''Moran of the Lady Letty'' is a 1922 American silent

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

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 stars

Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred ...

and

Dorothy Dalton Dorothy Dalton (September 22, 1893 – April 13, 1972) was an American silent film actress and stage personality who worked her way from a stock company to a movie career. Beginning in 1910, Dalton was a player in stock companies in Chicago; Te ...

. Melford and Valentino had previously worked together on the box office hit '' The Sheik'', in 1921. The film is based on the novel of the same name by

Frank Norris Benjamin Franklin Norris Jr. (March 5, 1870 – October 25, 1902) was an American journalist and novelist during the Progressive Era, whose fiction was predominantly in the naturalist genre. His notable works include '' McTeague: A Story of San ...

and was adapted for the screen by Monte Katterjohn.''Moran of the Lady Letty'' at silentera.com
/ref>

Plot

The opening scenes are set in Scandinavia, where a ship's captain and his daughter, Moran, are introduced. Moran, it is clear, adores her father. She has grown up on and around ships and can handle herself on the water as well as any man. Then scene then shifts to San Francisco, where a young socialite, Ramon Laredo, complains that he is tired of the same tiresome round of parties and dances. He wishes he could get away from it all. While on his way to a yachting party, he meets up with an old sailor. After talking, they repair to a saloon, where Ramon is served a Mickey Finn. After passing out, he is shanghaied aboard a nefarious pirating ship, the "Heart of China," run by Captain Kitchell, a man without principles. Though initially dismissed as a pampered weakling by the crew and captain, Ramon proves his manhood and gradually gains everyone's respect. A Scandinavian ship in distress is spotted off the bow; the pirate crew quickly move in to loot the burning ship. Most of the crew, they discover, is dead, victims of leaking coal gas. Ramon rescues one sailor, whom he carries back to the pirate ship, only to discover that "he" is a "she." It is Moran, of course, whose father has perished aboard the burning ship. Efforts to hide her identify are futile; when Captain Kitchell discovers a female is on board, it is clear that the woman's virginity is endangered. Ramon, however, is determined to protect her. Gradually, Ramon and Moran fall in love, though Moran insists at first that she has no interest in romance—she should have been born a boy, she says. After a lively battle on board the ship—crew vs. captain and his henchmen—the ship reaches the port in San Diego. Disembarking, Ramon finds himself at a high-society party attended by vacationing San Franciscans. They are delighted to see him and urge him to rejoin their company. But Ramon makes it clear that his experience of recent months has changed him, has made him a better man. Confidently, happily, he returns to the ship and to Moran's waiting arms.

Production, characters

Fight scene from Moran of the Lady Letty

On the heels of ''The Four Horsemen'' and '' The Sheik'', ''Moran'' was another vehicle to portray a strong, masculine character, here a San Francisco playboy who is transformed into a "masculine, sun-burned sailor". In the climax of the movie, Valentino fights the villain (played by Walter Long, whom Valentino had earlier dealt with in ''The Sheik'') in the ship's rigging. Though the female love interest, Moran, tells him initially that she is "not made for men", they do kiss in a happy ending. As did Laredo, so does Moran's character change—from an independent, sexually ambiguous person to a "more feminine, definitely heterosexual woman at peace with her estrogen". The choice of Dorothy Dalton was criticized in a review in ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

''. The film was described in April 1922's edition of ''

Photoplay ''Photoplay'' was one of the first American film (another name for ''photoplay'') fan magazines. It was founded in 1911 in Chicago, the same year that J. Stuart Blackton founded '' Motion Picture Story,'' a magazine also directed at fans. For mo ...

'' as "More or less pure hoakum that you’re almost ashamed of yourself for enjoying. Whether it is the presence of two sparklers such as Valentino and Dorothy Dalton, or whether it is the original power of the Frank Norris novel, we don’t know; but it’s good strong entertainment. Sea stuff; fights; love. Rodolph as usual; Dorothy with bobbed hair—yum yum!. You’re bound to like it."

Cast

- Moran Letty Sternersen *

Charles Brinley Charles Brinley (November 15, 1880 – February 17, 1946) was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 140 films between 1913 and 1939. He was born in Yuma, Arizona and died in Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, ...

- Capt. Eilert Sternersen *Emil Jorgenson - Nels Larsen *

- Ramon Laredo *Maude Wayne - Josephine Herrick * Walter Long - Capt. 'Slippery' Kitchell *

George Kuwa George Kuwa (born Keichii Kuwahara) was a Japanese and American Issei (Japanese immigrant) film actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1916 and 1931. He was the first actor to portray Charlie Chan on-screen in the 19 ...

- 'Chopstick' Charlie *Cecil Holland - Pancho

Production notes

Parts of the film were shot on location in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Home media

''Moran of the Lady Letty'' was released on DVD by Flicker Alley in 2007.

References

External links

* *
Lobby posterMoran of the Lady Letty
available on Youtube.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Moran of the Lady Letty 1922 films 1920s adventure drama films American adventure drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Famous Players-Lasky films Films based on American novels Films based on works by Frank Norris Films directed by George Melford Films shot in San Francisco Paramount Pictures films Seafaring films 1920s American films Silent American drama films Silent adventure films