''Ebb Tide'' is a 1922 American silent

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

produced by

Famous Players-Lasky Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and t ...

and distributed by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

, directed by

George Melford George H. Melford (born George Henry Knauff, February 19, 1877 – April 25, 1961) was an American stage and film actor and director. Often taken for granted as a director today, the stalwart Melford's name by the 1920s was, like Cecil B. DeMil ...

, and based on the 1894 novel ''

The Ebb-Tide ''The Ebb-Tide. A Trio and a Quartette'' (1894) is a short novel written by Robert Louis Stevenson and his stepson Lloyd Osbourne. It was published the year Stevenson died. Plot Three beggars operate in the port of Papeete on Tahiti. They are ...

'' by

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

and his step-son

Lloyd Osbourne Samuel Lloyd Osbourne (April 7, 1868 – May 22, 1947) was an American author and the stepson of the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, with whom he co-authored three books, including '' The Wrecker'', and provided input and ideas on oth ...

. The story had been filmed before in 1915 by the

Selig Polyscope Company The Selig Polyscope Company was an American motion picture company that was founded in 1896 by William Selig in Chicago. The company produced hundreds of early, widely distributed commercial moving pictures, including the first films starring Tom ...

. The film would be filmed again in 1937 and in 1947 as '' Adventure Island''. Melford's production is now considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...

Plot

Based on a review in a film publication, Ruth Attwater (Lee) lives with her father Richard Attwater (Beery) on an uncharted island in the

South Seas Today the term South Seas, or South Sea, is used in several contexts. Most commonly it refers to the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of the equator. In 1513, when Spanish conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa coined the term ''Mar del Sur'', ...

. She has never seen another white man, and her father threatens to kill any who come to the island. Three derelicts are brought by fate by their boat to the island, and Richard invites them to dinner so he can show his collection of pearls and then kill them if they do not immediately leave. Robert Herrick (Kirkwood), an Englishman who has made a failure of his life, sees Ruth and decides not to leave but hides. Captain Davis (Fawcett) and Huish (Hatton) plan to rob Richard of the pearls. They come ashore with a flag of peace, but Richard suspects their intentions and masters them. Robert and Ruth escape to the boat in the harbor, but Richard pursues them. The boat catches fire killing Richard. Ruth and Robert jump into the sea and are attacked by an octopus, but natives rescue them.

Cast

Lila Lee Lila Lee (born Augusta Wilhelmena Fredericka Appel; July 25, 1905 – November 13, 1973) was a prominent screen actress, primarily a leading lady, of the silent film and early sound film eras. Early life The daughter of Augusta Fredericka Appe ...

as Ruth Attwater * James Kirkwood as Robert Herrick *

Raymond Hatton Raymond William Hatton (July 7, 1887 – October 21, 1971) was an American film actor who appeared in almost 500 motion pictures. Biography Hatton was born in Red Oak, Iowa. His physician father steered him toward a career in medicine. Howev ...

as J.L. Huish *

George Fawcett George Fawcett (August 25, 1860 – June 6, 1939) was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. Biography Born in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1860, Fawcett graduated from the University of Virginia. His initial inclination was to ...

as Captain Davis *

Noah Beery Noah Nicholas Beery (January 17, 1882 – April 1, 1946) was an American actor who appeared in films from 1913 until his death in 1946. He was the older brother of Academy Award-winning actor Wallace Beery as well as the father of prominen ...

as Richard Attwater *

Jacqueline Logan Jacqueline Medura Logan (November 30, 1902 – April 4, 1983) was an American actress and silent film star. Logan was a WAMPAS Baby Star of 1922. Early life Logan was born in Corsicana, Texas, on November 30, 1902, the only child to Charles A. ...

as Tehura

References

External links

* *
''Ebb Tide'' Lantern slide plate; coming attraction advertisement
Wayback Machine)
Southseascinema.org
1922 films American silent feature films Lost American films Films based on British novels Films directed by George Melford Paramount Pictures films Famous Players-Lasky films Films based on works by Robert Louis Stevenson 1922 adventure films American adventure films Films set in Oceania Films set on islands American black-and-white films 1922 lost films Lost adventure films 1920s American films Silent adventure films {{silent-adventure-film-stub

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links