Drifting

Priscilla Dean wants to get out of China, so she agrees to go to a small village with Wallace Beery and smuggle out some opium. Matt Moore is present, supposedly to reopen the local mine, but really to crack down singlehandedly on the opium trade. And everyone knows it.

There are several things about the movie I don't care for, among them the sense-free title, and Bruce Guerin as the little kid who rushes in during the final battle, seemingly expressly to stop Miss Dean from destroying the opium and to strangle her while she is trying to shoot murderous opium dealers who are trying to burn the building she has taken refuge in, and to shoot her. In fact, the movie looks to have been chopped down somewhere along the way; while the opening sequence in Shanghai is well paced, the village sequence seems to lose most of its cohesion.

Still, there are pleasures in this example of Tod Browning directing Miss Dean as a shady lady. There's Wallace Beery in his villainous phase; there's J. Farrell McDonald as a drunken Irishman, making fun of the toupee he wears; and 18-year-old Anna May Wong gives a performance that seems sedate most of the time, but reveals passion.

The excellence of the print made it clear why they used to tint and tone so much in the silent era: it makes the scenes pop out, like the red in the battle-and-fire scenes, and the green in the night scenes; apparently there were other choices than blue to show the world was dark.

For a major production, this one has not aged particularly well, with its yellowface performers, and characters, like Master Guerin's parents, who simply disappear from the film. Still, it has its pleasures.

Count this among those silent titles that have gratifyingly been very well preserved, or restored; the image quality is all but pristine. That makes 'Drifting' all the more pleasing to watch, as every genuinely rich detail herein is all the more vibrant as it greets our eyes. True of the era generally, and sometimes it seems of filmmaker Tod Browning's works specifically, we see outstanding, flavorful production design and art direction, fantastic costume design, and lovely hair and makeup work, not to mention commendable cinematography; to be honest, this might be worthwhile on that basis alone. The cast give reliably strong performances such that it's a pleasure just to watch them at work; Priscilla Dean, Wallace Beery, Matt Moore, Anna May Wong, and others should warm the cockles of any cinephile's heart. Even before we consider the content proper there's a great deal to enjoy still, 100 years later, in a picture that's so well made, and frankly a feast for the eyes. I definitely was taken with it from the very start.

As to that content: the feature arguably rides a lines with its story that is set in China. Even today Hollywood has a significant problem with diversity and inclusivity, and outright racism, and in many ways this was often worse in the early years of cinema. Could it be that 'Drifting' also falls into the all too common trap of romanticizing an "exotic" locale and people, dabbling with stereotypes, casting white actors in non-white roles (with or without inappropriate makeup), and mishandling the setting and subject matter? Sadly, it's not wholly without fault in this regard; its worst sin is the yellowface that adorns some of the supporting cast. In the very least, however, I think it's safe to say that this film is mostly much better about such matters than too many of its contemporaries. In fact, keeping in mind its imperfections, I nonetheless think it's sufficiently smarter such that one can ease off such concerns a little bit, and just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

And what a show it is! Like most silent films that are based on a play I can't claim any familiarity with the source material, a drama by John Colton, but I can say without question that the adapted screenplay penned by Browning with A. P. Younger is rather terrific. At least to me it feels like the plot is decidedly more complex than we often saw in similar fare, with more facets to the tale being spun and complications beyond "so-and-so is led into a life of crime, then finds redemption." The scene writing is marvelously strong, coming off like the cinematic equivalent of a word processor making rare use of italics, underlining, and bold typeface - robust, emphatic, and declaratory, yet still leaving sufficient room for the people involved to explore the space being made for them as it echoes the greater complexity of the overall narrative. There's earnest, welcome depth to the characters, enabling the cast to dig deeper and find more purchase for their acting; I'm already a fan of Dean, Beery, Moore, and their co-stars, but I wonder if this doesn't actually represent some of their best performances. Even the intertitles, whether dialogue or exposition, are written with measurable wit and intelligence, helping the title to build audience investment, propel the drama, and find its heart. True, it's a little tiresome just how often Chinese characters pointedly speak in sage aphorisms or with Extra Smart verbiage (I did say "stereotypes"), but this isn't so severe an issue as to detract from the experience, and still the writing impresses.

All this is more than enough to make 'Drifting' well worth watching; well before it's even reached the halfway mark I've all but completely fallen in love. Yet then we factor in the expert direction of Browning, and the movie might actually be a must-see. Not all of Browning's many works met with equal success, but by and large he was and should be remembered as a titan of the early film industry. He again demonstrates why here with a sharp eye for orchestrating shots and scenes, and a delicate hand with which to guide his cast throughout. It's quite worth reiterating: almost every aspect of this feature is strong enough in and of itself to deserve if not demand viewership, recognition, and remembrance. That applies to the craftsmanship of those behind the scenes, to the fine acting of everyone in front of the camera, to the excellent writing, and just as much to the dependably skilled direction. Even Errol Taggart's editing and sequencing is surprisingly keen, illustrating finer capability than could often be said of the timeframe, and any stunts or effects are just plain swell. The climactic sequence is surely just as magnificent as some of the biggest and best the silent era had to offer! The end result of all this grand effort is a superbly engaging, entertaining, satisfying viewing experience, one that I rather think stands noticeably taller than no few of its silent siblings and even films of subsequent years.

Though opening myself up for the possibility of disappointment I assumed I would enjoy this, and still my expectations have been readily surpassed. Hats off to playwright Colton, by all means, but extra special congratulations to everyone participating in this production in particular, for their work is all-around tremendous. Though early movies broadly deserve to be preserved as part of our cultural heritage, some pictures are distinctly better than others. There's no doubt in my mind that 'Drifting' very much stands apart from many other examples with value that means it's fully entitled to such treatment. It may not be entirely free of the flaws that have characterized other features of the era, but I think it does do better, and in any event its quality far outshines any weaknesses. Even with a slight dent in its armor, ultimately I'm inclined to believe this is so well done that it becomes one of the premier underappreciated classics of the 1920s. Watch with awareness of where it stumbles, but do watch: 'Drifting' is altogether kind of brilliant, so good it might even withstand the stubbornness of those who have difficulty abiding the silent era, and worth far more than the mere 80 minutes it requires of our time. Bravo!

Having just seen and reviewed the new Blu-ray for OUTSIDE THE LAW, I then turned my attention to Kino's other Priscilla Dean Blu-ray release DRIFTING/THE WHITE TIGER (both 1923) especially as I had never seen either one of them before. That leaves only THE WICKED DARLING (1919) as the last surviving Priscilla Dean/Tod Browning collaboration not to be released on Blu-ray. During the late teens and early 1920s Priscilla Dean (1896-1987) was one of America's most popular actresses and the top star at Universal Pictures. Her popularity declined rapidly in the mid 1920s as the studios moved away from the image of the strong, independent woman (who had gotten the right to vote in 1920) to the glamorous, more exotic one. The fact that Dean was zaftig (heavy set) as opposed to svelte also hastened the end of her status as a major star.

DRIFTING is a typical Dean vehicle in that she starts out as a criminal (in this case an opium smuggler) who eventually sees the error of her ways and decides to go straight at the end but only after much soul searching. Ultimately it is her love for the leading man that sways her decision. Her pictures were formulaic but that's what audiences expected back then and what she did, she did very well. DRIFTING is still fun to watch today because of the exotic setting (Shanghai) and lots of action especially in the finale. Director Tod Browning always had an eye for detail and he gives you plenty to look at here. This time around there is no Lon Chaney to be the nefarious villain (he was busy with THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME) but Wallace Beery was just as good in his own way and he's always fun to watch because you can see him thinking ahead.

The plot, as it is, concerns Dean and Beery who are opium smugglers. They try to move the stuff from under the nose of a government agent (Matt Moore) who is posing as a mining engineer. Dean wants to help her girl friend, a recovering addict, get back to America while Beery just wants more money. After several cat and mouse games between the characters, the film climaxes on a grand scale with a local uprising as peasants, led by the agent, try to overthrow the drug lords. In addition to Dean and Beery, the movie showcases a young Anna May Wong in a pivotal role as a MADAME BUTTERFLY like character. Her final scenes with Matt Moore are still moving even after almost 100 years. The transfer of the film from 35 mm materials is very good and the score by Andrew Earle Simpson enhances the action.

The other movie, THE WHITE TIGER, is taken from a surviving 16mm home print so the visual look of the film is not as good but it's more than watchable especially for silent film fans who are used to variable print quality. Storywise, TIGER is more interesting as it follows the escapades of 3 jewel thieves who hide out in a mountain cabin and eventually begin to turn on one another. Director Tod Browning would virtually remake this film at MGM 2 years later with Lon Chaney as THE UNHOLY THREE, one of his biggest successes. Once again Priscilla Dean is joined by Wallace Beery as the chief bad guy with Raymond Griffith as the third member of the trio. Griffith was a leading player during the silent era who transitioned into character parts once sound arrived. The bonus commentary by silent film specialist Bret Wood is both interesting and informative.

Finally there is the only surviving reel (about 11 minutes) of Dean's 1919 feature, THE EXQUISITE THIEF, and it is exquisite as it contains her robbing a society dinner and then escaping with her confederate in his car with members of the party in hot pursuit. One thing about the Dean/Browning collaborations, they never suffered from a lack of action sequences which keeps them interesting for today's audiences. It's really good to see Priscilla Dean finally receiving some recognition for her own merits rather than as some forgotten star whose movies featured a young Lon Chaney (he's in none of these) but the chances are that if these titles hadn't been directed by Tod Browning then they probably wouldn't have seen the light of day or at least not in quality editions like these.

BTW since several reviewers have asked about the title, DRIFTING refers to the Priscilla Dean character's drifting back and forth between doing what is right or continuing with what is wrong...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.