The Toll of the Sea
The Toll of the Sea | |
---|---|
Metro Pictures Corporation | |
Release dates |
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Running time | 53 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages | Silent English intertitles |
The Toll of the Sea is a 1922 American silent
The film was the second Technicolor feature (after 1917's The Gulf Between), and the first Technicolor color feature anywhere that did not require a special projector to be used for screenings.[1]
The film premiered on November 26, 1922, at the Rialto Theatre in New York City, and went into general release on January 22, 1923.[2]
Plot
In 1919, a young Chinese woman, Lotus Flower, sees an unconscious man floating in the water at the seashore, and quickly gets help for him. The man is Allen Carver, an American. Soon the two have fallen in love, and they get married "
Lotus Flower gives birth to a son, whom she names Allen after his father. When the older Allen finally returns to China, Lotus Flower is at first overjoyed. She dresses in her elaborate Chinese bridal gown to greet him. However, he is accompanied by his American wife, Elsie. Allen has told Elsie about Lotus Flower, and it is Elsie who persuaded her husband to tell Lotus Flower the real situation. When the boy is brought to see his father, Lotus Flower pretends he is the child of her American neighbors. Later, though, she confides the truth to Elsie and asks her to take the boy to America. She tells the child that Elsie is his real mother. After Elsie takes the boy away with her, Lotus Flower says, "Oh, Sea, now that life has been emptied I come to pay my great debt to you." The sun is then shown setting over the water, and it is implied that Lotus Flower drowns herself.
Cast
- Anna May Wong as Lotus Flower
- Kenneth Harlan as Allen Carver
- Beatrice Bentley as Barbara 'Elsie' Carver
- Priscilla Moran as Little Allen (as Baby Moran)
- Etta Lee as Gossip
- Ming Young as Gossip
Production
Because the Technicolor camera divided the lens image into two beams to expose two film frames simultaneously through color filters, and at twice the normal frames per second, much higher lighting levels were required. All scenes of The Toll of the Sea were shot under "natural light" and outdoors, with the one "interior" scene shot in sunlight under a muslin sheet.
Reception
Preservation status
Once believed to have been
Home media
The restored version is available as one of the titles included in the 4-DVD box-set
Google Doodle
On January 22, 2020, a Google Doodle celebrated Anna May Wong, commemorating the 97th anniversary of the day The Toll of the Sea went into general release.[6][7]
See also
References
- ^ "Film Screenings (June 7, 2015)". Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
- ^ "The Toll of the Sea". silentera.com.
- ISBN 978-1-64160-883-1.
- ^ ISBN 9780786408368. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 23, 2006. Retrieved August 3, 2006.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Celebrating Anna May Wong". January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
- ^ Holcombe, Madeline (January 22, 2020). "Google Doodle celebrates Anna May Wong nearly 100 years after her first leading role. Here's why she's in focus". CNN.
External links
- The Toll of the Sea at IMDb
- The Toll of the Sea at Silent Era
- The Toll of the Sea (1922) on YouTube
- The Toll of the Sea is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
- The Toll of the Sea at AllMovie
- The Toll of the Sea at Widescreen Museum