Lorna Doone (1922) User Reviews

Surprisingly enjoyable

[cgm95 · 7/10 · 8 May 2002]

Cineasts jaded and cynical as I might be surprised by the enjoyable nature of this recently restored silent film -- the decision to watch spurred more by the interest in seeing otherwise forgotten John Bowers whose suicide has punctuated many a Hollywood allegory. Imagine my thrill, then, at seeing an overlooked treasure that, while certainly not a classic, demonstrates many of the long unappreciated qualities of early filmmaking.

Filled as it is with the wild gesticulations, grimaces and posturing that define early films, "Doone" also has excellent direction, a swift pace that only occasionally lags, and good performances by the cast. One can easily understand Bowers' rapid rise to fame (making his suicide all the more difficult to understand) with his brooding presence and oddly-handsome face that stands antithetical to the "pretty boys" who were his contemporaries.

If one can overlook the oddities in this film that are a natural part of such early films (the overuse of makeup, the odd lapses in continuity) "Lorna Doone" will certainly hold one's interest as a seldom seem tale that deserves more attention than it has received.

Thanks to Jesse Pierce

[wes-connors · 8/10 · 11 July 2008]

Watching Maurice Tourneur's "Lorna Doone " is very much like visiting an art gallery; it is so filled with gorgeous images, expertly photographed by Henry Sharp. Interestingly, Mr. Tourneur uses the camera to tell a simpler, less stylized story than previously. This time, it's the simple, but everlasting love of soul-mated Madge Bellamy (as Lorna Doone) and John Bowers (as John Ridd).

The intimate-looking location scenes are a highlight: for example, note how Tourneur stages the lovers' introduction, as children, with young Mae Giraci drawn to young Charles Hatton as he is pumping water to wash his hair. (Tourneur directs children and water beautifully, as a rule.) Later, watch for the "farewell" scene after Ms. Bellamy's "true identity" is revealed. Mr. Bowers' body language, even when in the background, is revealing. Also, the "bridge" they have crossed, moves over to the left of the screen, with the carriage door opening, and a hand reaching out to take Bellamy away...

On the downside, the story takes turns, and introduces characters that are difficult to understand. In the early scenes, it appears "Lorna" is abducted by the evil "Doone" family (by the way, both she and "John" appear old enough to know what's going on). Later, that event becomes more complicated. A check with the original novel's plot, and a second viewing, doesn't exactly help.

******** Lorna Doone (1922) Maurice Tourneur ~ John Bowers, Madge Bellamy, Donald MacDonald

good music by Iijima

[doctormatt · 8/10 · 2 April 2005]

An excellent silent film.

I like the modern music score on the version shown on TCM in March 2005. It was composed by Mari Iijima (if you're going to bad-mouth a composer, you ought to spell their name correctly...), and has nice Philip Glass-like qualities. I love modern music scores for old silent films generally (for instance, the Alloy Orchestra's work).

The film has some great cinematography, and it's worth seeing just for that. The shots of the water in several places, the beach where Lorna is kidnapped, and of mad villagers chasing on horseback are really excellent, with great texture and lighting.

Shockingly silly, abrupt ending.

A Good Silent Melodrama

[CitizenCaine · 7/10 · 12 July 2008]

Director Maurice Tourneur is the father of the more famous Director Jacques Tourneur. Before he became increasingly temperamental and left Hollywood a few years later, Maurice Tourneur made some memorable silent films. This is one of them. Lorna Doone is based on the famous 1874 novel by Richard D. Blackmore. It's probably not the greatest romance of all time as advertised, but it holds its own as a good example of silent film melodrama. Unlike many films of the era, the film is not as predictable plot-wise, the acting and cinematography are first rate, and the pacing moves well throughout the film. John Bowers stars as John Ridd a poor, working class strong man who falls for Mae Giraci as a young boy. She is kidnapped essentially and raised as a Doone. The Doones, of course, are the upper class ruffians who frequently are at odds with the John Ridds of the world. Madge Bellamy is absolutely radiant as the adult Lorna Doone, who is torn between staying with the Doones and fulfilling her royal destiny and her loyalty to her childhood love John Ridd. The film sweeps us away with its romance, creating just the right tension, although the ending is a bit unbelievable and seems out of sync with the tone of the rest of the film. Otherwise, it's a very entertaining, romantic film. Leading man John Bowers lead an almost equally melodramatic life when his career was ended by the sound era; he later committed suicide by drowning himself. *** of 4 stars.

Graceful photography and strong acting make for a fine film; the 2001 score is nice at first but too repetitive

[J. Spurlin · 30 July 2010]

In 17th-century England, the outlaw Doone clan kidnaps a young girl, who grows up among them. The farm boy who met her just before the kidnapping eventually rescues her, and they fall in love.

I wasn't familiar with this story, having neither read the novel nor seen the various movie and TV adaptations. The bare bones of this boy-meets-girl tale are, of course, familiar to anyone; but (in this version, at least) it is fleshed out in a particularly engaging way. The graceful photography of Henry Sharp, under Maurice Tourneur's direction, is the movie's main asset. Both leads (Madge Bellamy in the title role and John Bowers as the hero) are strong. Frank Keenan, as the elderly leader of the outlaw clan and Lorna's protector, gives a fascinatingly florid performance (an improvement over his equally striking, but ridiculously slow-motion, acting in "The Coward" from 1915). Charles Hatton, who plays the hero as a boy, has a strong screen presence: it's disappointing to see from his IMDb filmography that he only made a few films and then disappeared.

The 2001 presentations of this film has a lovely background music by Mari Iijima; but unfortunately, Iijima didn't exactly score the film so much as write a few pieces for it, which are repeated without variation throughout the movie. The repetitiveness is a defect.

Excellent movie--lousy musical score

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 7 July 2008]

One reviewer for this film went so far as to give this movie a score of 1--mostly due to the lousy musical score. Well, I do agree with them that the score was very bad (highly, highly repetitive and grating), but to give an exceptional movie a score of 1 just because some modern composer made a bad score seems amazingly harsh. Even if you turn the sound off completely and watch the film, it deserves at least a 7.

The book, "Lorna Doone", was a very popular novel--so much that it has prompted a huge number of movies and mini-series for TV. However, despite it being made again and again, the plot is mostly unknown to modern audiences. Fortunately, this silent movie generally keeps to the original plot--though there have been a few changes here and there that didn't noticeably hurt the film. I'll mention a few of them below:

Lorna is raised by a clan of evil outlaws during the late Stuart dynasty in Britain (mid-late 1600s). In the book, she had no idea that she really was a member of the royalty who was kidnapped as a baby. In the film, inexplicably, she was stolen when she was about 8 years old and somehow forgot she was of noble birth (?!)--an odd and unconvincing change to the story. Regardless, she is eventually rescued by the brave commoner, John Ridd, though once she is out of the Doone clan's evil clutches, she is brought to court to be one of the queen's lady's in waiting. She wants Ridd and vice-versa, but because of their unequal births, they seem destined to part forever. In the book, Ridd bravely saves the king (or some other nobleman--I can't remember) and is knighted--making it possible to marry Lorna. However, in the film, he does save the king but isn't rewarded at all and goes home disconsolate. Naturally, there's more to the story as well as a rather violent ending that is high on the cool factor, but it's best to just let you see the film.

So why does the film earn a 7? Well, the acting for 1922 is excellent as are the production values. The story is reasonably interesting and watchable as well. If it ever received a newer musical score more appropriate to the film, it probably would earn an 8 or even 9--as it is a terrific film.

Sweet, charmingly old-fashioned story of star-crossed lovers...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 7 July 2008]

With some good cinematography and a rather unsettling background score, LORNA DOONE is a movie my father always mentioned liking very much for story and content. He must have seen it when he was in his early thirties and often mentioned it as one of his favorite novels and movies.

It's the rather familiar yarn of two people kept apart by the class system who were teen-age lovers separated by fate and then reunited years later when the girl has been held hostage by pirates and reared as one of the Doone clan. The years pass and by chance, during a fateful incident in the rapids, the young man (JOHN BOWERS) drifts toward Lorna's territory. When he awakens, she's tending to him and thus their story begins again.

The title role is nicely played by MADGE BELLAMY who has a sweet, old-fashioned grace about her that makes her heroine appealing and vulnerable. She seldom goes into the silent film technique of acting, nor does Bowers, who does a splendid job as the stalwart hero.

In reading about the film, I discovered that the ruggedly handsome Bowers committed suicide by drowning fourteen years after making this film, when his stardom was on the wane with the advent of talkies. It's rumored that he was the man depicted in A STAR IS BORN, Norman Maine, who walks into the ocean toward the finish.

Summing up: Interesting tale, well told but almost too familiar for most of us who've seen variations of it or actual remakes of it over the years.

An Immortal Historical Romantic Drama.

[FerdinandVonGalitzien · 7/10 · 28 March 2009]

Continuing with a short Herr Maurice Tourneur film programme at the Schloss theatre and due to the fact that these are modern and strange times and in accordance with this and having in mind the aristocratic conservatism, it is always better and safer to invest in silent secure stocks and forget those risky and changeable talkie shares. For that reason it is always an excellent investment to watch any Herr Maurice Tourneur silent film.

"Lorna Doone" (1922) is another excellent work of the French director that belongs to his American period. The story is set in old Britain and is an interesting international Saxon mixture based on a famous and classic oeuvre written by Herr Richard Doddridge Blackmore, a novel that obviously this German count hasn't read because the first edition didn't include any illustrations.

But fortunately Herr Tourneur's silent film adaptation of that book provides plenty of illustrations that often resemble paintings. They film compositions are evocative, dramatic and beautiful, the kind of visuals for which the French director is well-known and they are perfectly done with a strong sense of background helped greatly by Herr Henry Sharp's sharp cinematography. Herr Tourneur's direction and the cinematography, combined with the superb art direction that is characteristic of the French director makes for a dramatic exercise in romanticism.

Although it is a short sequence at the beginning of the film, the first meeting as children between Lorna and John, is especially beautiful and remarkable and a perfect excuse for this German aristocrat to commend the delicacy and mastery that Herr Tourneur always demonstrates when he directs children ( those evil little creatures ); it is not a very easy task to try to dominate those miniature demons and achieve good and natural performances while avoiding insipidness or too obvious acting. The magic innocence and mystery of childhood is a usual subject in many Herr Tourneur films. It is a hard job but the French director always triumphs when he explores that primal and fascinating early age.

Besides the film has plenty of action, one of those classical adventure films full of wicked bandits who do wrongs that must be righted not to mention a larger than life love story that defies conventionalism or social class differences; that is to say, an immortal historical romantic drama.

All the merits of "Lorna Doone" can be appreciated nowadays thanks to the excellent film work restoration by the youngsters at "Kino", a superb effort available in one of those modern discs that the longhaired likes so much and it includes a beautiful and delicate score composed and arranged by Dame Mari Lijima .

And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must keep away the Doones from the Schloss surroundings.

Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/

The Best Version Is This Silent Version

[overseer-3 · 10/10 · 17 July 2003]

I've seen 4 versions of this story and this silent classic starring John Bowers and Madge Bellamy is by far the best, much more poignant than the modern A+E version!

The action is great, the romantic characters obtain your sympathy immediately, and the cinematography for a 1922 film is outstanding. This must have been a real epic in its day.

One chilling aspect of this film is the fact that when we first meet the adult John Bowers in his role as John the shepherd boy he is fighting for his life, trying to save himself from drowning in rough waters. Later we see him deliberately jumping over a waterfall into the same waters below. One wonders whether this film gave John Bowers the idea that drowning was the way to go, since he committed suicide by drowning. The character of Norman Maine in three versions of A Star Is Born is based on poor John Bowers. He was so handsome in this film, and quite a good actor. It is too bad that someone couldn't have reached out to him and given him some acting jobs once talkies came in; they might have saved his life.

John Bower Haunted By Water Images?

[springfieldrental · 7/10 · 17 November 2021]

Several scenes in Maurice Tourneur-directed October 1922's "Lorna Doone" has lead actor John Bowers almost drowning in a raging river and eliminating his opponent in a bog full of water. Some have suggested the water images in the 1922 film was fixated on the actor's subconscious in his struggles to secure acting roles in the new age of sound movies.

His old friend, Henry Hathaway, was directing 1936's 'Souls of the Sea' in and around Santa Catalina Island. The star of "Lorna Doone," who hadn't any significant role in any film since 1931, hopped on a rented 16-foot slope and sailed to the island to ask for a part in the picture. Unfortunately, the role had been filled. Despondent and at the end of his rope, Bowers, it was reported, simply walked into the ocean and was never seen alive again. Some have attributed Bowers' struggle with his movie career and the method of his death as an inspiration for 1937's 'A Star Is Born's' Norman Maine.

Today's viewer can witness the talent of actor Bowers as the hero in the 1922 version of Richard Blackmore's 1869 novel "Lorna Doone." This was the third incarnation of the 17th-century English tale of a family, the bad-boys Doone's, where one member kills Bower character's father. As a boy he stumbles upon youthful Lorna Doone, played by Madge Bellamy, and later rescues her. Throughout it all, Bowers is seen navigating through raging rivers and being swept over waterfalls. And water plays a crucial role towards the end, a scene where some attribute the actor to chose the method to end his life.

Tourneur had been noted as one of the best aesthetically inclined director in his time. Every frame of "Lorna Doone," it's said, can be hung up on a wall as a picture of art. Studios claimed he sacrificed the beauty of the scene for the pace of his films, concentrating on the look of his movies instead of its action. As one reviewer wrote, "the most beautiful movies are often also the slowest."

There have been five other 'Lorna Doone' movies adapted from the Blackmore novel after Tourneur's picture. But those familiar with the more modern versions claim there is none more pleasing to the eye than the 1922 picture.

Music Score

[beverley5404-1 · 1/10 · 7 March 2005]

I am a great admirer of music composers for movies. Scores that relate to the characters and the action sequences enhance the enjoyment of any movie, especially the silent movies. Unfortunately, the score attached to the 2001 alternate version, by Mari Lijima, is a distraction beyond comprehension. This print was shown by Turner Classic Movies, Friday, 4 March 2005. I was familiar with the story line but had not seen this version by Maurice Tourneur and eagerly awaited the opportunity to add this to my rather extensive VHS collection (a collection, I might add, for my exclusive personal enjoyment). Imagine my disappointment! Most assuredly, this 1922 print of Lorna Doone deserves a much better movie score.

Love, Hate, Revenge, Romance...this has it all!

[ctando · 9/10 · 5 May 2002]

Lorna is a wealthy young girl who meets and loves a shepherd boy, John. After meeting him she is captured by the evil Lord Doone. Doone is softened by fatherly love for Lorna but raises her in his den of thieves. She grows into lovely womanhood, sweet and untouched by the violence around her. One day, John returns. They recognize each other and fall in love all over again. Doone's counselor wants his son to marry Lorna. He is a violent man, hated by Lorna. She spurns his proposal. He tries to force her but she is rescued by John. Doone dies during the rescue but rights his wrong and sees that Lorna returns to Society. John lets her go but follows her. Will she be the same, sweet girl or a spoiled society lady? The future holds betrayal, revenge and perhaps even murder. This movie had me on the edge of my seat. I loved it! Madge Bellamy portrays such sweetness and beauty. I didn't care too much for the score as it's pretty modern in some spots. I'd highly recommend it: 9/10.

A Silent Melodrama Based on a Victorian Melodrama Set in the Seventeenth Century

[richardchatten · 4/10 · 4 September 2019]

This handsomely mounted but meandering silent version of R.D.Blackmore's 1869 novel moves in fits and starts culminating in a splendid showdown between John Ridd and Carver Doone involving quicksand and a knife which really belongs at the end of a western rather than a literary adaptation.

I Love the Iijima Score

[joyce-miller3-1 · 10/10 · 7 September 2009]

I watched this movie for the first time recently. I love it and watched it again and again. For the record, I find the score very appropriate. The score is performed by a strings orchestra. The strings seem to fit the period of the movie very well, like the score could have been written in the 1600s. If that is annoying some people, oh well.

I found the production values very impressive for a movie filmed in the early 20s.

John Bowers is a treasure. What a fine actor he was. He was a natural actor who could easily project his emotions without over-emoting. Unfortunately, not too many of his films have survived. Madge Bellamy did a credible portrayal of a sweet and innocent young girl. In my reading up on her, she really did a very good "acting" job.

There was a glaring continuity error at the end of the movie. John left the church to go after Carver in his wedding suit, arrived at Doone Gate in his work clothes, and caught up to him now wearing his wedding suit again.

A must-see movie!

[JohnHowardReid · 9/10 · 21 December 2017]

Lorna Doone, the once super-popular, and often-filmed 1869 novel by Richard Doddridge Blackmore (1825 - 1900), receives its best motion picture innings to date in producer-director Maurice Tourneur's beautifully lit and composed 1922 silent movie.

The best version of this Tourneur "Lorna Done" is available from Grapevine in a well-preserved, original tinted print, harmonized with an appropriate music score.

This movie version brilliantly captures not only the full flavor of the novel, but presents excellent performances all around.

Madge Bellamy is particularly effective in the title role, while the once extremely popular Donald McDonald is engagingly cast as Carver Doone.

Paul Ivano's superbly noirish location photography (Henry Sharp worked exclusively with the main unit) also comes across as a marvelous asset.

Love knows no social classes in legends.

[ulicknormanowen · 8/10 · 8 July 2020]

Maurice Tourneur had an typical biography : his career path began in his native France , then continued in the USA during the silent age ; after a short stint in Germany ,he ended his career in his homeland where he is often too overlooked although he produced classic talkies such "la main du diable" or "le val d'enfer" .

The ending of his version of Lorna Doone (unlike Phil Karlson's in the fifties) has something supernatural ( a fancy which would remarge in full bloom in "la main du diable" )and a deeply moving line "I .....take .....thee"

The black and white cinematography is splendid and the restoration is excellent : the movie ,although silent,can appeal to today's melodrama buffs . There's more violence ,even bestiality in some sequences than in the color version :the kidnapping of Lorna and her mother left for dead whose body lies by the sea ; the brutality of the "fiancé " when Lorna is given to him .

There's a lot of poetry too : the lovers meeting when they are still very young and this beautiful sentence which reads that childhood does not know high-born girls and common boys; their meeting after Rigg's fall in the waterfall; the wedding in the village church ,in direct contrast with the grandiose baptism in the London cathedral where a prince is christened ;both scenes are interrupted by a murder ; the contempt the nobles show towards Rigg who pampers the baby he's just saved.

Tourneur already shows flair for the fantasy and horror genre which would emerge again in "la main du diable": the intervention of a ghostly old Doone, the divine intervention of love which "opens the gates of death" .