Lorna Doone

I've seen 4 versions of this story and this silent classic starring John Bowers and Madge Bellamy is by far the best, much more poignant than the modern A+E version!

The action is great, the romantic characters obtain your sympathy immediately, and the cinematography for a 1922 film is outstanding. This must have been a real epic in its day.

One chilling aspect of this film is the fact that when we first meet the adult John Bowers in his role as John the shepherd boy he is fighting for his life, trying to save himself from drowning in rough waters. Later we see him deliberately jumping over a waterfall into the same waters below. One wonders whether this film gave John Bowers the idea that drowning was the way to go, since he committed suicide by drowning. The character of Norman Maine in three versions of A Star Is Born is based on poor John Bowers. He was so handsome in this film, and quite a good actor. It is too bad that someone couldn't have reached out to him and given him some acting jobs once talkies came in; they might have saved his life.

Watching Maurice Tourneur's "Lorna Doone " is very much like visiting an art gallery; it is so filled with gorgeous images, expertly photographed by Henry Sharp. Interestingly, Mr. Tourneur uses the camera to tell a simpler, less stylized story than previously. This time, it's the simple, but everlasting love of soul-mated Madge Bellamy (as Lorna Doone) and John Bowers (as John Ridd).

The intimate-looking location scenes are a highlight: for example, note how Tourneur stages the lovers' introduction, as children, with young Mae Giraci drawn to young Charles Hatton as he is pumping water to wash his hair. (Tourneur directs children and water beautifully, as a rule.) Later, watch for the "farewell" scene after Ms. Bellamy's "true identity" is revealed. Mr. Bowers' body language, even when in the background, is revealing. Also, the "bridge" they have crossed, moves over to the left of the screen, with the carriage door opening, and a hand reaching out to take Bellamy away...

On the downside, the story takes turns, and introduces characters that are difficult to understand. In the early scenes, it appears "Lorna" is abducted by the evil "Doone" family (by the way, both she and "John" appear old enough to know what's going on). Later, that event becomes more complicated. A check with the original novel's plot, and a second viewing, doesn't exactly help.

******** Lorna Doone (1922) Maurice Tourneur ~ John Bowers, Madge Bellamy, Donald MacDonald

Cineasts jaded and cynical as I might be surprised by the enjoyable nature of this recently restored silent film -- the decision to watch spurred more by the interest in seeing otherwise forgotten John Bowers whose suicide has punctuated many a Hollywood allegory. Imagine my thrill, then, at seeing an overlooked treasure that, while certainly not a classic, demonstrates many of the long unappreciated qualities of early filmmaking.

Filled as it is with the wild gesticulations, grimaces and posturing that define early films, "Doone" also has excellent direction, a swift pace that only occasionally lags, and good performances by the cast. One can easily understand Bowers' rapid rise to fame (making his suicide all the more difficult to understand) with his brooding presence and oddly-handsome face that stands antithetical to the "pretty boys" who were his contemporaries.

If one can overlook the oddities in this film that are a natural part of such early films (the overuse of makeup, the odd lapses in continuity) "Lorna Doone" will certainly hold one's interest as a seldom seem tale that deserves more attention than it has received.

With some good cinematography and a rather unsettling background score, LORNA DOONE is a movie my father always mentioned liking very much for story and content. He must have seen it when he was in his early thirties and often mentioned it as one of his favorite novels and movies.

It's the rather familiar yarn of two people kept apart by the class system who were teen-age lovers separated by fate and then reunited years later when the girl has been held hostage by pirates and reared as one of the Doone clan. The years pass and by chance, during a fateful incident in the rapids, the young man (JOHN BOWERS) drifts toward Lorna's territory. When he awakens, she's tending to him and thus their story begins again.

The title role is nicely played by MADGE BELLAMY who has a sweet, old-fashioned grace about her that makes her heroine appealing and vulnerable. She seldom goes into the silent film technique of acting, nor does Bowers, who does a splendid job as the stalwart hero.

In reading about the film, I discovered that the ruggedly handsome Bowers committed suicide by drowning fourteen years after making this film, when his stardom was on the wane with the advent of talkies. It's rumored that he was the man depicted in A STAR IS BORN, Norman Maine, who walks into the ocean toward the finish.

Summing up: Interesting tale, well told but almost too familiar for most of us who've seen variations of it or actual remakes of it over the years.

An excellent silent film.

I like the modern music score on the version shown on TCM in March 2005. It was composed by Mari Iijima (if you're going to bad-mouth a composer, you ought to spell their name correctly...), and has nice Philip Glass-like qualities. I love modern music scores for old silent films generally (for instance, the Alloy Orchestra's work).

The film has some great cinematography, and it's worth seeing just for that. The shots of the water in several places, the beach where Lorna is kidnapped, and of mad villagers chasing on horseback are really excellent, with great texture and lighting.

Shockingly silly, abrupt ending.