely a tale of social climbing or romantic redemption; it is a fascinating sociological study of survival mechanisms in the pre-Prohibition urban sprawl. Dana’s portrayal of 'Mike'—a girl masquerading as a newsboy to evade the systemic harassment inherent to the Chinatown docks—is a masterclass i..."
