Lorna Doone

Cineasts jaded and cynical as I might be surprised by the enjoyable nature of this recently restored silent film -- the decision to watch spurred more by the interest in seeing otherwise forgotten John Bowers whose suicide has punctuated many a Hollywood allegory. Imagine my thrill, then, at seeing an overlooked treasure that, while certainly not a classic, demonstrates many of the long unappreciated qualities of early filmmaking.

Filled as it is with the wild gesticulations, grimaces and posturing that define early films, "Doone" also has excellent direction, a swift pace that only occasionally lags, and good performances by the cast. One can easily understand Bowers' rapid rise to fame (making his suicide all the more difficult to understand) with his brooding presence and oddly-handsome face that stands antithetical to the "pretty boys" who were his contemporaries.

If one can overlook the oddities in this film that are a natural part of such early films (the overuse of makeup, the odd lapses in continuity) "Lorna Doone" will certainly hold one's interest as a seldom seem tale that deserves more attention than it has received.

An excellent silent film.

I like the modern music score on the version shown on TCM in March 2005. It was composed by Mari Iijima (if you're going to bad-mouth a composer, you ought to spell their name correctly...), and has nice Philip Glass-like qualities. I love modern music scores for old silent films generally (for instance, the Alloy Orchestra's work).

The film has some great cinematography, and it's worth seeing just for that. The shots of the water in several places, the beach where Lorna is kidnapped, and of mad villagers chasing on horseback are really excellent, with great texture and lighting.

Shockingly silly, abrupt ending.

Several scenes in Maurice Tourneur-directed October 1922's "Lorna Doone" has lead actor John Bowers almost drowning in a raging river and eliminating his opponent in a bog full of water. Some have suggested the water images in the 1922 film was fixated on the actor's subconscious in his struggles to secure acting roles in the new age of sound movies.

His old friend, Henry Hathaway, was directing 1936's 'Souls of the Sea' in and around Santa Catalina Island. The star of "Lorna Doone," who hadn't any significant role in any film since 1931, hopped on a rented 16-foot slope and sailed to the island to ask for a part in the picture. Unfortunately, the role had been filled. Despondent and at the end of his rope, Bowers, it was reported, simply walked into the ocean and was never seen alive again. Some have attributed Bowers' struggle with his movie career and the method of his death as an inspiration for 1937's 'A Star Is Born's' Norman Maine.

Today's viewer can witness the talent of actor Bowers as the hero in the 1922 version of Richard Blackmore's 1869 novel "Lorna Doone." This was the third incarnation of the 17th-century English tale of a family, the bad-boys Doone's, where one member kills Bower character's father. As a boy he stumbles upon youthful Lorna Doone, played by Madge Bellamy, and later rescues her. Throughout it all, Bowers is seen navigating through raging rivers and being swept over waterfalls. And water plays a crucial role towards the end, a scene where some attribute the actor to chose the method to end his life.

Tourneur had been noted as one of the best aesthetically inclined director in his time. Every frame of "Lorna Doone," it's said, can be hung up on a wall as a picture of art. Studios claimed he sacrificed the beauty of the scene for the pace of his films, concentrating on the look of his movies instead of its action. As one reviewer wrote, "the most beautiful movies are often also the slowest."

There have been five other 'Lorna Doone' movies adapted from the Blackmore novel after Tourneur's picture. But those familiar with the more modern versions claim there is none more pleasing to the eye than the 1922 picture.

With some good cinematography and a rather unsettling background score, LORNA DOONE is a movie my father always mentioned liking very much for story and content. He must have seen it when he was in his early thirties and often mentioned it as one of his favorite novels and movies.

It's the rather familiar yarn of two people kept apart by the class system who were teen-age lovers separated by fate and then reunited years later when the girl has been held hostage by pirates and reared as one of the Doone clan. The years pass and by chance, during a fateful incident in the rapids, the young man (JOHN BOWERS) drifts toward Lorna's territory. When he awakens, she's tending to him and thus their story begins again.

The title role is nicely played by MADGE BELLAMY who has a sweet, old-fashioned grace about her that makes her heroine appealing and vulnerable. She seldom goes into the silent film technique of acting, nor does Bowers, who does a splendid job as the stalwart hero.

In reading about the film, I discovered that the ruggedly handsome Bowers committed suicide by drowning fourteen years after making this film, when his stardom was on the wane with the advent of talkies. It's rumored that he was the man depicted in A STAR IS BORN, Norman Maine, who walks into the ocean toward the finish.

Summing up: Interesting tale, well told but almost too familiar for most of us who've seen variations of it or actual remakes of it over the years.

Lorna is a wealthy young girl who meets and loves a shepherd boy, John. After meeting him she is captured by the evil Lord Doone. Doone is softened by fatherly love for Lorna but raises her in his den of thieves. She grows into lovely womanhood, sweet and untouched by the violence around her. One day, John returns. They recognize each other and fall in love all over again. Doone's counselor wants his son to marry Lorna. He is a violent man, hated by Lorna. She spurns his proposal. He tries to force her but she is rescued by John. Doone dies during the rescue but rights his wrong and sees that Lorna returns to Society. John lets her go but follows her. Will she be the same, sweet girl or a spoiled society lady? The future holds betrayal, revenge and perhaps even murder. This movie had me on the edge of my seat. I loved it! Madge Bellamy portrays such sweetness and beauty. I didn't care too much for the score as it's pretty modern in some spots. I'd highly recommend it: 9/10.