Summary
A visceral maritime upheaval in 1894 serves as the catalyst for this sprawling odyssey of displaced identity and clandestine inheritance. When a mutinous crew aboard a San Francisco-bound schooner mortally wounds the affluent Basil Cavanaugh, the dying patriarch entrusts his daughter, Jane, to the protection of Dickie Hamilton, a cabin boy of singular fortitude. In a desperate gambit to evade the predatory smuggler Bog Nichols, Dickie conceals the child within a humble keg—a vessel of salvation that inadvertently leads Jane into the domestic orbit of Captain Barth, a retired mariner who adopts the waif following Nichols’ incarceration. Fourteen years of bucolic stability transform Jane into a defiant, adventure-craving tomboy, much to the chagrin of Barth’s sycophantic nephew, Albert. To secure his financial future, Albert orchestrates a perfidious abduction, leveraging Jane’s own wanderlust to deliver her into the clutches of a vengeful, escaped Bog Nichols. A fortuitous shipwreck leaves Jane marooned on a desolate island, where the currents of destiny facilitate a reunion with a grown Richard Hamilton. The subsequent narrative arc navigates the treacherous waters of kidnapping, high-speed vehicular pursuit, and the ultimate reclamation of a stolen legacy, culminating in a romance forged in the crucible of shared history.
Synopsis
In 1894, mutineers on a schooner bound for San Francisco mortally wound wealthy Basil Cavanaugh, who entrusts cabin boy Dickie Hamilton to deliver his little daughter Jane to a banker in San Francisco for a reward. When the schooner unloads contraband goods to smuggler Bog Nichols, Dickie hides Jane in a keg. Bog discovers her and plans to get the reward, but instead gets arrested. Jane is then adopted by retired sea captain Barth. Fourteen years later, Barth is president of a fishing village bank and Jane is an adventure-seeking tomboy. When Barth threatens to disinherit his nephew Albert unless he marries Jane, Albert pays Bog, who escaped from jail, to abduct her, and encourages Jane to go by appealing to her desire for adventure. After Bog accidentally drowns, Jane reaches a deserted island. Richard Hamilton rescues her and tells about her inherited fortune. Jane and Richard fall in love, but Albert, learning of Jane's inheritance, kidnaps her to marry her. After Jane swerves Albert's car off the road, Richard lets Albert escape. He identifies himself as the cabin boy, and he and Jane commence their romance.
Review Excerpt
"The Nautical Genesis and the Architecture of SurvivalThe cinematic opening of Miss Adventure (1919) plunges the spectator into a 1894 maritime milieu defined by kinetic violence and desperate morality. Unlike the more measured pacing found in contemporary works like The Daughter of MacGregor, this production utilizes its prologue not merely for exposition, but to establish a visceral sense of peril. The mutiny aboard the schooner is captured with a grit that belies the era's technical constraint..."
