Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Captain Salvation (1927)

MGM
Directed by John S. Robertson
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

A young seminary student who has been at sea returns home to his small New England town. At first he is happy to be reunited with his fiance, whose father is the town minister. However, their hypocrisy is revealed when he nurses a shipwrecked prostitute to health to the dismay of the ultra-religious townsfolk. He gets her passage aboard a ship bound for Rio, and decides to accompany her. However, the voyage turns out to be something completely different, putting their lives at risk and testing his faith in God. Unlike some silent epics dealing with religion, this is not preachy at all, but a thoughtful, believable drama of one man's struggle with his faith. Cinematographer William Daniels captures some magnificent images, including a memorable scene of the evil ship captain entering the room of the prostitute.

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