Das Piratenschiff

I welcome any opportunity to see Valentino, and "Moran of the Lady Letty" from 1922 is Valentino in action, aimed at getting the men interested in him as well as women.

Based on a play, the story concerns a wealthy young playboy, Ramon, with no purpose in life who is shanghaied and put into service on a ship of smugglers. Life on the sea and working turns out to be a good and enjoyable thing for Ramon. One day, the crew sees a boat that has suffered a coal fire and looks empty, so the men climb aboard to steal what they can. They find one crew member alive, who turns out to be a woman, Moran Letty (Dorothy Dalton), the daughter of the burned ship's captain. Ramon protects her from the evil captain (Charles Brinley) and falls in love with her.

Differences in class were the major topic of stories, plays, etc. in the '20s into the early '30s. This is no exception. Seen today, the facial expressions are big and obvious, and the dialogue cards are open to a different interpretation nowadays - Letty has no use for men, doesn't like them, and wished she had been born a man! Dorothy Dalton is exotic-looking and good as Letty, and Valentino is very handsome and effective as Ramon. The film is loaded with stereotypes, including the likable character Chopstick Charlie, played by Japanese actor George Kuwa.

This is all to be expected in an 88-year-old film. We only have a fraction of silent films available when you look at what has been made versus what has been lost. It's not the greatest Valentino film, but don't pass this up if you have a chance to see it.

On the sailing vessel the Lady Letty, we meet Moran (Dorothy Dalton), a Norwegian tomboy, reared as a seaman, who wears pants and works the ship right alongside the men. In San Francisco on Nob Hill lives rich and handsome Ramon (Valentino), idol of the débutantes, who spends his time throwing house parties and sailing on yachts. One day he's late for one of his yacht parties and gets himself shanghaied by a ship full of sea-outlaws. Forced to become Second Mate on a voyage headed towards Mexico, Ramon seems to take a shine to being shipboard and changes rapidly from dandy to able-bodied seaman, and before you know it he's happily swabbing the decks and looking gorgeous in white sleeveless t-shirt. Meanwhile, sailing in the same waters is the Lady Letty which suddenly catches on fire, and the outlaws go aboard to loot it, coming back with nothing but rum and a "loco sailor" - actually Moran dressed as a boy, brought over by Ramon who tries to keep her hidden away from the evil Captain. Now Ramon seems to develop a crush on Moran, but this may not work out for him - see, she wishes she were born a boy!

This film is packed with lots of shipboard action, fights, etc. - a bit too much for my taste actually. There is also a plot element that seems a little odd to me and that is the fact that Ramon seems so happy being on the ship with bad men who kidnapped him and are committing crimes. I am also not sure I like the match between Valentino and the woman, I kind of like them better as just "mates". The mainly sepia-tinted print shown on TCM looked okay, a tiny bit washed-out here and there but pretty good as a whole, and featured an excellent music score that matched the action well. For me, Valentino is the main reason to see this - he looks stunningly handsome in all of his scenes - sigh! I like Dorothy Dalton too, well cast in her tomboy part. Worth seeing for the beauty of Valentino alone.

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.

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.

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