The Toll of the Sea (1922)

This was on TCM today and I recorded it. I will watch it in about 40 minutes. This is a little different than most films I review. First of all, it may or may not be a full-length feature as it's only 53 minutes long. Second, despite being a silent film, this is in COLOR. This film was the first color film made in Hollywood, the first color feature that did not require a special projector, and the seventh color feature ever made.

Like the movie, this review will be short.

This movie concerns a Chinese woman in love with an American man. As is typical for love stories, I didn't enjoy this. The plot had nothing much to offer other than a love story.

The acting here was nothing special even for a silent film. The characters showed some emotion and everything, but I didn't really care about what any of them were going through.

Overall, this film was basically just a demonstration of the two-strip Technicolor process. Other than the fact it was in color, it didn't really have much else to offer. This film did make some technological progress towards the development of color film, but I'm not sure if this is really much of a pioneer. This came out in 1920 but even 20 years later color films were still almost nonexistent. It deserves some credit for what it did, but I won't reward it all that heavily.

60/100
D-

UP NEXT: A Bette Davis movie - All About Eve