Das Piratenschiff

It's hard to know whether Dorothy Dalton was always a dud or if she simply hasn't worn well, but her appeal these days is not readily apparent. Since that's true of a number of ladies who once made multitudes salivate in the silents, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. Her acting's okay. Despite her top billing, it's absolutely Rudy's picture, and he's very good in it. He never looked better, and it's a nice, varied, physical part. Despite his exotic looks, and the fact that he's given a Latin background, this is still a nice-boy part. Wallace Reid could have played it.

As with so many silents, one of the main draws is the realness and thereness of the exteriors. No need to record sound, so they go on location to San Francisco, they shoot on water, and I wouldn't take anything for the scene in front of a small movie house, where you get a feel of what it was like to walk in. TCM showed it in an absolutely marvelous, digitally restored print.

"Ramon" (Rudolph Valentino) is a spoilt little rich boy, bored of his life of banal glittering soirées with glamorous wallflowers. Shortly after we meet him, though, he is praying for that peaceable life after he finds himself coming to on a freighter carrying coal. This cargo was notoriously risky as it was prone to catching fire and producing a lethal gas and when, dead on cue, this happens - the cowardly crew abandon the ship leaving him behind. Luckily (or not?) the ship is soon boarded by another crew which leaves him and his surviving shipmate "Moran" (Dorothy Dalton) at the mercy of the ruthless "Capt. Kitchell" (Walter Long) who's aptly nicknamed "Slippery"! What we now realise is that the tomboyish "Moran" isn't actually a boy at all and as if that's not enough to pack into this barely one hour long feature, there's some treasure to be claimed too. Tempers fray and "KItchell" and "Ramon" look set for a bit of fisticuffs. I quite enjoyed this adventure film, if only because it shows Valentino in a more assertive role and Long is really quite effective, too, as the nasty creature who quite plausibly epitomised many of those jobbing sea captains who had scant regard for the laws of salvage or men! Dalton also turns in a plucky contribution and though it's all a little predictable, there are still some entertainingly staged scenes to keep it from sinking.

He was rich. She was not. He had no goals, no ambitions, no cares. Yet he recognizes that he is missing something. She sails the oceans and knows how to work and enjoys what she does. Then Ramon is shanghaied. There he learns to work and how to fight. In the process he admits to being the happiest he has ever been. Then through a series of misfortunes the Lady Letty is taken by the smugglers and Moran is taken as a prisoner. Ramon becomes her protector and to care for her. Finally Moran comes to care for Ramon. Then the question--what happens when they return to port?

Like so many good movies there are many levels to this one. It is a well crafted movie that moves at a strong pace yet goes beyond being just a love story and an action movie. It is also a very good study in what is important in life. This is definitely a movie that can be enjoyed more than once.

Finally, Rudolph Valentino is excellent as an action actor. The climax is loaded with exciting action!

In a Norwegian port, Dorothy Dalton (as Moran Sternersen aka "Moran of the Lady Letty") sets sail for San Francisco. "Born on the deep end and rocked to sleep by storms," Ms. Dalton, "came of a long line of sea-faring men." Dalton knows her way around a ship. Her father, Charles Brinley (as Eilert Sternersen) is her Captain; he loves only his ship, and his motherless daughter. Meanwhile, Rudolph Valentino (as Ramon Laredo aka "Lillee of the Vallee") misses a yacht bound for the same city. "Cradled in luxury," Mr. Valentino, "came to earth, heir to the aimless life of a rich man's son." Seeking other means of transport, Valentino is shanghaied on a ship of smugglers, captained by Walter Long (as "Frisco" Kitchell). He becomes quite taken with the adventure.

When Dalton's ship, the "Lady Letty", is felled by a cargo fire, Valentino rescues Dalton, and the unlikely duo fall in love. Although Valentino has become an accepted shipmate, a confrontation with the villainous Mr. Long becomes increasingly likely; especially, as Long lusts after Dalton.

"Moran of the Lady Letty" effectively contrasts Dalton's masculinity (her character is the "tomboy") with Valentino's femininity (his character is the "sissy"); and, they have a comfortable on-screen chemistry. As an actor, Valentino was often burdened by star persona; but, here, he is refreshingly natural. Although she is not relatively well-remembered, this was a good role for star Dalton. Villain Long, a great character actor, has one of his better parts. And, George Melford directed very effectively; the film's ending fight, between Valentino and Long, is a thriller. Before that, pay attention for the culmination of Long's shipping mission - when partner Cecil Holland (as Pancho) sees Long's boat arriving, he tells a wench, "Go on - get cleaned up!"

******* Moran of the Lady Letty (2/5/22) George Melford ~ Dorothy Dalton, Rudolph Valentino, Walter Long

Valentino does a quite creditable job of portraying a bored San Francisco society swell, whose life is turned upside down when he gets shanghaied by a villainous arms smuggler. His performance is refreshingly naturalistic (for a silent) as he discovers unexpected pleasure in his rough-and-tumble life as a smuggler -- at least, until the more sinister side of his captain's nature emerges. Walter Long makes a good heavy, and Dorothy Dalton is passable as the love interest.

What captivated me, though, were the locations: That harbor chock-full of tall ships, just at the end of the era of commercial viability for sail. And especially the two merchant ships on which most of the action takes place. When you see a sailing ship in a movie it's usually a replica of a warship from the 18th Century or earlier. I found those little details of actual workhorse merchant vessels from the late 1800s/early 1900s -- the zenith of commercial sailing -- fascinating.

For instance, there's a pretty authentic sequence in which the Lady Letty's cargo of coal spontaneously combusts -- a bad enough prospect when you're at sea, but much, much worse when you're at sea on something as inflammable as a ship constructed out of very dry wood. After the captain and a couple of men are overcome by fumes while trying to fight the fire, the remaining crew panics and abandons ship, leaving the captain's daughter behind, easy prey for vultures like Capt. "Slippery" Kitchell.

Whether you're a seafaring history buff or not, this is still an entertaining example of an action film from the heyday of the silents, and for my taste one of Rudolph Valentino's most watchable performances.