Godless Men

Black Pawl (Russell Simpson) and his son, Red Pawl (Jim Mason) are the captain and first mate of a schooner on which comes Helene Chadwick, looking for passage back to the states. There is plenty of anger and action from a rebellious crew in this fair melodrama.

What makes it worthwhile is some very beautiful photography by Percy Hilburn, who would be the cinematographer of the silent BEN-HUR. The scenes shot above deck, dramatically tinted in the Grapevine Video edition I saw, are quite lovely. They show why a lot of film makers wished to film on the open water -- alas, the sea rarely seemed to cooperate with their schedules. Often, something would go wrong, usually bad weather, to hold up their schedules and make this sort of shoot ruinously expensive.

The weather seemed to cooperate this time and the audience can see the attraction.