Jovem Redentor

Lars Hanson is a seminary student in this silent feature, who is engaged and a model citizen in a small fishing village on the coast of Massachusetts in olden times, but his defense of a lady of ill repute who's "lost" lands him in hot water and the people who have been shunning her have started to alienate him as well. Through a series of events, both of them get out of town by means of a ship, which is presumably a fishing or cargo ship in search for goods, and thereby leaves his girl in the wake of the upset and still pining for him. But, on the ship, they soon find out that the crew and captain are not what they seem. After a scuffle and a dramatic moment between the young lady and the captain, the emotional ending begins. What began as a rather straight-forward and involving little film becomes a very moving and sensitive experience. I'm so glad I taped and watched this forgotten film. Lars Hanson, star of The Scarlet Letter with Lillian Gish, and who was quite the sex symbol of his day, is very effective as a man of the cloth and underplays his role. What might have been corny or over-the-top by someone like Richard Dix is very heartfelt and sincere by Lars. "Captain Salvation" can be found on TCM (in fact it was just on, but I watched my own copy of it) and is a silent film that sadly has been overshadowed by major films like Metropolis, Sunrise, Greed, and a lot of director D.W. Griffith's. Discover it today.

I just finished watching "Captain Salvation" on Turner Classic Movie's "Silent Sunday". I was greatly impressed by the quality of the print, with great picture clarity, facial expressions, town scenes (we had just watched the "High Noon" DVD that evening, and it was comparable in picture quality). The new soundtrack showed copyright 2005. All of the dialog boards were, of course, new.

The storyline was something else, but still delightful to get a feel for the dramatic overacting required of silent stars in the 1920's. The ending storyboard explained "and that is how the first Gospel Ship came into being". What a great experience, to feel transported back in time.

Thank-you TCM for the efforts and monies to rescue these films, and then for sharing them with us.

This first-rate production from MGM, effectively evoking the Victorian atmosphere and attitudes of 1840s New England, is a fine film about the redemptive power of religion that isn't at all preachy or stereotypical.

Highlighted by sensitive performances from Lars Hansen as a divinity student, Marceline Day as his fiancée, and especially Pauline Starke as the prostitute who comes between them, this film is not a melodrama as some have described it, but treats seriously complex issues of rape and the Christian's moral duty to sinners, and shows to what desperate measures people may resort in order to achieve redemption. Without giving away too much, I will add that the way former prostitute Bess Morgan preserves her new-found virtue defies Christian orthodoxy yet defines her as a hero just the same, and demonstrates just how subtle these early non-talking films could be.

In the Spring of 1840, tall, fair and handsome Lars Hanson (as Anson Campbell) returns from seminary studies, to his little New England town. A prayerful and seafaring man, Mr. Hanson is welcomed by the folks at home, especially virginal sweetheart Marceline Day (as Mary Phillips). The pair plan to become minister and wife, but drift apart when Hanson defends Boston prostitute Pauline Starke (as Bess Morgan) against the town's wrath. He is advised, "Get that trull out of here!" But, Hanson shocks puritanical villagers by taking in the shipwrecked woman, and nursing the "Waterfront Jezebel" back to health.

Ironically, Hanson's "Christian charity" threatens his ministry and engagement. Returning her ring, Ms. Day exclaims, the "scarlet woman is stealing your soul!" In a grand scene, Ms. Starke tells Day she should have stood by her man. Ostracized, Hanson and Starke join a ship supposedly headed for Rio. That the Captain of the "Panther" is frequently nasty Ernest Torrence should tell you smooth sailing is not in the offing. Helping Hanson find his faith is one of Starke's best roles, and she performs it beautifully. Director John Robertson, photographer William Daniels, and the crew make "Captain Salvation" exciting.

******* Captain Salvation (5/14/27) John S. Robertson ~ Lars Hanson, Pauline Starke, Marceline Day, Ernest Torrence

Captain Salvation (1927)

*** (out of 4)

This Cosmopolitan picture contains a lot of melodrama but it also features some rather graphic material that certainly wouldn't have passed the Hayes Code only a short decade later. The story is pretty simple as a future preacher (Lars Hanson) is about to be married in his small town when there's a boat crash and a "unholy" woman (Pauline Starke) washes ashore. Near death, the preacher takes her in, which causes many of the gossiping Christians in town to spread the word that there's something sexual going on between them. Disgusted by the gossip, the preacher and woman board a ship not knowing that the Captain (Ernest Torrence) isn't being honest with them in regards to where it's headed. The plot of a town's gossip isn't anything too original seeing as how even D.W. Griffith was dealing with it a decade earlier but what makes this film really stand out are some great images, nice performances and some rather dirty stuff that wouldn't be in movies many more years. It's funny but if you want to see a more realistic movie then you have to go back to the silents because they appear to be the only films where the hero doesn't have to win in the end and they can also contain darker material. This film deals with rape, prostitution, murder and suicide; all of this in the short 87-minute running time. The movie comes off rather refreshing because we get to see all of this stuff and we also get a rather wild account of the Starke character being raped by her step-dad and then her saying how happy she was when the child died. These pre-code elements certainly separates this film from other melodramas out there and it's one of the reasons this film is worth viewing. Another are for the performances with Starke easily standing out and delivering a very memorable character and performance. She was wonderful early on as the vamp and we believe her transformation into the girl who wants to do good. Hanson, best remembered for playing the preacher in the Lillian Gish version of THE SCARLET LETTER, goes a bit over the top here but he still manages to be quite powerful. Pauline Starke, Torrence and George Fawcett all add nice supporting performances. What doesn't work in the film is the second half when we board the ship. There are some rather wild events that happen and I really didn't believe any of them as they all felt rather forced. I also wasn't as moved by the ending as I'm sure everyone making the film would have liked but with that said, this is still a pretty impressive film for fans of silents.