Silent Film of the Month: Captain Salvation (1927)

Runtime: 87 minutes. Studio: MGM. Director: John S. Robertson. Writer: Jack Cunningham. Intertitles: John Colton. Producer: John S. Robertson. Main Cast: Lars Hanson, Marceline Day, Pauline Starke, Ernest Torrance. Cinematographer: William Daniels.

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 little hidden gem. As a Christian, myself I have a special fondness for the Christian films of the silent era.

This film's director was John S. Robertson. Robertson had begun his career in 1916 as both an actor and director however by 1918, he was directing and no longer acting. His directing career began by directing various comedy short for the Vitagraph studio. In 1917 he directed his first feature film Baby Mine. As a feature length director he would direct such movies as Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde (1920) and The Enchanted Cottage. His career would last until 1935.

The star of this film was Lars Hanson, a name that is probably not as well remembered as it should be. Hanson began his film career in his home country of Sweden, with a lost 1916 film called Dolken. However he would not catch the attention of American movie makers until costarring (with Greta Garbo) in 1924's The Saga of Gösta Berling. This film was a huge international success and it wasn't long until MGM wanted to work with Lars Hanson. By the time he stared in Captain Salvation, he had already been in two gigantic box office successes for the MGM studio, The Scarlett Letter and The Flesh in the Devil (where he would once again costar with Great Garbo). Here his costars would be Marceline Day, Pauline Starke and Ernest Torrance. Torrance was one of the silent screen's greatest tough guys appearing in such films like Peter Pan (1924), Steamboat Bill Jr., The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), The King of Kings, Tol'able David, and The Ruggles of Red Gap. He most often played villains like he does here, and was an operatic baritone before his film career. Marceline Day had a great talent for comedy. She started at the Mack Sennett studio, where she even appeared in films that starred Harry Langdon. Though over the course of her career she would appear in more dramatic movies such as this one and London After Midnight (the infamous lost film with Lon Chaney and directed by Tod Browning), she would still do much comedy, including being the leading lady opposite Buster Keaton in The Cameraman. In the 1930's unfortunately her career would go downhill and she would appear mostly in B pictures including The Telegraph Trail (with John Wayne, who would obviously later graduate from B pictures). Pauline Starke began her career as an extra in 1916, even appearing in such big films as D.W. Griffith's Intolerance. However she would work her way up to being a leading lady. As a leading lady she would appear in such films as The Viking, Eyes of Youth, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1921) and Salvation Nell.  

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.

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.

Resources Used
http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2878/Captain-Salvation/articles.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017735/reviews?ref_=tt_urv

-Michael J. Ruhland         

Movie Review: Lion

 

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: B

Review: Quite good movie, and definitely worth seeing.

What really makes this film work is the main character and a feeling of atmosphere. The main character (especially as a kid) is very relatable and makes the movie often times feel real (I know it's based off a true story but still). The atmosphere is especially fascinating when the main character is a kid. It feels like we have been transported to all these different places and is just very engaging. The art direction and cinematography in this part are fantastic. Even when the character becomes an adult though, the film stills brings up very interesting thoughts and ideas.

The problem with this film is that it feels like two different movies, and the first one is better. The second part feels like a movie we have seen many times, and while it brings up some great ideas, it seems like it's stretched out way too long. Interestingly the first part can feel a bit rushed, though that part is extremely entertaining and well done that this is not much of a problem. While the second part isn't as good as the first part it is still good though.

Well worth a watch despite it's problems.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Movie Review: The Lego Batman Movie

Review Written by Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: A-

Review: Really, really funny movie.

The humor in this film just hits the bull's-eye. Starting with Batman's voice over narration telling us how all important movies start to the end credits nearly every joke just works great. The humor is fast moving, but never moves too fast that the jokes lose any impact. The jokes show a true love of the source material, especially the 1960's show (which I love very much). It's not afraid to make fun of how silly many aspects of the Batman mythos are, but it also loves the silliness and revels in the fun of it all.

However the story of this film is actually pretty good as well. Sure it's over the top and silly, but it is still an engaging story. The characters are very likable, relatable and well thought out. While I don't think it will make you flat out cry, the emotional scenes are believable and add a lot to the movie. However let's not forgot first and foremost this is a comedy and a very funny one.

Definitely one of the best superhero movies in a while and probably the most fun.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Movie Review: A Dog's Purpose

 

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland




















Michael's Movie Grade: D

Review: Bland emotionally manipulative movie filled with awful humor.

The worst thing about this movie is the comedy. None of it is funny, and this movie is chock full of it. Probably worst of all is the voice over narration from the dog. Now Josh Gad does a good job with the voice, but all the dialogue he is given is horrible and lazy. Much of this narration seems to consist of dog jokes that we have heard a million times, and they were never funny to begin with. Dogs' think cats are jealous of them, the dog doesn't understand what kissing is, the dog doesn't like squirrels, the dog thinks everyone is constantly trying to play with him, etc. etc. etc.. This is not funny but just lazy, and there is so much of it that you just want the dog to shut up.

The emotion in this film may not be as bad as the humor, but it still doesn't work. The characters are very underdeveloped and they never feel real. The story just tries to throw stuff like loneliness, and dealing with others leaving, and think we want to cry at it because the dog is cute. Now this may be because I'm more of a horse person than a dog person, but none of this works for me and just comes off as manipulative.

On the bright side however this movie does have a very interesting premise. The idea of seeing a dog reincarnate is simply a great idea, and one that hasn't been done a million times before. As well as this the acting is really good, and the film looks very pretty. This sadly is not enough to make up for the major faults of this movie.

After stating that I don't like this movie I'll say that Lasse Hallström is a great director having directed an amazing film called My Life as a Dog. This movie however proof that a good filmmaker can make a bad movie.

-Michael J. Ruhland    

Movie Review: Hidden Figures

 

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: A-

Review: Fantastic film, is heart-warming, inspiring and lot of fun.

This film is full of charm. It has great characters, that feel real, which is important since they are real people. I don't know why it is but it is too rare to find movies centering around real people where the characters feel real. Because of this it is fantastic to see it here. The movie also has great writing which shows perfectly why this story is so is important and why it is such a good story. The look of the film is also great. It doesn't look like modern day, but like 1960's America. It is also full of great humor. There are plenty of times during this movie that I really laughed. Despite this none of the humor distracts from the story. Again, I always love when I see this, this is a movie with a great message, where the message comes fully through the story and characters and is never directly preached to you. The pacing is great, it never moves too slow to become boring and it never moves so fast that it lessens the impact of the film. The soundtrack is excellent. Not only do we get to hear such masters as Ray Charles and Miles Davis, but they also fit the action perfectly, and these songs enhance every scene that they are in.

On the downside is the romance. The romance was never really fleshed out and I don't feel we really got to know the love interest character. These scenes were bland and really slowed down the film. Despite this though the scenes are brief and don't take up much screen time, so it can't hurt the movie much.

Overall a great film.

-Michael J. Ruhland   

Movie Review: Un Padre No Tan Padre

 

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland




















Michael's Movie Grade: B+

Review: Excellent Mexican comedy.

This film has tons of charm. The characters are really likable. Even the grumpy old man of the story is likable. They all have their flaws, but you truly believe they mean well. More than just the characters themselves, you also believe in the relationships in these characters. Though they don't get along, you fully believe that deep down inside the father and son love each other. The cast is fantastic. Héctor Bonilla's performance as Don Servando stands out as an especially amazing piece of acting, even among a great cast. The humor is quite funny and unlike too many modern comedies, it doesn't rely too much on being vulgar, it is just plain old funny. Adding to this charm as well is the fact that the film is not afraid to have quiet reflective moments. This moments are sweet believable and sometimes even profound. The slower quieter scenes in the film remain the films most beautiful and poignant scenes. 

The downside of this film though is that there is little here that has not been seen in other films. We have seen this story before and we know how it will play out. Despite this however the story is very well told, and the movie is just a joy to watch. The numerous great things about this film overcome this fault that could really hurt a lesser movie.

A delight. 

-Michael J. Ruhland   

Movie Review: The Salesman (Forušande)

 

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland












Michael's Movie Grade: A+

Review: Complex, thought provoking and all together brilliant work of cinematic art.

Asghar Farhadi is considered one of the best Iranian film makers of our time and from this film alone it is not hard to see why. Everything in this film is handled beautifully. Not giving anything away but there is an important event that is never shown, and it is never fully reveled what happened. After the movie was over other people in the theater were all discussing what happened in this scene, and they all saw the film differently based on what they felt had happened. This is a sign of great art and just the power of what film can in fact do. Farhadi knows just what to show us and just what to hide from us to make us fascinated with the movie, and thinking deeply about it, but not to do it too much to alienate the audience.

The characters are fascinating. They often act questionably, but still in a way we understand why they did what they did. The characters aren't always likable, but they are always fascinating. They constantly surprise us with what they do, but what they do always makes sense and seems fully in character. It doesn't hurt that everyone in the cast does a fantastic job.

This film also fully tackles such subjects as sexism, loyalty, and mankind's sense of purpose. However none of this is ever clearly stated in the film. The film never stops to preach to you, or has scenes that feel like they are only there to covey the points the film wants to make. Instead this all naturally comes from the story and characters, and this is done without ever sacrificing the power of what the film has to say. In fact it is stated more powerfully here than it ever could be with words.

Despite the fact that this is not always the happiest of movies, that does not mean it doesn't have humorous moments. Scenes involving having a kid over for dinner, or the teacher sleeping in his class are really funny. While they do lighten up the mood and make us laugh they never feel out of place in the story that is being told. They not only fit in perfectly, but they also help heighten the drama and move the story forward.

This movie is simply incredible and an amazing experience that you will probably never forget, as I know I will never forget this movie, and the effect it had on me.

-Michael J. Ruhland