This offbeat romance stars Richard Barthelmess as a tough sailor named Smith who happens to meet a mousy dressmaker (Dorothy Mackaill) while on shore leave. He's determined not to get "involved" and she pines away in a small New England seaport village.
The story skips around a lot, but it seems she owns a sailing ship that is aground on the mud in the Ganges River. She plots to get the ship sailing again with Barthelmess as the skipper. A perfect union. But he reacts badly and avoids all "rich women" even though, years later, she throws a party for all the Smiths in port. She has no idea what his first name is. He doesn't remember her at all. After a few fights he finally understands that she is not rich. So he bypasses re-enlisting, works his way back to her, and all problems are solved in time for the clinch.
SHORE LEAVE was a Broadway play that featured James Rennie and Frances Starr. This is a change-of-pace role for Barthelmess, since the character is not quite heroic. Mackaill, a former Ziegfeld girl, is probably too pretty to be pining away in a small village. Yet the stars are very effective together and keep the film interesting despite its cheap production values. The supporting cast has little to do.
Worth a look.