In the late 19th Century, aged Quaker Charles Morgan (William Walcott) owns a whaler, but no longer goes out on it. Unfortunately, the, ah, nefarious Siggs wants to marry Morgan's daughter Patience (Marguerite Courtot), but she's in love with the, um, good, wonderfull childhood friend Allan (Raymond McKee), but her father won't let her marry a non whaler so he... um... well... allright. If you don't know what's going to happen, you must be a hermit. And quite a hermit.
The story of the silent historical "drama" is so old and cliched people living in the stone age would have been bored and found it predictable. It's fast paced, but so stunningly predictable that it's extraordinarily boring. It's hard to stick through its 83 minutes that seem to last forever. And there aren't even any interesting complications
However, there are two good things that almost redeem the film. First, there are the historical scenes. The whaling scenes, while they take too long to get to, are very well made and detailed. The scenes at home were done in a real Quaker village and seem extremely authentic. The mutiny is great. And the scene where a whale is dragging around a smaller ship, pulling it over near surfing-height waves is awesome and thrilling.
The second thing that's good is a supporting cast member. This was Clara Bow's first film, and she is excellent. While the rest of the cast is good enough, she puts them too shame in a small role. If only it had been bigger. Much bigger...
So, every now and then, it's fun.
So, do I recomend it? Of course, if you couldn't possibly ever stand a silent film, avoid this like the plague. It will merely confirm your suspision that silent films stunk. Watch one like Battleship Potemkin instead. On the other hand, if you're a die-hard Clara Bow fan or interesting in late 19th-century whaling techniques, see this if you can. But don't look for anything you haven't seen before. Or that many things that are particularly interesting. Just watch Clara Bow when she comes on.
Rating: * * (out of four)
