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:

interracial marriage | china | chinese | asian | bigamy | 

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Taglines:

The colors of nature have been PHOTOGRAPHED for the first time in making THE TOLL OF THE SEA A great romantic drama of the Orient. (Print Ad- The Telegraph-Herald, ((Dubuque, Iowa)) 22 April 1923)

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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:

The Toll of the Sea

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

This film was considered lost for many years. It was restored in 1985 from the original camera negative.

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Quotes

Old Chinese Gentleman: Whence comes this foreign face?
Lotus Flower: Alone in my garden I heard the cry of wind and wave. I came hurrying fast - and he was here!
Old Chinese Gentleman: Beware of this stranger! The sea is treacherous. His coming bodes no good!

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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

Beautifully told and photographed story. This film is now available on the "Treasures from American Film Archives" DVD.

This beautifully told story was written by Frances Marion, the highest paid and most famous woman screenwriter of the early film days. It is beautifully photographed in color, one of the first. The story loosely follows Madame Butterfly and is tender and touching.