Moran of the Lady Letty (1922)

Review Moran of the Lady Letty

Ramon (Rudolph Valentino) is a spoilt little rich boy, bored of his life of banal glittering soirées with glamorous wallflowers. Shortly after we meet him, though, he is praying for that peaceable life after he finds himself coming to on a freighter carrying coal. This cargo was notoriously risky as it was prone to catching fire and producing a lethal gas and when, dead on cue, this happens - the cowardly crew abandon the ship leaving him behind. Luckily (or not?) the ship is soon boarded by another crew which leaves him and his surviving shipmate Moran (Dorothy Dalton) at the mercy of the ruthless Capt. Kitchell (Walter Long) whos aptly nicknamed Slippery! What we now realise is that the tomboyish Moran isnt actually a boy at all and as if thats not enough to pack into this barely one hour long feature, theres some treasure to be claimed too. Tempers fray and KItchell and Ramon look set for a bit of fisticuffs. I quite enjoyed this adventure film, if only because it shows Valentino in a more assertive role and Long is really quite effective, too, as the nasty creature who quite plausibly epitomised many of those jobbing sea captains who had scant regard for the laws of salvage or men! Dalton also turns in a plucky contribution and though its all a little predictable, there are still some entertainingly staged scenes to keep it from sinking.

Review by CinemaSerf