In his day, director D.W. Griffith was a hot commodity...making films the public loved. When you see most of them today, however, they seem old fashioned and highly moralistic...often with obvious messages about proper behavior. "The Primal Call" is no exception, as it drives home the director's message that it's better to marry for love than money.
The story begins with a young lady being pressured by her family to marry a rich guy who's interested in her. However, he's a real nasty piece of work ad is a serious womanizer...and yet the family wants this marriage to occur. In the meantime, she meets a sailor and she is instantly smitten by him. So what's she to do...marry for love or money?
The film is reasonably well made for 1911. Today, it just seems a bit obvious and simple.