''The Purple Dawn''All contemporaneous reviews and advertising for the film include "The" in the title. is a 1923 American silent

romantic drama Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

film that was produced, written, and directed by

Charles R. Seeling Charles R. Seeling (April 4, 1895 – October 13, 1951) was an American cinematographer and producer and film director of the silent era.Golden p.299 Selected filmography * '' A Tuner of Notes'' (1917) * '' The Enchanted Barn'' (1919) * ''The W ...

. It stars

Bessie Love Bessie Love (born Juanita Horton; September 10, 1898April 26, 1986) was an American-British actress who achieved prominence playing innocent, young girls and wholesome leading ladies in silent and early sound films. Her acting career spanned ei ...

Bert Sprotte Bert Sprotte (9 December 1870 – 30 December 1949) was a German actor. He appeared in more than 70 American films between 1918 and 1938. He was born in Chemnitz, Saxony, and died in Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los ...

, and William E. Aldrich. The film is presumed

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

Plot

San Francisco's Chinatown The Chinatown centered on Grant Avenue and Stockton Street in San Francisco, California, () is the oldest Chinatown in North America and one of the largest Chinese enclaves outside Asia. It is also the oldest and largest of the four notable Ch ...

, Mui Far (Love), a

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...

girl, falls in love with a young white sailor (Aldrich), who is robbed when he attempts to deliver a package of opium. The sailor meets a white girl in the country, and falls in love with her. The original owners of the opium think that the sailor stole the opium, and kidnap him and his new sweetheart. Mui Far is heartbroken, but rescues the sailor and his new sweetheart. She then commits suicide by walking into San Francisco Bay at dawn.

Cast

Production

Per the film's title, the final 100 feet of film were tinted light purple for dramatic effect.

Reception

The film received good reviews, although the scene where the hero receives a beating was deemed "far too brutal to please the eye." Bessie Love's performance received positive reviews.

References

;Notes ;Citations ;Works cited *

External links