The Chechahcos

Quick setup: a mother and child are separated in a shipwreck during the Alaska gold rush and two guys end up raising the kid.

The story was surprisingly interesting. Pretty atypical of Hollywood pictures of the time. A bit slow paced for my taste but that's nothing to complain about since the duration wasn't long and the editing was more than adequate.

The best aspect of this film is the setting. The Alaska moving pictures corporation (which i can't say I've seen any other films from) really used Alaska to great benefit and chose to tell a story that is greatly enhanced by it. There are many beautiful shots here that justify watching the film alone. Just don't go in expecting The Great White Silence (1924) or Nanook of the North (1922) since this best aspect of the film is dampened a bit by the worst criticism I have with it which is that for 99% of the run time, the camera is moving at speeds reaching as high as approximately 0.00 meters per second.

Depending on who you talk to this static camera should be considered weak and outdated after 1914 or 1919 or 1927. The film was released in 1923, so pick for yourself whether contextually this is a valid criticism or not. I personally fall into the "i watched it now, I'm (dis) recommending it now, i find it (bad) good by my standards, not what i think it'd be like in 1920s" group.

Thanks for reading.