This was the one and only film made by this Alaskan film production company and it's very surprising how professional the film looks with this pedigree. Much of the camera-work is excellent. In fact, one scene was good enough to be lifted from this film and used in the Chaplin film, THE GOLD RUSH, just a year later (the film of the long column of pioneers trekking up the steep hill to look for gold near the beginning of the film).
The story is a bit hard to believe at the beginning, but bear with it. The tough to believe part involves a mother and child who were separated after their boat bound for Alaska sinks. Considering the nearby town was awfully small, as was the boat, it boggles the mind to think they they kept missing each other! Eventually, they both moved on--Mom with an evil gambler and the kid with a couple of very decent prospectors. At one point, one of the prospectors DOES find Mom with the evil gambler and decides the kid is better off with them--but Mom really didn't seem too interested in finding the kid until many years later.
From here on, the film vastly improves and takes up a dozen years later. The kid is grown and quite lovely but doesn't know her Mom is now a vivacious barroom singer in a town 8 hours away by dog sled. Well, to make a long story short, there is a wonderful final showdown and the family is, of course, reunited. And despite the simplicity of my description, the film is excellent for the time it was made. The acting was excellent and the story was very interesting and well-written (with a couple lapses only).
The bottom line is for lovers of silent films, this is almost a "must see" film, though for the average person reading this, it is probably not something you'll instantly love. Try watching THE GOLD RUSH first, then this film--they are excellent companion pieces.
The story is a bit hard to believe at the beginning, but bear with it. The tough to believe part involves a mother and child who were separated after their boat bound for Alaska sinks. Considering the nearby town was awfully small, as was the boat, it boggles the mind to think they they kept missing each other! Eventually, they both moved on--Mom with an evil gambler and the kid with a couple of very decent prospectors. At one point, one of the prospectors DOES find Mom with the evil gambler and decides the kid is better off with them--but Mom really didn't seem too interested in finding the kid until many years later.
From here on, the film vastly improves and takes up a dozen years later. The kid is grown and quite lovely but doesn't know her Mom is now a vivacious barroom singer in a town 8 hours away by dog sled. Well, to make a long story short, there is a wonderful final showdown and the family is, of course, reunited. And despite the simplicity of my description, the film is excellent for the time it was made. The acting was excellent and the story was very interesting and well-written (with a couple lapses only).
The bottom line is for lovers of silent films, this is almost a "must see" film, though for the average person reading this, it is probably not something you'll instantly love. Try watching THE GOLD RUSH first, then this film--they are excellent companion pieces.
