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4.4/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 4.4/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Golden Dawn remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you want a movie that makes sense or feels like a normal story, run away. But if you are the kind of person who likes to see how weird movies were when sound and color first started hanging out together, you might get a kick out of this. It is a musical that feels like it was filmed on a different planet where the only colors are orange and green.
Most people will probably hate it because it’s slow and the acting is from another century. Literally. But for a movie nerd, it’s like a car crash you can't stop looking at. 😲
The first thing you notice is the Technicolor. It is that old two-color stuff. It makes everyone look like they have a severe case of jaundice or they spent too much time in a tanning bed. The jungle isn't green; it’s more of a muddy brown-green that looks like old spinach.
There is no blue. The sky is just this empty, gray void. It gives the whole movie a claustrophobic feeling, like they are trapped in a giant box of crayons that only has three colors left. 🖍️
Noah Beery plays a guy named Shep Key. He is the villain, and he really wants you to know it. He carries a whip and he uses it on basically everything. He yells his lines like he’s trying to reach the back of a theater three blocks away.
He is terrifying, but also kind of funny because he is so over the top. There is a scene where he’s just standing there looking mean, and you can tell he is really enjoying being the bad guy. He’s much more interesting than the actual hero, Walter Woolf King, who just sort of stands around looking handsome and confused.
So, there is this girl named Dawn. She is played by Vivienne Segal. She thinks she is a native goddess in East Africa. The movie tries to convince us of this, but she is very clearly a white lady in a lot of eye shadow. It’s very awkward to watch today.
The whole thing is an operetta, so they break into song every five minutes. The songs are loud. The singing is that very old-fashioned style where everyone sounds like they are vibrating. It’s a bit like Ivanhoe if it was set in a jungle and everyone had a high-pitched singing voice.
I noticed this one extra in the background during a dance scene. He looked like he had no idea why he was there. He was just swaying back and forth with this look of pure boredom on his face. I felt for him. I really did.
The sets are so obviously fake. You can see the floor of the soundstage in a few shots where the dirt didn't quite cover the wood. It’s charming in a way. Like a high school play with a multi-million dollar budget from 1930.
There is also a scene where a guy is supposed to be hiding in the bushes, but the bushes are about two feet tall. You can see his whole head. Nobody in the movie seems to notice. 🌿
Early sound movies like this or Black Waters always have this weird hiss in the background. It sounds like it’s raining all the time, even when they are inside. It makes the singing feel even more disconnected from the world.
The lyrics are... something else. They sing about 'Dawn' a lot. The title song gets stuck in your head, but not in a good way. It’s more like a persistent itch you can't reach. It just keeps coming back.
The movie ends so abruptly I thought my screen had frozen. One minute they are singing, and the next, it’s just over. No real wrap-up, just a quick fade to black. It’s like the director just ran out of film and said, 'Yeah, that’s enough of that.'
I don't think I’d ever watch it again. But I’m glad I saw it once. It’s a reminder that movies used to be much more experimental and bizarre before they figured out all the rules. If you like seeing the 'rough drafts' of cinema history, give it a look. Just don't expect it to make any sense at all. 🤷♂️
It’s definitely more interesting than something like The Lightning Raider which is just a straight-up serial. This has ambition, even if it fails at almost everything it tries to do. It’s a colorful, loud, confusing disaster. And honestly? I kind of respect that.
IMDb —
1916
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