Silent Sundays: The Shock (1923)

Silent Sundays: Terror Island (1920)

“Lost treasure has ever lured the adventurous- and today countless chases seemingly wild and impossible are under way to salvage the vast wealth sunken by raiders and submarines in the Great War.”

            I think stories of people going looking for sunken treasure is fascinating. It is not something I would ever want to do myself since the ocean freaks me the hell out in every single way but what I find fascinating is how explorers go looking for the treasures and how they act as detectives to locate the sunken vessels with the lost treasures. One story I find interesting is a wreck that happened in the 1800s. There was a ship that went down in a storm mostly because it was carrying so much gold bars that weighed it down. The lost gold caused a financial panic in the 1800s. A man found it after many years of trying to find but it turns out the cold is a bit cursed. Everyone who comes into contact with it has a bit of bad luck. One of the gold bars in currently on display at the museum I am interning at (The Museum of American Finance which is located on Wall Street). The gold bar was used as part of a tour for this company called Museum Hack. Me and the collections manager went on a Museum Hack tour because we have never been on one (it was amazing! It was like a dream to my museum nerd heart). The tour guide told us that the gold was cursed! Me and the collections manager looked at each other because she had put it on display!

            Looking for lost treasures of sunken ships has captured the imagination of people for decades. So many films and books have been written about explorers and adventurers looking for lost gold. One such film is a silent from 1920 entitled Terror Island.

            Harry Harper (Harry Houdini) has created an important submarine for finding treasures called the Hawk. In the local newspaper there is a story about a sunken ship full of diamonds and there is a big fortune for anyone who finds it. Harry had hoped to keep his invention a secret but it somehow got leaked to the newspapers.

            Job Mordaunt, known as the “meanest man in town” is looking for the diamonds just like everyone else. His son Guy (a very young Eugene Pallet) is in on the idea with his father but has some plans of his own to get the diamonds for himself. Guy calls Harry to discuss double crossing his father. Guy claims to have a map from his cousin Beverly and if he can get a hold of it he wants Harry to come with him to get the diamonds and split the profit. Harry tells Guy he does not do business with crooks.

            Beverly has a letter from her father that a pearl he gave her that is shaped like a skull was from an island where he has been taken prisoner. He writes that she must bring the pearl back to the island to rescue him and the native will show him where the sunken ship with the diamonds is located. The natives have given her father until the day of their feast day to bring the pearl back.

            Since Beverly does not trust her relatives she goes to Harry after reading about his new invention. He agrees to help her mostly because he does not want to do business with her uncle or cousin. As soon as Beverly get home she is attacked and chased by her uncle and cousin. Harry fears for her and runs to her house just in time before Mordaunt and Guy could do anything to her.

            Mordaunt finds Harry and attempts to kill him and kidnap Beverly. Mordaunt and Guy take them both onto a ship but Harry manages to escape and takes his submarine to the island where Beverly’s father is. Unfortunately, Harry is somehow recaptured when he goes to save Beverly. But what kind of film would this be if a rescue did not go over well? Harry and Beverly manage to get away again and swim down to the submarine.

            Beverly’s uncle took the pearl from her. Harry and Beverly go to different sides of the island to observe Mordaunt giving back the pearl. By doing this Harry figures they can still get the location of the sunken ship. The native get their pearl back but in exchange for her father and the pearl they want Beverly as their sacrifice.

            Harry makes it down to the native and they quickly hang him by the neck. Can it be called “pulling a Houdini” if Harry Houdini actually escapes, well, like himself? Yeah, I guess so. Harry pulls a Houdini and escapes the native’s hanging device. While Harry was struggling to get free the natives put Beverly into a safe from the downed Hawk and throw her into the ocean. Harry saves her and also manages to get his hands on the jewels from the Hawk. He comes up to the island and the natives are so impressed by him that they let Beverly and her father go free.

            Terror Island was good. I found it more exciting and engaging to watch than Harry Houdini’s other film I recently viewed, Haldane of the Secret Service. There was plenty of action and tension with the underwater and fight scenes. If you like silent films and would be interested in seeing Harry Houdini act in a film Terror Island is definitely worth watching. It is available to view in full on YouTube. 

Silent Sundays: The Witch Woman/The Parson's Widow (1920)

The Witch Woman or The Parson’s Widow takes place in the 1600s. A young parson named Sofren has just finished his studies and is looking for a position at a church. He is in love with and wants to marry Mari but her father will not let them marry unless Sofren has a job as a parson.

            A small village is in need of a parson. Sofren is one of three candidates for the position. The other two parsons are dressed well and were able to afford a good education at a university in Copenhagen. Sofren looks in on his competitors as they each give their sermons to some of the parishioners who will be deciding whether they get the position or not. His sermon is the only that catches everyone’s attention and he is chosen that night as the new parson. With his new position comes a clause, Sofren must marry the previous parson’s widow. This breaks Sofren’s and Mari’s hearts. The widow, Dame Margarete, is old and there are rumors that she is a witch.

            Sofren goes to see Dame Margarete in her home one night. Since it is late she makes Sofren spend the night. In the morning Margarete gives Sofren new clothes and food and alcohol. By the middle of the day the alcohol has put such a haze on Sofren’s eyes and mind that he sees Margarete as a young beautiful woman and says that they must be married.

            One day in town, after he and Margarete are married, Sofren is at the church speaking to Mari. Margarete comes walking along that point and sees them together. Sofren covers by saying that Mari is his sister and she is upset that she has to live away from him. Margarete lets Mari comes live with them as the parsonage.

            For some time Sofren tries his hardest to meet with Mari to be alone with her but everything they do to be with each other just backfires. They even try to scare the old woman to death a few times and that does not work either. Sofren and Mari come to respect and see how kind Margarete is when Mari falls down a ladder and hurts herself. For months after that incident Margarete takes great care of Mari. Margarete tells them that her husband, the former parson, had to marry the parson’s widow. It was five years before they could be together. Sofren confesses that Mari is not his sister.

            From that time on Dame Margarete spends more time at the grave of her husband and goes off on her own for long periods of time. One morning Mari notices that Dame Margarete cannot be found. She and Sofren go to Dame Margarete’s room and find that she has died. Sofren finds a note from Margarete instructing him to leave a horseshoe over the door and to scatter linseeds so her soul will not haunt them.

            Dame Margarete’s death saddens both Sofren and Mari. They came to admire the old woman. Sofren says that she taught him to be an honorable man.

            The Witch Woman or The Parson’s Widow was a decent silent film. It was able to hold my attention. Carl Theodor Dreyer’s direction is, as always, so stunning and so touching. He was able to make me feel sad for the main characters when they could not get married right away, their childishness with trying to scare the old woman, their love and devotion for each other, and their sadness and humility when the old woman died. Dreyer is such a great director. He is one of the only directors whose films I have watched where I am actually able to feel whatever emotion or feeling is being conveyed. If you like watching silent films definitely give The Witch Woman (as it is titled on YouTube where you can watch it in full) a try.

 

Silent Sundays: Suds (1920)

Years and years ago when I worked in retail, in my boredom I would imagine some hot guy would come in and ask for my help and I would try to get my flirt on. That actually did happen once or twice but the flirting never lead to anything serious and I never saw the guys again (unfortunately). But that fantastical thinking kept my ADHD riddled brain entertained every once in a while to take my mind off of hating my job and all the customers (that was just one fantasy thought I had. Usually it was about finishing college and getting a real job or working in the movies one day). It was a lot of fun watching the silent film Suds because the main character had a very active and hilarious imagination that keeps her going working in a laundry.

            At a French Laundry in the heart of London works a young woman named Amanda Afflick (Mary Pickford). Amanda does not a lot of the work the other women do because she is smaller than they are. The women also think Amanda is a little nuts because she keeps saying that a man named Horace Greensmith who left his laundry there eight months ago will come back and take her away because he loves her.

            Amanda is sent to return laundry to a customer. She is carrying a large basket on her head when it comes tumbling over and into the street and becomes completely dirty. The owner of the laundry is furious with Amanda and makes her stay in the shop all night to re-clean and iron everything. The night in the basement store is scary with sounds she has never heard and things she has never seen.

            In the morning all the other women come back into the shop. They see she has Horace Greensmith’s shirt and they immediately start making fun of her. She gets fed up with their ridicule and creates a wild story about how she is actually a duchess and the only reason she is working in the shop is because her father found out she was seeing Horace and kicked her out. Now she is waiting for Horace to come back for her. The real Horace Greensmith finally returns to the shop after eight months and a few days away. Amanda jumps into his arms in excitement. Horace has no idea who Amanda is and she tells him to just go with it until the other women leave the shop for the day. When the women do leave Amanda is finally alone with the object of her desire. Horace says that he lives in a mansion and that he can take her there. But then once he gets a real look at Amanda he decides to take her somewhere else and Amanda realizes then that Horace does not really like her.

            Throughout the story with Amanda dreaming about Horace Greensmith and creating her imaginary backstory is the story about a boy named Benjamin who works for the laundry as a delivery boy and his horse named Lavender. Lavender is an old horse that cannot do very much anymore. Benjamin defends Lavender to fullest every time the owner of the laundry threatens to take the horse to the glue factory. Unfortunately, one-day Lavender manages to destroy all the clean laundry. The owner has had enough of the horse and sends it to the glue factory. Benjamin tells Amanda what has happened to the horse and she takes it upon herself to save Lavender. She rescues the horse and takes it back to her apartment. That does not go over very well with her neighbors or landlord and she has to take the horse out of the house. Luckily for Amanda a wealthy lady was doing her charity rounds of the neighborhood and came upon Lavender. She makes a deal with Amanda to have Lavender brought to her estate to live out the rest of his days. All of this took place in front of the laundry where all the women to see. When they ask Amanda who the old lady was she tells them the woman was her aunt and thus began the reason why she told them all the story of how she was kicked out of her home by her father.

            Later on Amanda is asked by the wealthy lady to come work for her as a maid. Amanda finds Horace actually works on the estate and they fall in love with each other.

            Suds is a silent film I have been wanting to watch for a few years now ever since I started watching Mary Pickford’s films. I liked it a lot. I thought it was very cute and funny. Pickford was so fantastic with her comedy. I think Suds proved that Pickford was willing to do anything for a laugh and to create a good performance because Amanda was a really horrid looking person. Pickford did not look like the adorable little girls or young women she usually played she looked like a woman who has never seen a brush or eyebrow tweezer. I enjoyed Suds a lot because I can relate to Amanda working in a crappy place and creating these imaginative scenarios to keep her going. Suds is a silent film I highly recommend take the time to watch. It is currently available to view on YouTube in full.