hte-trasme This film is, of course, memorable for its historic place as the first widely released film to be produced in color, albeit using a two-tone process that detected only red and green. It's indeed a visually beautiful film, with costumes and settings deliberately chosen to show off the pleasant colors that the new process could represent. Unfortunately I felt that the film itself just wasn't very good. In fact, it's probably best as a definition of "overwrought." Good melodrama has to keep the audiences illusions about the importance of what is going on intact; "The Toll of the Sea" frequently becomes laughable.The film is far too preoccupied with its own title cards: they are grandiloquent frequent, and frequently absurd or condescending. What is worse, major plot points, instead of being actually, filmed, are usually transmitted via title card. That's how we're let in on trivial details such as Elsie convincing Allan to say goodbye to Lotus Flower or Lotus Flower's son being born. That leaves the scenes that are actually filmed to consist mainly of characters (usually Lotus Flower) standing and emoting for long periods. I'm sure Anna May Wong is a good actress, but she's not given much of a chance to act here rather than to look sad for long periods. It's not good drama. I'm afraid the only thing to recommend this is, literally, the pretty colors.

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.

st-shot It's slow going in this Puccini Opera rip off that nevertheless is worth a look for it's early example of the Technicolor process. The film plods along at a mostly gloomy pace as the camera looks for any reason to display color. From costumes to pheasants, gardens to elaborate Chinese interiors we are offered a full range of lush colorful imagery.Without the music Madame Butterfly can be trying but Anna May Wong as Lotus Flower gives a delicately touching performance being lurched back and forth between joy and tragedy. Her silent emoting in colorful costume makes for a beautiful visual poem. Kenneth Harlan as the bigamist has the Arrow man look and his American wife played by Beatrice Bentley evokes Gibson Girl remaining mostly in profile as if posing for the period calender.Lethargic pace and glum plot aside, Toll of the Sea's colorful historical significance and Ms. Wong's tender performance deserves a look.

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.