In a 1918 review, Variety comments on Mary Pickford's dual role in Stella Maris: “In the former (as Stella Maris) she is the sweet ingenue type one expects her to be, but in the latter (as Unity Blake) she is a deformed little slatternly slavey that will make you rub your eyes and look twice to assure yourself it is Pickford.”
“Stella Maris is a curious work, part romance, part parable, part fantasy--though a rather gutsy one. Filmically it's an equal mixture, being both Dickensian and Griffithian; DeMille's art director, Wilfred Buckland, in addition often gives it the visual look of a DeMille film. Finally, its stress on black, dark rooms with pools of light give it a surprisingly modern, film noir look! But basically of course, it is as a Mary Pickford vehicle that it is most important, stressing once again how determined she was to vary the content and style of her films, and also what an underrated actress she was. Given that the widely-contrasted dual role here is a bravura part, still many consider that this represents some of her finest screen acting, although Marcia Manon's performance as the wife is quite exceptional too.” William K. Everson