Old Ironsides

Having enjoyed MASTER & COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD with Russell Crowe and its incredible depiction of life aboard an early 19th century frigate, I decided to re-view this 1926 film of shipboard life. I was surprised to note that several scenes in OLD IRONSIDES are quite similar to scenes in MASTER & COMMANDER. Surely director Peter Weir must have screened this movie before making his. The battle sequences are very similar with sand being spread on deck to absorb blood, the crew hitting the deck to avoid a volley, young boys dying during the fighting, and fierce close up hand to hand combat. Both movies are set during the same time period but this story is very different with the USS Constitution versus the Barbary Pirates being the setting here.

Charles Farrell who was a big romantic lead in the 20's especially when paired with Janet Gaynor, shows here why he was so popular. He is vulnerable but heroic, reserved but not stoic and he possesses an effortless charm that makes him appealing. Although playing the standard damsel in distress role, Esther Ralston makes an engaging heroine who is not a total wimp when the going gets tough. Character actors Wallace Beery and George Bancroft have a field day as feuding sailors while George Godfrey is featured in a more significant role than black actors of the time were usually given. Add to that some brief nudity and a discreetly sexy performance from Ralston (she was once known as The American Venus) and you have a real winner on your hands.

This epic film was well directed by movie pioneer James Cruze (THE COVERED WAGON, THE GREAT GABBO) who is all but forgotten today due to virtually all of his films being lost. Finally Paramount with the help of Kino Lorber has released this on DVD/Blu-Ray along with several of the others in their VHS silent film series of over 30 years ago including THE COVERED WAGON and a new release of Rudolf Valentino's THE SHEIK. Now if we can just get a restored version of Erich von Stroheim's THE WEDDING MARCH, then we will have them all. Special features included with this release are background commentary, a booklet, and Rodney Sauer's piano reduction of the original 1926 orchestral score...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.

"Old Ironsides" (1926) is a lavished production from the glory days of American silent cinema, helmed by director James Cruze. This is a two-hour historical epic, that takes place in the late 18th century, when Unites States was still a very young country. Pirates are terrorizing the Mediterranean, and U.S. politicians decide that they can no longer sit idly as this also affects their citizens. The opening is a tad questionable from today's perspective. The film demonizes the inhabitants of northern Africa, because they take white Americans as slaves. There is a bit of truth, historically. Muslim people were not allowed to take other Muslims as slaves, so in distant centuries slaves were found elsewhere. Yet this film's condemnation of African slave-merchants is a bit problematic, as the film glosses over America's own, similar history. If the film-makers would have wanted to be progressive, this film could have easily denounced all forms of slavery.

Yet, if one can get over these historical difficulties, this is a well-made adventure narrative with a big budget. There is a proper amount of action and also a romance between Charles Farrell and Esther Ralston. The real stars of the film, however, are the charismatic Wallace Beery and George Bancroft, who do a fine job here. However it is worth pointing out, that Bancroft's introductory scene shows him having a tattoo, which says "G. Bancroft", as it was the habit of silent films to also introduce the actors while the film was going on. Interesting curiosity. The film also included Gary Cooper and Boris Karloff as extras, though I didn't really spot either of them.

This film is well worth a watch for fans of naval adventures, as well as the fans of Wallace Beery.

Hollywood studios have always tried to introduce new technologies to gain a competitive advantage over their rivals. Paramount Pictures found an easy solution to make their adventure films more exciting by innovating the "Magnascope." As the name describes, Magnascope was a projection process where, during exciting adventure scenes the projectionist would switch to a larger widescreen lens. The first use of the Magnascope was during the battle scenes in December 1926's "Old Ironsides." Even though the picture quality suffered somewhat since the movie was filmed by the film standard 4:3 aspect ratio, when the projectionist turned his lenses to the widescreen, the on-screen image became close to the modern-day 1:85:1 rectangular sizing. The process was used in several Paramount films, but was retired once newer innovations emerged in the projection booth.

During its December 6, 1926, premier at New York City's Rialto Theatre, when the projector operator turned to the Magnascope lens to increase the picture size during a maritime battle sequence, the audience collectively stood up and cheered. The movie's subject, focused in on the USS Constitution during its early Barbary Coast pirate confrontations, profited greatly from the sold-out premier since Paramount donated all its proceeds from that evening to the restoration fund for the ship's refitting. The frigate was one of the first ships the young United States Navy's had constructed, designed specifically to fight the pirate menace off the North African coast. The USS Constitution was built with durable live southern oak growing on St. Simons Island, Georgia, and milled nearby before shipped to Boston. Despite what the "Old Ironside" movie depicts, the USS Constitution earned its nickname 'Ironside' from the War of 1812's battle against the HMS Guerriere, where the British cannonballs could be seen bouncing off the ship's planking.

"Old Ironsides," directed by James Cruze, who introduced the epic Western genre in his 1923 "The Covered Wagon," filmed a combination of real and miniature ships for his action scenes. During one battle sequence, a real ship, the S. N. Castle, built in 1886, was retrofitted to appear as an early-1800s ship. The S. N. Castle was actually fired upon and sank specifically for the movie. The film had an all-star Paramount Studio cast, including Charles Farrell, Esther Ralston, Wallace Beery and George Bancroft. Even Boris Karloff is seen in a bit part as a pirate guard.

Silent movies somehow found a way to incorporate a romantic angle, no matter how remote the possibilities might be. Actress Esther Ralston finds herself on a mercantile ship journeying the transatlantic when the pirates overtake the boat. Ralston was popular in Hollywood during the making of "Old Ironside," earning $8,000 per week. Once talkies took over the movies, she appeared to be making a successful transition. But she was suddenly relegated to minor roles in low-budget films by small-time studios in the mid-1930s. Ralston claims in her autobiography, 'Some Day We'll Laugh,' that she refused to sleep with MGM's head Louis B. Mayer. She soon discovered her studio contract was canceled and found herself gray listed in Hollywood.

Charles Farrell, playing the love-lorn sailor whose physicality and heroism gains the attention of Esther while she's on the boat, gained one of his first major parts in "Old Ironside" after arriving on the Hollywood scene in 1923. He would receive further prominence by his lead role in 1927's "7th Heaven." Having a relatively successful film career until the early 1940s, he eventually entered city politics at his hometown Palm Springs, California, and was mayor there from 1947 until 1955.

"Old Ironsides" itself was the fifth highest box office movie in 1926. But as par for costly epics, the expensive production didn't quite make its money back for Paramount even though the public flocked the theaters in droves to view the spectacle.

This picture is absolutely fantastic. I just saw it two nights ago when I was clearing out my room and felt in the mood for a sea epic. It's funny how someone like me, who doesn't even know how to swim (and doesn't plan to), indulges himself with every sea picture he sees. Chuck Farrell proves a worthy choice for the lead; a dreamer, seeking adventure on the high seas. Esther Ralston, even though I'm anti-blonde, is gorgeous as his supporting heroine. The portion of the cast that MADE the picture however was Wallace Beery and George Bancroft. They were awesome characters and the fight scenes between them were hilarious. I will NOT reveal anymore important plot elements, see the picture for yourself and enjoy. Just make sure to bring a towel, you're bound to get drenched with excitement.

Charles Farrell, an enterprising young lad, becomes a member of the crew of the Esther, a merchant ship bound to Naples. On the way, he makes friends with bos'n Wallace Beery, George Bancroft, a gunner who deserted from the Constitution, cook George Godfrey, and pretty passenger Esther Ralston. However, the ship is captured by Barbary Pirates, Miss Ralston is scheduled to be taken, along wih the ship, as a gift to an emir, and the men thrown into a slave quarry. Our Hero and his three pals escape and make their way to the Consiution, which finally shows up nearly an hour into the movie, where Johnny Walker as Stephen Decatur is already engaging in heroics. This goes on and it is in the final twenty minutes that we actually get the Battle of Tripoli and everyone is rescued.

It's a bit leisurely in getting down to what everyone is waiting for, but when it finally happens, it's a well conducted reenactment, with director James Cruze doing a lot of beautiful model work, thanks to Farciot Edouart and his special effects team. Bancroft is a lot of fun in a terrible wig, and Beery gets a big shove from the villains he had been playing towards the big-hearted lout he would portray at MGM. It's a rousing Yankee Doodle of a movie, and the script offers a lot of nice touches, thanks to a writing team that included Laurence Stallings, Rupert Hughes, and Dorothy Arzner. Some sequences were shot and presented in Magnascope, but the copy I looked at lacked the effect.