User Reviews

Edward Elmer (Huntley Gordon) is sailing his large yacht with his mother, and various friends. Lighthouse keeper Amos Bart's daughter Flotsam (Olive Thomas) saves a couple of the passengers. She's a tomboy living in isolation. He's a rich playboy social butterfly. They fall in love. Joey Clark is Captain Bart's former shipmate and now his assistant.

It's got a fine meet cute and functional love drama. It's simple, but effective. It's an hour long black and white silent film. An hour silent film is enough for a fast telling of a love story. I like the premise of these two opposites attracting.

Cyril Chadwick sets out from Huntley Gordon's yacht with his aunt, and capsizes their rowboat. They are rescued, and they want to do a good turn for their savior. It turns out to be Olive Thomas, the daughter of lighthouse keeper John Smiley. There are complications, like Luise Prussing, who wants to marry her wealthy host. And what about the ghost that Smiley and his assistant, Edward Ellis, keep seeing?

This early vehicle for Miss Thomas shows off her great beauty, but it doesn't give her much to do. Instead, we are confronted with a melodramatic plot, offered in the long, slow, still takes that were common in American films in this period. Overall, it is a mediocre story, betraying the common and almost unconscious snobbery of the era, and of interest largely because the following year, Miss Thomas would have a breakout hit in THE FLAPPER. Ralph Ince's direction is efficient, if a tad uninspiring, but DP Harold S. Sintzenich's lighting is outstanding. Still, in Miss Thomas he had a great subject for his camera.

I'll be honest - I kind of love this. By and large, only one of three words is necessary to describe 'Out yonder' at any given point. Yet at the same time that the narrative and presentation is generally fairly simple, the production is suitable, and well done. And against all odds, I think it's charming, and outright lovely.

The story is more than a little predictable in the broad strokes, with familiar themes and beats woven in including pride, classism, secrets, love, suspicion, dastardly scheming, and so on. There are minor twists to the narrative, but nothing wholly remarkable, and the plot merely follows the basic routine structure of exposition, rising action, climax, and denouement. For all that, though, I think the writing is unexpectedly strong. The narrative is solid, and engaging, and each successive scene is given deft attention in conjuration and realization alike to make them as rich, vivid, and dynamic as they could be. Character writing is likewise a bit surprising for how robust it is, with most figures being given diverse, vibrant personalities and motivations, and still there's sufficient room to allow the actors to bring a bit of their own flair to the parts. And while the picture perhaps relies a bit too much on intertitles, especially those loaded with text from top to bottom, the plot advancement and dialogue that they relate are carefully considered.

I'm also very pleased with the performances, as I truly think everyone in the cast turns in great displays of acting. From Huntley Gordon as love interest Edward, to Louise Prussing and Edward Ellis as more unseemly individuals with their own notions in play; from John Smiley as the beleaguered lighthouse keeper, to Marie Coverdale in the smaller supporting part as Edward's mother - all the assembled players demonstrate excellent range, nuance, poise, and personality in embodying their roles and bringing the story to life. This goes above all, however, for Olive Thomas, a starlet who left us far too soon. Of her few surviving films, and those I have seen, I for one sincerely think this marks the best illustration of the great acting skills we sadly saw too little of before she died. If slightly restricted by the curt editing and structure of the feature that mean plenty of cuts to different intertitles, shots, or scenes, I think Thomas exhibits the sort of prowess to deservedly mark her as a fine leading lady of early cinema.

Details like hair and makeup, costume design, set design, and filming locations range from admirable to suitable. Effects used in the picture (standing in for rain, lightning, wind) are modest, but fine. As suggested, editing is sometimes a bit overzealous - not least of all at the climax - and Ralph Ince's direction mostly comes across as simply adequate. I will say I'm more of a fan of the lighting here, used well to help build some scenes. And in totality - while there are infrequent imperfections that come and go, and 'Out yonder' isn't necessarily a film one needs to go out of their way to see, much more so than not I think this is highly enjoyable, and well worth checking out.

I reckon it's noteworthy that depending on how and where one finds the picture to view, there may be a marginal disparity in the tale that is related. Specifically, I've seen synopses in English of 'Out yonder' that impart a slightly different take on the course events compared to what is conveyed through the intertitles in the Dutch release, 'De vuurtoren in den storm.' The meat of the plot remains intact, of course - and in fairness, only viewings of each different version to compare would truly confirm comportment or lack thereof - but enough small detail distinctly varies that I feel it should be mentioned.

Regardless, one could him and haw about this and that for many pages. At length, when all is said and done, there is no loftier intent here than to entertain with a compelling story - and I enthusiastically believe that aim is achieved. With capable writing and performances as anchors, and Olive Thomas as a fetching and gifted lead, I heartily recommend 'Out yonder' as an overlooked silent classic that deserves more time in the sun. If you have the chance to watch it, please do!