The Toll of the Sea (1922)

While visiting China, an American man falls in love with a young Chinese woman, but he then has second thoughts about the relationship.

Director:

Chester M. Franklin

Writer:

Frances Marion (story)

Stars:

Anna May Wong, Kenneth Harlan, Beatrice Bentley

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Anna May Wong	...	Lotus Flower
Kenneth Harlan	...	Allen Carver
Beatrice Bentley	...	Barbara Carver
Priscilla Moran	...	Little Allen (as Baby Moran)
Etta Lee	...	Gossip
Ming Young	...	Gossip

Storyline

When young Lotus Flower sees an unconscious man floating in the water near the seashore, she quickly gets help for him. The man is Allen Carver, an American visiting China. Soon the two have fallen in love, and Carver promises to take her with him when he returns home. But Carver's friends discourage him from doing this, and he returns to the USA alone. By the time the two of them meet again, much has changed, and their reunion proves very trying for them both.

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Plot Keywords:

china | chinese | asian | bigamy | rescue | 

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Genres:

Drama | Family | Fantasy | Mystery | Romance

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Release Date:

22 January 1923 (USA)

Also Known As:

A tenger vámja

Company Credits

Production Co:

Technicolor

Technical Specs

Runtime:

54 min 53 min (1985 alternate)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Color (2-strip Technicolor) (Process Number Two)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's story is a variation of Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, which premiered in 1904; except, the film takes place in China and the opera is set in Japan. In turn, the opera was based on an 1898 short story, under the same name, written by John Luther Long. The short story was based on the 1887 semi-autobiographical French novel, Madame Chrysanthème, by Pierre Loti.

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Quotes

Title Card: At the foot of the garden waited the restless sea.

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Alternate Versions

In 1985, this film was restored using original negative materials, by Richard Dayton and Pete Comandini of the YCM Laboratories, and Robert Gitt of the UCLA Film and Television Archives, using funds from the AFI/NEA Film Preservation Program. Because the last 3-minute sequence of the Pacific Ocean was missing, it was re-shot using Frances Marion's titles from her scenario and an authentic 2-strip Technicolor camera. The film ran 53 minutes plus about one minute of explanatory information and restoration credits.

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Connections

Featured in Anna May Wong, Frosted Yellow Willows: Her Life, Times and Legend (2007)

User Reviews

Historic and Beautiful

This 1922 film is apparently the first feature length film ever made in color, which alone makes it worth watching. It stars the beautiful, incomparable Anna May Wong, who was 17 at the time. She already shows remarkable maturity as an actress. The story unfolds when Lotus Flower discovers a Caucasian man floating in the sea and enlists help to save him. They fall in love and get married. Does the love last? This film is very dramatic, and it lasts under one hour. The story is told simply, with interesting twists in the tale. The film was thought lost for years until it was found, with the ending needing to be re shot. See it for the historical, pioneering aspect of it. But, most important, see it for the great performance of Anna May Wong. This movie cements the brilliant and varied versatility that she had as an actress.