L'appel du sang

Maurice Delarey and Hermione Lester, newlyweds, are on their honeymoon in Sicily . When the bride visits the bedside of a dying friend, Maurice is dragged by an elder, Émile d'Arbois, to a village festival. There, he falls in love with Maddalena, daughter of the fisherman Salvatore and sister of Gaspare...

Recently restored with good pictures , this obscure melodrama deals with atavism : hence the title which means "call of the blood) : in effect Maurice,the newly wed, has Sicilian blood in his veins, for he has a grandmother from his island ; he falls head over heels for a young maid ; but in these islands, Sicily or Corsica , families have a strong sense of honor and the father,Gaspere ,is not prepared to accept it, and this affront calls for blood. Tragedy is around the corner ....

Louis Mercanton, a Swiss director,began his career in Africa on stage (the older miserable suitor leaves for Africa in this movie); later he would direct Sarah Bernhardt on the silver screen.