"The Toll of the Sea" is an historically important film today for two reasons: It was one of the very first films to be shot in Technicolor, AND it was the very first film to feature Anna May Wong - the first Asian actress of importance in the Hollywood system - in a starring role. Wong, at this point, was only 17 years old and had already appeared briefly in two films, but in this one, she is very much the lead all the way, and looks far younger than you have probably ever seen her. Remarkably, she is able to dominate every scene that she appears in, which, happily, means that she is on screen for well over 95% of this feature's running time. Originally released in November 1922, some 100 years from the time of this writing, "The Toll of the Sea," with its dreamlike tone and fablelike feel, holds up very nicely today for modern viewers, despite its shortcomings, more of which in a moment.
In the film, Wong plays the part of Lotus Flower, a young woman in Hong Kong who one day finds an unconscious man who had washed ashore near her village. After the man is revived, we learn that his name is Allen Carver (Boston-born Kenneth Harlan, who would go on to appear in minor parts in countless films from 1917 to 1943), and that he is an American. The two fall in love remarkably quickly and marry in a Chinese ceremony, but when Carver is recalled home by some sort of family emergency, he decides not to take his new bride with him. Back in the U. S., Carver manages to quickly forget all about his Chinese wife as he falls anew under the charms of his childhood sweetheart, Elsie (Beatrice Bentley). Several years pass by, and while Carver and Elsie have married, Lotus Flower pines away for his return, having already given birth to his son (one of the cutest kids you will ever see on film, and played by 5-year-old Priscilla Moran ... yes, a girl). But dramatic trouble arises when Elsie convinces Carver, the turdish cad, to return to Lotus Flower and apprise her of his new marital status. The despondent Lotus Flower is elated when she hears of Carver's return, thinking that he has come back to her to stay. But a double tragedy looms when the full facts become known....
And that's pretty much it. Yes, the film is a short one, with a running time of just 53 minutes, but fortunately, there is absolutely no flab whatsoever to be had. As a matter of fact, one of the primary faults of the film is that the story line, by Frances Marion, is inadequately fleshed out, and the viewer cannot help but feel that the picture might have benefited from an extra 15 minutes of running time. We never do learn just why Carver had washed up on shore - was it a shipwreck, a boating accident or what? - and the early romance between the American and Lotus Flower is so ridiculously brief that they seem to have fallen in love and gotten married immediately after having met. We never learn what Carver does for a living, or what his relationship is to the men who advise him to leave his new Chinese bride behind. The intertitles in the print that I just watched - the one that was restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and shown on TCM recently - are barely adequate, and the music, for the most part, is woefully inappropriate; almost distractingly so! One gets the sense that with a better musical backdrop, and a more fleshed-out screenplay, this film, as directed by Chester M. Franklin, might have been some kind of genuine silent classic, instead of the historic curio that it remains. A pity.
And yet, for all that, "The Toll of the Sea" remains eminently watchable, largely due to Anna May's magnetism and charisma. She truly makes for a sweet and pitiable presence in this film, although modern-day women will probably be pulling their collective hair out at her character's timidity and noble sacrifices. Wong would later play characters who were much more forceful and who showed a lot more grit and spunk, such as in 1932's "Shanghai Express" (still one of this viewer's personal favorite films) and 1937's "Daughter of Shanghai," in which Wong actually portrays a secret agent of sorts battling smugglers. Modern-day audiences will also be happy to learn that the primitive Technicolor process employed in the making of this film looks just fine, and that the flesh tones appear perfect. Shot exclusively outdoors, the film is often a joy to look at, and the many scenes filmed in gardens and at the seashore are a wonder to behold. So those viewers who are averse to watching a silent film because of its scratchy-looking B&W images will have no excuse for not sitting down with this particular outing, although they will surely (and understandably) complain about the film's dearth of intertitles. The bottom line, I suppose, is that the picture is of course a must-watch for all fans of Anna May Wong - surely one of the most fascinating players in the history of Hollywood film - as well as for all film buffs with an abiding interest in the history of the medium.
In the film, Wong plays the part of Lotus Flower, a young woman in Hong Kong who one day finds an unconscious man who had washed ashore near her village. After the man is revived, we learn that his name is Allen Carver (Boston-born Kenneth Harlan, who would go on to appear in minor parts in countless films from 1917 to 1943), and that he is an American. The two fall in love remarkably quickly and marry in a Chinese ceremony, but when Carver is recalled home by some sort of family emergency, he decides not to take his new bride with him. Back in the U. S., Carver manages to quickly forget all about his Chinese wife as he falls anew under the charms of his childhood sweetheart, Elsie (Beatrice Bentley). Several years pass by, and while Carver and Elsie have married, Lotus Flower pines away for his return, having already given birth to his son (one of the cutest kids you will ever see on film, and played by 5-year-old Priscilla Moran ... yes, a girl). But dramatic trouble arises when Elsie convinces Carver, the turdish cad, to return to Lotus Flower and apprise her of his new marital status. The despondent Lotus Flower is elated when she hears of Carver's return, thinking that he has come back to her to stay. But a double tragedy looms when the full facts become known....
And that's pretty much it. Yes, the film is a short one, with a running time of just 53 minutes, but fortunately, there is absolutely no flab whatsoever to be had. As a matter of fact, one of the primary faults of the film is that the story line, by Frances Marion, is inadequately fleshed out, and the viewer cannot help but feel that the picture might have benefited from an extra 15 minutes of running time. We never do learn just why Carver had washed up on shore - was it a shipwreck, a boating accident or what? - and the early romance between the American and Lotus Flower is so ridiculously brief that they seem to have fallen in love and gotten married immediately after having met. We never learn what Carver does for a living, or what his relationship is to the men who advise him to leave his new Chinese bride behind. The intertitles in the print that I just watched - the one that was restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and shown on TCM recently - are barely adequate, and the music, for the most part, is woefully inappropriate; almost distractingly so! One gets the sense that with a better musical backdrop, and a more fleshed-out screenplay, this film, as directed by Chester M. Franklin, might have been some kind of genuine silent classic, instead of the historic curio that it remains. A pity.
And yet, for all that, "The Toll of the Sea" remains eminently watchable, largely due to Anna May's magnetism and charisma. She truly makes for a sweet and pitiable presence in this film, although modern-day women will probably be pulling their collective hair out at her character's timidity and noble sacrifices. Wong would later play characters who were much more forceful and who showed a lot more grit and spunk, such as in 1932's "Shanghai Express" (still one of this viewer's personal favorite films) and 1937's "Daughter of Shanghai," in which Wong actually portrays a secret agent of sorts battling smugglers. Modern-day audiences will also be happy to learn that the primitive Technicolor process employed in the making of this film looks just fine, and that the flesh tones appear perfect. Shot exclusively outdoors, the film is often a joy to look at, and the many scenes filmed in gardens and at the seashore are a wonder to behold. So those viewers who are averse to watching a silent film because of its scratchy-looking B&W images will have no excuse for not sitting down with this particular outing, although they will surely (and understandably) complain about the film's dearth of intertitles. The bottom line, I suppose, is that the picture is of course a must-watch for all fans of Anna May Wong - surely one of the most fascinating players in the history of Hollywood film - as well as for all film buffs with an abiding interest in the history of the medium.