This just came on TCM and I was thrilled to see that the print was in such pristine condition. This, combined with an excellent musical score, made the viewing experience better than the average silent.
However, once the story began, it was obvious that this was an incredibly dated film--a very, very old fashioned melodrama that just groans and creeks with age. There are way too many coincidences and contrived situations to make this a good movie. On top of that, towards the end there is a lot of moralizing--enough that I just couldn't wait for it to end.
Instead of rehashing the movie, I want to mention a few reasons why this film is so poorly written and full of trite and impossible to believe plot devices. First, when Ramon Novarro escaped after he was spirited away from the train station by police, he returns almost to the second when his fiancé leaves. Second, after having been sitting along the river pining for her missing love, she gets up and leaves and only a few feet away is this man, though they never spot each other. Third, as Ramon is running from the police, they shoot at him and she jumps in front of him--taking the bullet herself. Fourth, after spending most of the movie whining about how he lost his fiancé and would do anything to find her, when he does meet her he tells her she looks ugly and slugs her! There were many more inexplicable or almost impossible to believe moments--so many that it really isn't a coherent drama but hokum.
However, once the story began, it was obvious that this was an incredibly dated film--a very, very old fashioned melodrama that just groans and creeks with age. There are way too many coincidences and contrived situations to make this a good movie. On top of that, towards the end there is a lot of moralizing--enough that I just couldn't wait for it to end.
Instead of rehashing the movie, I want to mention a few reasons why this film is so poorly written and full of trite and impossible to believe plot devices. First, when Ramon Novarro escaped after he was spirited away from the train station by police, he returns almost to the second when his fiancé leaves. Second, after having been sitting along the river pining for her missing love, she gets up and leaves and only a few feet away is this man, though they never spot each other. Third, as Ramon is running from the police, they shoot at him and she jumps in front of him--taking the bullet herself. Fourth, after spending most of the movie whining about how he lost his fiancé and would do anything to find her, when he does meet her he tells her she looks ugly and slugs her! There were many more inexplicable or almost impossible to believe moments--so many that it really isn't a coherent drama but hokum.