The Toll of the Sea
Live music by the Sascha Jacobsen Ensemble
The earliest surviving feature displaying the two-color Technicolor process, The Toll of the Sea was restored from a rare camera negative. The story by screenwriter Francis Marion bears more than a little resemblance to Madame Butterfly and like Butterfly, its orientalism is problematic. But the melodrama is redeemed by the exquisite early color process and by Anna May Wong’s dazzling turn as the self-sacrificing Lotus Flower, her first starring role. The New York Times said, “She has a difficult role, a role that is botched nine times out of ten, but hers is the tenth performance.”
Restoration by UCLA Film & Television Archive
Free admittance for children under 12
Live Music by the Sascha Jacobsen Ensemble
Bassist Sascha Jacobsen draws on a variety of musical styles from classical to jazz and Argentine Tango. He has performed with Kronos Quartet, theatrical greats Rita Moreno, Mandy Patinkin and Patti LuPone, musicians Bonnie Raitt, Randy Newman, and Raul Jaurena, among many others. Jacobsen is in demand as a performer, composer, and arranger, with commissions by the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, Berkeley Youth Symphony, and SF Arts Council among others. He is also a dedicated teacher and has coached students at numerous arts and music schools in the Bay Area. Jacobsen is the founder of the Musical Art Quintet, which performs his original compositions, and plays bass in the group. SF Weekly writes, “Classical training and a taste for evocative melodies underpin this sound.”
Image credit: Pamela Gentile
Details
Director
Chester M. Franklin
Country
United States
Year
1922
Cast
Anna May Wong, Kenneth Harlan, Beatrice Bentley, Baby Moran
Runtime
54 min
Print Source
UCLA Film & Television Archive
Format
35mm