''Across to Singapore'' is a 1928 American silent romantic drama film directed by

William Nigh William Nigh (October 12, 1881 – November 27, 1955) was an American film Film director, director, screenwriter, writer, and actor. His film work sometimes lists him as either "Will Nigh" or "William Nye". Biography Nigh was born Emil Kreu ...

, and starring

Ramon Novarro José Ramón Gil Samaniego (February 6, 1899 – October 30, 1968), known professionally as Ramon Novarro, was a Mexican-American actor. He began his career in silent films in 1917 and eventually became a leading man and one of the top box ...

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was si ...

and

Ernest Torrence Ernest Torrence (born Ernest Torrance-Thomson, 26 June 1878 – 15 May 1933) was a Scottish film character actor who appeared in many Hollywood films, including '' Broken Chains'' (1922) with Colleen Moore, '' Mantrap'' (1926) with Clara Bow a ...

. The plot involves a love triangle between a woman and two brothers, set on board ship and in Singapore. The screenplay was written by Ted Shane based on the novel '' All the Brothers Were Valiant'' by

Ben Ames Williams Ben Ames Williams (March 7, 1889 – February 4, 1953) was an American novelist and writer of short stories; he wrote hundreds of short stories and over 30 novels. Among his novels are ''Come Spring'' (1940), ''Leave Her to Heaven'' (1944) ...

. This was the second film based on this novel; the first was '' All the Brothers Were Valiant'' (1923, now lost), and it was remade again in 1953 as '' All the Brothers Were Valiant''.''Across to Singapore'' at silentera.com
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Plot

In 1857, Joel Shore (

), the carefree youngest son of a seafaring family, has a flirtatious friendship with Priscilla Crowninshield (

), and he eventually falls in love with her. However, unbeknownst to him, Priscilla has been

betrothed An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

to Joel's much older brother, Mark (

). The

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

is announced in church as a surprise, and Joel and Priscilla are both shocked, with Priscilla refusing to kiss Mark after the betrothal ceremony. Mark, a ship's captain, sails to

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

, accompanied by Joel and their other brothers. Priscilla tells Joel she had no idea about the

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

and tries to kiss him, but Joel is hurt and rebuffs Priscilla's advances before he leaves. At the same time, Mark, mad about Priscilla spurning him, drinks heavily during the voyage and begins to see

hallucination A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinati ...

s of Priscilla. He senses that Priscilla loves someone else and threatens to harm whoever it is, but Joel tells him she does not love anyone but Mark. Mark continues to drink once they arrive in Singapore, but a conspiratorial

crew A crew is a body or a class of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard. The word has nautical resonances: the tasks involved ...

led by Finch ( Jim Mason) sails from Singapore without him, with Mark killed in a bar fight. Joel is put in handcuffs for allegedly not coming to his brother's aid during the fight. Reaching home, Joel is freed; he finds Priscilla, and, taking her with him, he returns to Singapore for Mark, as he does not believe Mark is dead. They arrive in Singapore six months after having left, and find Mark a drunken mess. Mark sees that Priscilla does not love him, and he steps aside for his brother.

Cast

as Joel Shore *

as Priscilla Crowninshield *

as Captain Mark Shore *

Frank Currier Frank Currier (September 4, 1857 – April 22, 1928) was an American film and stage actor and director of the silent era. Career Similar to Theodore Roberts, Kate Lester, Ida Waterman, and William H. Crane, Currier had a long and succe ...

as Jeremiah Shore *

Dan Wolheim Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...

as Noah Shore * Duke Martin as Matthew Shore *

Edward Connelly Edward Connelly (December 30, 1859 – November 21, 1928) was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. Biography Connelly had a Broadway theater career going back to the Victorian era. His Broadway credits include ''The Wild Du ...

as Joshua Crowninshield * James Mason as Ship's Mate Finch *

Anna May Wong Wong Liu Tsong (January 3, 1905 – February 3, 1961), known professionally as Anna May Wong, was an American actress, considered the first Chinese-American movie star in Hollywood, as well as the first Chinese-American actress to gain intern ...

as Singapore Woman

References

External links

* * * *
Across to 'Singapore'
at malayablackandwhite {{DEFAULTSORT:Across To Singapore 1920s adventure drama films American adventure drama films American romantic drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films based on American novels Films directed by William Nigh Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films set in Singapore Films set in the 1850s Seafaring films 1928 films 1928 romantic drama films 1920s American films Silent romantic drama films Silent adventure films Silent American drama films