It is hard to believe there were ever protests against such a good hearted Christian film as Captain Salvation (1927). The film's story centers on a young man named Anson Campbell (played by Lars Hansen), who is as a title tells us torn between two loves. These are his love of serving God and of the sea. One day he sees a woman (probably a prostitute, though never directly stated) named Bess Morgan (played by Pauline Starke) being treated very harshly in his town, because she is sinful. He helps her out and takes care of her, but this ends up ruining his life with the town folks, his girlfriend (played by Marceline Day) and seemingly his ministry. Distraught he joins up with a ship hoping to leave it all behind. However Bess is on the ship, and the captain (played by Ernest Torrance) is not exactly the nicest of fellows. However this leads him to learn all that God actually has in store for him.
The idea that a movie like this could be considered immoral seems unthinkable today, but it did get attacked as such. This is evidenced in an article in Exhibitors World Herald (dated September 3, 1927). This article speaks about how when the film was shown in the Meserole theatre in Brooklyn New York, Edward P. Doyle (an assemblyman) wrote an angry letter in response to this movie, which he felt was an attack against priests and ministers. The owner of the cinema, Sidney Larschan wrote an open letter in the local newspaper to respond. In this open letter Larschan in a very respectful manner addresses each of Doyle's points and talks about why the picture is a perfectly fine movie not worth getting upset about. Larschan could not be nicer or more respecting in this letter if he tried. He even wrote "Thanks for your letter assemblyman Doyle. You are a representative well worthy of the community you represent. We invite you together with your family to view this picture when it is shown at the Meserole theatre." The writer of the article in Exhibitors World Herald seemed impressed by this response writing "Larschan's method of answering Doyle is a masterpiece in meeting a problem of this sort. His letter thoroughly answers Doyle and at the same time it spreads valuable propaganda for the theatre and advertises the picture better than any straight ad would have done." It is hard to argue with this, as this open letter would have made me interested in seeing the movie certainly. Still this is a story that has to be seen to be believed and that is why beside the article, Exhibitors World Herald posted both original letters for their fans to see. To see this article and these letters click here. Enjoy it is certainly good reading.
In many ways I consider the silent era the golden age of Christian films. While there are many great films with Christian messages released over the years the best ones seem to be from the silent era. These include such amazing films as Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ, Sparrows (ok it may not be your typical Christian film but it definitely has a Christian message), King of Kings, Noah's Ark, the original Ten Commandments and this gem. As a Christian myself, I have a special fondness for the Christian films of the silent era and Captain Salvation is no exception.
This is a fantastic movie in many ways. The story is really engaging, the acting is great, the film looks great (hugely thanks to cinematographer William Daniels) and the whole movie is just charming. Also adding to the movies charm is John Coulton's extremely well written and intelligently thought out intertitles. As all silent film fans know, poorly written intertitles can take their toll on other wise great films, but well written ones can make a great movie even better. Don't think that because I'm Christian and am praising a Christian movie that it does not hold much for non-Christians, this film has more than enough to satisfy any fan of silent cinema.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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