A yacht arrives along the New England coast, bearing wealthy Mrs. Elmer and her nephew, Edward. Mrs. Elmer sets out in a rowboat, which overturns. She is rescued by a girl named Flotsam. Aboard the yacht, Flotsam meets Edward and the young man is immediately interested. He goes ashore one day and encounters Flotsam along the rocks. Flotsam introduces Edward to her father, Amos Bart, who is the lighthouse keeper. Bart reacts to Edward as if he has seen a ghost. Bart's surly helper, Joey Clark, quickly becomes jealous of Edward. Edward proposes to Flotsam. In a fit of rage, Clark attacks Edward. Bart intervenes and is forced to reveal his secret: years earlier, Bart had quarreled with a passenger on his boat while the two had been drinking. The passenger was Edward's father. Bart killed the man, and he and Clark had dumped the body overboard. Mrs. Elmer offers to take Flotsam with her and Edward. Bart convinces his daughter to go with them, by confessing that Flotsam is not really his daughter. She had been washed ashore and he had raised her as his own. Flotsam and Edward leave on Mrs. Elmer's yacht, but Flotsam decides to return to the lighthouse. Bart informs Clark that Flotsam has left, which infuriates Clark. With Flotsam listening in, Clark tells Bart the truth about the murder; that he, and not Bart, had killed the man. When Edward discovers Flotsam is missing, he orders the yacht towards the lighthouse. Clark sees the yacht approaching, so he climbs to the top of the lighthouse and turns off the light. Flotsam lights a flare and heads for the shore to warn the yacht. Bart goes after Clark. Will the yacht crash? Will the guilty Clark be punished?
His film is a little gem, spoiled only by an abrupt ending - but that might be due to missing footage. The cast is very good, especially Olive Thomas, John Smiley as Bart, and Edward Ellis (the actual "Thin Man") as the villainous Clark. This was my first time seeing Olive Thomas. She was an incredibly lovely woman, but met with a tragic fate, dying less than a year after the film was released. She shows plenty of acting ability, and is particularly good in the scene where Smiley confesses that he is not her father.
This film is definitely worth a look, if only as an example of what kind of a star Thomas could have been.
His film is a little gem, spoiled only by an abrupt ending - but that might be due to missing footage. The cast is very good, especially Olive Thomas, John Smiley as Bart, and Edward Ellis (the actual "Thin Man") as the villainous Clark. This was my first time seeing Olive Thomas. She was an incredibly lovely woman, but met with a tragic fate, dying less than a year after the film was released. She shows plenty of acting ability, and is particularly good in the scene where Smiley confesses that he is not her father.
This film is definitely worth a look, if only as an example of what kind of a star Thomas could have been.