Captain Salvation

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.

"Captain Salvation" could have been a segment of "Intolerance." In 1840, faced with blind discrimination, unfounded gossip and strict religious judgment, Anson Campbell, a seminary student, retreats to the sea. There, through a series of unfortunate events, he is reborn to his faith, 'baptized' by the fallen woman who has enlightened him.

Most performances are standard, but Pauline Starke's work is excellent. George Fawcett's character, Zeke, provides some of the story transitions by being around when the transitions occur. It is a critical function in silent movies too often provided by title cards alone(in talkies, by a narrator or other dialog). Generally, this picture is very smoothly directed by John Robertson.

Cinematography by William Daniels helps this picture shine. The new orchestral score by Philip Carli (TCM induced, I think)is great.

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 was fortunate to be sent a copy of this movie after my plea. It was worth it as it was a far better movie than I had expected, it not being one of the most well known of silents. Everything about this movie was class and to top it all off, the soundtrack by Philip Carli was just perfect and the print was crystal clear. The direction by John Robertson was first class, again considering that he was not one of the more well known directors of the time and the photography was the usual high standard that we expect from William Daniels. The cast were all excellent, Lars Hanson was superb as the tormented title character Anson Campbell, he has been accused of over acting, but, Anson Campbell is a man who is losing his faith and heading for a mental breakdown to boot and Hanson portrays that with chilling clarity at times, though admittedly he was a little over wrought in some later sequences. Pauline Starke was absolutely amazing as Bess Morgan, she made you care so much about her and you truly believed in her character as a woman who has endured so much sadness and has hit rock bottom as a whore, but, is willing to seek redemption and change her life. Marceline Day was excellent as Mary Phillips, so much in love with Anson, but, still putting her faith ahead of her heart. This was a film that questioned the personal interpretation Christian charity in a manner that I found surprising for a film of that time All the cast was superb and the settings of a small New England harbour town was excellent, the shipwreck scene was very well done. All in all an excellent movie and if TCM show then I recommend it 100%. Special thanks to Paul, without whom I'd have never seen this treat. Hey TCM UK, when are you going to show more silent classics like you do on the other side of the pond?

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.