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Cult Review
Archivist John
Senior Editor
If you are into those old silent dramas that feel like they were filmed through a layer of cigarette smoke and river mist, this might be your thing. Anyone who hates slow, flickering black-and-white stuff should probably just stay far away. 🚢
I watched this on a rainy Tuesday and it felt just right for that kind of mood. It’s mostly for people who enjoy watching characters make terrible life choices while wearing very stiff collars.
The whole thing centers on Duke Martin, who is supposed to be friends with Ralph Emerson, but then he sees Ralph’s wife and everything goes to hell. The boat setting makes every scene feel way more claustrophobic than it probably should be.
Duke Martin has this way of looking at the wife that makes you feel like he’s trying to see through her skull. It is a bit much, honestly, but that was just how they did it back then.
There is this one scene in a tiny cabin where the lighting is so dim you can barely tell who is who. You can definitely feel the awkwardness though, like the air in the room just stopped moving.
It reminded me a little bit of the vibe in Kiss Me Again, just with more water and a lot less smiling. The boat itself looks like it might be made of cardboard in the wide shots, but then the water looks really real and cold.
Olive Borden is the real standout here, she does a lot with her eyes while Ralph Emerson just sort of stands there looking confused. I think Ralph’s character is supposed to be sympathetic, but he mostly just seems like he’s thinking about what is for dinner. 🍽️
At one point, there is a shot of the boat on the river that lingers for about thirty seconds too long. We get it, it is a boat and it is night time, let's get back to the drama!
The plot is pretty thin if you really think about it. It’s the kind of story you’ve seen a million times in movies like Mannequin or All Wrong where hearts just won't stay where they belong.
But the texture of this one is what stays with you after the screen goes black. There is a secondary character, maybe Nellie Bryden, who pops up and adds some weird energy to the background scenes.
She has this hat that is just way too big for her head. I honestly couldn't stop looking at the hat whenever she was on screen.
It is not a masterpiece or anything like that. It’s just a messy, sweaty little movie about people being human and making mistakes.
Sometimes the film gets a bit grainy and you lose some of the detail in the faces. That’s just part of the charm of these old silents, or maybe it’s just a really old print that needs some love.
I liked it more than I expected to, mostly because it doesn't try to be "important." It just wants to be a juicy story about a guy wanting what he can't have. 😅
The ending feels a bit rushed, like the director realized they were running out of film and had to wrap it up fast. One minute things are incredibly tense, and the next, it is just... over.
Anyway, watch it if you’re in a moody mood and want to see some vintage drama. Just don’t expect anything like Avatar, obviously.
IMDb 6.6
1927
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