Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Libramedi Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Clarissa Mora The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

CJBx7 Directed by Chester M. Franklin and written by Frances Marion. Filmed in 2-strip Technicolor. An adaptation of the opera MADAME BUTTERFLY, it tells the story of Lotus Flower (Anna May Wong), a young Chinese woman who finds a mysterious American stranger, Allen (Kenneth Harlan) washed up on the shore. The two fall in love and marry "Chinese fashion", but her "husband" has to leave for business and winds up marrying his sweetheart from back home. Meanwhile, Lotus Flower has Allen's son and raises him alone, pining for Allen to come back and waiting for him to return…Interracial romance was a theme that was seldom touched on in early cinema, and when it was there was always a tragic outcome. This is shown in such films as BROKEN BLOSSOMS and various previous adaptations of MADAME BUTTERFLY, the musical SHOW BOAT, and others. It's interesting to watch a depiction of this theme as filtered through the sensibilities of the past. THE TOLL OF THE SEA depicts the negative viewpoints of society towards such romances, via the gossiping Chinese girls and the American businessmen who discourage Allen from taking Lotus Flower to America with him. (Interestingly, the one who was most sympathetic to Lotus Flower's plight was Allen's American wife.) The overriding message is that such relationships were doomed to fail because of racial differences and societal disapproval. The audience could enjoy the passion between the two leads, but they knew that tragedy was around the corner. However, the nuanced acting in this film elevates it above maudlin melodrama. Anna May Wong is captivatingly expressive and subtle, admirably capturing Lotus Flower's intense joy and her restrained despair. Her screen presence here is comparable to that of Lillian Gish in Griffith's best films. I found Kenneth Harlan a little too subdued at times, but he displays his character's reticence effectively when confronted with tough decisions, and his performance is fine overall. Beatrice Bentley stars as Allen's wife, and she has a wonderful rapport with Anna May Wong, especially in the scene where Lotus Flower gives her son to Elsie so that she may raise him. Both actresses beautifully and realistically convey the feelings of loss and sadness at the injustice that Lotus Flower has suffered.This film is most noted for featuring an early form of Technicolor. The two-strip process used at this time produces vivid, dreamy images, some with a soft-focus feel. The film could be shown through standard projectors. It makes liberal use of close-ups on the lovely Anna May Wong, and wonderfully captures the seascapes, rocky shores, and gardens of the story's setting. The end of the film, however, is missing, so during the process of restoration a new 2 strip Technicolor film was made of the ocean, and titles were created from Frances Marion's scenario.All in all, THE TOLL OF THE SEA is a classic of silent cinema. SCORE: 9/10

the_mysteriousx Anna May Wong is a young woman named Lotus Flower, in China who helps rescue a white man lost at sea. She subsequently falls in love with him and they are married. However, after being reunited with his fellow Caucasians that man decides to go home to the United States and marries his old sweetheart. Lotus Flower never gives up the idea that her man will come back for her and tells her young son (the man's child) that his father will come for him. When he does, it is with his new wife and Lotus Flower is ashamed and devastated. She tells her son she is not his mother, but a Chinese nurse, and gives her son to the man and his new wife and commits suicide.A story of such profound tragedy, this is the only film I have seen from this silent era that compares to the innocent tragedy of Murnau's Tabu. Anna May Wong gives incredible depth to this traditional woman who sacrifices her entire life for the happiness of her son and the man she loves. Her innocence is heartbreaking. Her loyalty unmatched. In today's world this can easily be viewed as rather racist towards Chinese – first because the white man chooses a "normal" life with a white woman, and second because her character behaves so inferiorly to him. This is likewise, anti-feminist. While these would seem troublesome today, it does not take away at all from the power that this story emotes.The photography is simple and quite unique in its two-color (red and green) Technicolor. The shots of the flowers, the sea and of the beautiful Anna May Wong emote the simple charms of life in a simpler time. Her loyalty and love for him make him seem proportionately ungrateful and downright cruel. You spend every moment watching him wishing she'd lay a guilt-trip on him, but she never does. By the end of the film you pretty much want to kill this guy - one of the most obnoxious losers in cinema history. As a result, Lotus Flower's hope and sadness, mocked by local gossipers, gives her unequaled sympathy from the audience. Ultimately, this film succeeds because it offers no fluff to its story. The storytelling is classic and direct and lacks even a single gimmick. It has no unnecessary subplots to take away our focus and comes purely from the heart.I cannot say enough about Wong's performance. She gets every note right about how a naive young girl clings to hope and lets herself be broken over love. She was really an exceptional actress and this performance makes it sadder that Hollywood was racist towards her in not giving her lead roles like this. I just saw her in a small supporting role in "Mr. Wu" in which Renee Adoree was given the Chinese female lead over Wong. Adoree wasn't a bad actress, but viewing it today, it screams for Anna May to be in the lead, despite its' racist plot line.Regardless, Anna May Wong really was a ground-breaker for Asians and all non-whites in this early time period in Hollywood. Even today, few Asian woman are given such lead roles. She excelled in her opportunity. This 1922 film that runs just under an hour shows how basic, simple emotions need little screen time to evoke the same emotions from an audience.

hamilton65 For a long time I only knew of this film for it's historical place as the earliest surviving 2 strip Technicolor film. I was curious to see it but expected little more than an interesting museum piece.A wonderful surprise then, to discover this version of Madam Butterfly, self produced by Technicolor, is a poignant gem of silent cinema, deserving much wider exposure than it's status as a technical first would indicate.On the technical side the colour is extremely attractive and well integrated into the story. Unlike some two colour films (The Viking, Show of Shows and King of Jazz) where colour correction is used to bring out blue's which originally photographed as silver grey, "Toll of the Sea" is authentic and unretouched, aside from the final lost sequence which had to be reshot in 1985. Since the process wasn't yet refined for filming in artificial light, the "interiors" in "Toll" are filmed in daylight. This is no drawback, however, since the real exteriors lend the film a freshness lacking from later studio bound works.Another big plus is that the makers actually cast an Asian actress in the central role, instead of going the route of say Broken Blossoms. Perhaps this was because few actors would risk working on such an experimental project, or perhaps the film makers wanted the film to be as authentic as possible. Either way it gives the film an honesty absent from Hollywood's occasional treatments of such themes.Sensitive direction and the wonderful performance of Anna May Wong, make this a particularly compelling piece. Although just 19, Wong's acting is both subtle and deeply felt. Witness the devastating moment when he tells her she can't come to America with him. The hurt and pain in Wong's face and eyes, which she bravely covers, could melt the stoniest heart. (I'll definitely keep an eye open for Wong's other work) Her leading man is somewhat stiffer but then his performance fits with the confused character he's playing.Even if like me, you start watching this for the colour, you'll swiftly be caught up in it's story and by the artistry of it's youthful star.

Inigo Jones Updating MADAM BUTTERFLY for the twenties was an ideal way to showcase the talents of Anna May Wong, one of the earliest Oriental actors to become a star. The story was further updated, of course, for the theatre musical MISS SAIGON in the 1990s.The early use of Technicolor seen in this charming if somewhat undemanding picture makes the film more interesting than would normally be the case. An earlier reviewer said it ran at 41 minutes, but my version (on Video CD - compatible with most DVD players) has an accurate running time of 50 minutes - perhaps contains more material. Don't know how long the version runs for on the 'Treasures of the American Archive' DVD.Worth a look as a curio, and worth treasuring as a piece of cinema history.