''The Bravest Way'' is a 1918 American silent

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 written by Edith M. Kennedy. The film stars

Sessue Hayakawa , known professionally as , was a Japanese actor and a matinée idol. He was a popular star in Hollywood during the silent film era of the 1910s and early 1920s. Hayakawa was the first actor of Asian descent to achieve stardom as a leading man i ...

Florence Vidor Florence Vidor (née Cobb, later Arto; July 23, 1895 – November 3, 1977) was an American silent film actress. Early life Vidor was born in Houston on July 23, 1895, to John and Ida Cobb. Her parents had married in Houston on March 3, 1894, bu ...

Tsuru Aoki was a Japanese stage and screen actress whose career was most prolific in the United States during the silent film era of the 1910s through the 1920s. Aoki may have been the first Asian actress to garner top billing in American motion pictures. ...

Yukio Aoyama Masajiro Kaihatsu, known professionally as Yukio Aoyama, was an actor and assistant director in the United States during the silent film era. He appeared in about 60 silent films and serials after immigrating from Tokyo to appear in films. His son ...

Jane Wolfe Sarah Jane Wolfe (March 21, 1875 – March 29, 1958) was an American silent film character actress who is considered an important female figure in magick. She was a friend and a colleague of Aleister Crowley and a founding member of Agape Lodg ...

, and

Winter Hall Winter Hall (21 June 1872 – 10 February 1947) was a New Zealand actor of the silent era who later appeared in sound films. He performed in more than 120 films between 1916 and 1938. Prior to that, he had a career as a stage actor in Austr ...

. The film was released on June 16, 1918, 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 ...

Plot

As described in a

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

, Kara Tamura (Hayakawa), a humble worker studying landscape gardening, and Shiro Watana (Aoyama), a trusted clerk, live together in San Francisco. Watana sends for his wife Sat-u (Aoki) and children from Japan, and Tamura dreams of the day when he will have enough money to marry Nume Rogers, a teacher at a nearby kindergarten. Watana is mysteriously murdered. Sat-u arrives and Tamura takes her into his home. Meddlesome neighbors compel Tamura to marry Sat-u, and Nume, heartbroken, accepts the offer of a wealthy man to cultivate her voice as an opera singer. Three years pass and Sat-u is fatally ill. Before she dies, she explains to Nume Tamura's reason for marrying her. Watana's uncle places his property in Tamura's hands for his sacrifice, and Nume and Tamura are reunited.

Cast

as Kara Tamura *

as Nume Rogers *

as Sat-u *

as Shiro Watana *

as Miss Tompkins *

as Moreby Nason *

Kisaburo Kurihara was a Japanese actor and film director. Life Thomas Kurihara, birth name Kisaburō Kurihara (栗原喜三郎), was born in Hadano, Kanagawa. Kurihara's father was a wood trader, but he failed in business. Kurihara went to United States an ...

as Sam Orson *

Josephine Crowell Josephine Boneparte Crowell (January 11, 1859 – July 27, 1932) was a Canadian film actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 90 films between 1912 and 1929. Biography Crowell was born in Nova Scotia. Crowell debuted in the ...

as Janitress * Goro Kino as Motoyoshi *

Clarence Geldart Clarence Geldart (June 9, 1867 – May 13, 1935) was an American film actor. He appeared in 127 films between 1915 and 1936. He was sometimes credited as C.H. Geldart or Charles H. Geldart. He was born in New Brunswick, Canada, and died i ...

as The Minister *

Guy Oliver George Guy Oliver (September 25, 1878 – September 1, 1932) was an American actor. He appeared in at least 189 silent film era motion pictures and 32 talkies in character roles between 1911 and 1931. His obituary gives him credit for at l ...

as The Lawyer *

William Elmer William Elmer (April 25, 1869 – February 24, 1945) was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1913 and 1942. He was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa and died in Hollywood, California. Elmer acted in ...

References

External links

* 1910s English-language films Silent American drama films 1918 drama films Paramount Pictures films Films directed by George Melford American black-and-white films American silent feature films 1910s American films {{1910s-US-film-stub