The Sea Lion

Hobart Bosworth was an interesting person. A traveler, adventurer, boxer, actor, sailor. He purportedly went to California at doctor's request for his health around 1908. In California Bosworth was amongst the earliest of stage actors to make movies in California becoming writer, director, actor, producer. Around 1913 Bosworth, already a movie veteran, formed his own production company ultimately producing a 1914 version of "The Sea Wolf". The Sea Lion is a 1921 adventure. The kind that Bosworthh liked to make. It is directed by Rowland Lee. Bosworth leads the cast in "The Sea Lion" in a yarn of a cuckold sailor who after 18 years is reunited with his daughter, played by Bessie Love. The print of this film is awful. The movie, is now in the public domain. Judging by the quality of the film it looks like a 6th generation print of a copy of a copy. It's hard to follow this movie because you can't read the intertitles at times or follow the action. Second and third viewings are almost mandatory to experience what the filmmakers are showing. Even in a messy print the story matter is exciting and one full of adventure. Hopefully a better print surfaces. dir. Rowland V. Lee, Bosworth Prods.

Brutish whale-hunting Hobart Bosworth (as John Nelson) is no favorite on the docks of San Francisco. The feared taskmaster captain of "The Lair" runs a tight ship, and has trouble finding men to fill a crew. Overhearing two mates discuss impending fatherhood causes Bosworth to recall when he and his wife "Dolly May" were expecting their baby… and, we "flashback" twenty years, for a bitter recollection… Bosworth returns from seafaring, with a cradle built for baby, and discovers his wife's note: "Please forget me. I have found the man I really love. Dolly." So, now we know why Bosworth's a brute...

What isn't explained is how he knows he couldn't be the baby's father. Another sloppy plot development is the changing of the "flashback" incident, later in the picture, from twenty to sixteen years ago; either Bosworth has poor recall or someone decided to make the daughter, when she finally appears as an adult, younger. While Mr. Bosworth frightens away potential sailors, young wastrel Emory Johnson (as Tom Walton) is thrown off his estate, after his father pays off a gold-digging girlfriend.

With nowhere to turn, Mr. Johnson joins Bosworth's crew, where "The Sea Lion" bullies him unmercifully. Hoping to find drinking water, the ship approaches an uncharted island. There, they find fetching young Bessie Love (as Blossom) and wizened guardian Richard Morris (as "Uncle" Billy), survivors of a sixteen-year-old shipwreck. Johnson finds Ms. Love attractive; he tries to help her avoid Bosworth, who thinks she is the daughter of his wife and her lover - but, Bosworth may not know the whole true story…

This was the last of stage veteran Bosworth's self-produced vehicles, and was definitely representative of his "silent film"-era starring roles. There was more variety in the actor's abilities, but Bosworth was most frequently seen as a snarling seafarer. Around this picture's release, he was winding down from a resurgence of popularity begun with a "comeback" appearance in "Behind the Door" (1919). In spite of chronic health problems, Bosworth sailed on into the 1940s, becoming an effective sound era character actor.

***** The Sea Lion (12/5/21) Rowland V. Lee ~ Hobart Bosworth, Bessie Love, Emory Johnson, Richard Morris

The image quality is less than pristine, not even on account of deterioration of a surviving print but seemingly just a result of the available equipment and the filming conditions. There are also times where the plot development is rather blocky and rough, reflecting an unnatural Just So sensibility that we as an audience can only accept at face value so that the tale can continue. This is on top of the fairly straightforward nature of the story, and a sometimes even-handed tone in the direction that somewhat lessens the drama that the picture bears. If 'The Sea Lion' were a prose narrative it would be a rather brief short story, and one that likely represents a more modest side of the author's body of work. None of this is to specifically cast aspersions on director Rowland V. Lee, nor writers Emilie Johnson or Joseph F. Poland, for apart from subjective trouble with tone all their work is broadly admirable. I don't think it's unreasonable to suppose, however, that this is the type of silent film that will not find as much favor with those who have a hard time engaging with older cinema, and it's best recommended for viewers who are already enamored of the style.

With all this having been said, as much as one may him and haw about the particulars, by and large the feature remains well done and enjoyable more than not. The plot is compelling even in its simplicity, and the earnestness of the storytelling is surely also a point in its favor. Though quite simple even by the standards of some contemporaries, I admire G. O. Post and J. O. Taylor's cinematography, and in general Lee's arrangement of shots and orchestration of scenes is appreciable. The production benefited from swell filming locations, and a lovely ship, not to mention some fine sets and costume design; those stunts and effects on hand look pretty good. The acting doesn't necessarily make any especial impression, but I think all involved give suitably capable performances such that I'd like to find more of their movies to watch; even in a small supporting part with little to actually do, Bessie Love is so charming that she rather steals the show from chief star Hobart Bosworth. And commendations are definitely due to artists who contributed, for the illustrations that accompany the intertitles are often altogether beautiful, and an unexpected highlight.

One sometimes sees the silent era referred to as "simpler entertainment for a simpler time," and while this phrase is, well, oversimplifying the matter, it's not wholly untrue. For as discernibly, relatively unsophisticated as 'The Sea Lion' is in most regards, such a description feels more apt than not. Nonetheless, I do like it, and I recognize the skill and intelligence that all involved put into it. I don't think it's anything so special as to demand viewership, and it unquestionably counts among the lighter fare that the early years of the medium had to offer. Still, there is value here on its own merits, let alone as a surviving piece of cinema from over one hundred years ago, and for cinephiles with a taste for the classics, this is a pleasant little nothing to whet one's palate on a quiet day. Don't go out of your way for this, and be aware that it's more of an appetizer than an entree, but 'The Sea Lion' is duly entertaining for what it is.

Sea Lion, The (1921)

** (out of 4)

A bitter sea captain (Hobart Bosworth) does everything he can to be mean to people due to his wife leaving him out of no where sixteen years earlier. On one voyage they happen across a man and a young girl who have been shipwrecked on an island for sixteen years. The captain takes them on board and soon their stories connect. Rowland V. Lee directed this silent film, which has a couple good scenes but the story is so predictable that it's hard to be too shocked or surprised when the big twist comes. The morality tale is also a tad bit silly but there's some good stuff out at sea. Bosworth does the most with the screenplay and delivers a fine performance but the supporting players, including Emory Johnson, are all wooden.

Brisk little tale about a brutal sea captain (Hobart Bosworth) nicknamed "the Sea Lion" and the fateful voyage that involves mutiny and the depletion of their water supply.

We're told in flashback that Bosworth was once a jolly fellow, eagerly anticipating his return from sea to his wife and new baby. But when he arrives home, the wife and baby are gone. She's run off with another man. Nearly 20 years later, he holds the bitterness like a shield as he goes about his job.

On the current voyage, a first-time seaman (Emory Johnson) is escaping his family and is the butt of all jokes on board. But after months at sea, the water runs out and the crew mutinies while Johnson is atop the crow's nest. He helps the captain quell the riot and is made first mate. Soon thereafter they spot an island and head for it.

On the island they find some people who were shipwrecked 16 years before. The young girl named Blossom (Bessie Love) is the daughter of a white woman who died on the island after the shipwreck. back on board, while Johnson and Love fall in love, Bosworth's hatred flairs when he learns that Love is the daughter of his runaway wife. But who was the father? Bosworth is solid as the brutal captain, and Love and Johnson make their stock characters interesting. The scenes at sea are surprisingly authentic and add immensely to this simple story of love and hate and redemption.

My copy has an excellent and rousing piano score. Worth a look.