The Barbarian (1921) User Reviews

City slickers try to dupe Canadian backwoodsman out of his patrimony

[Silents Fan · 7/10 · 19 November 2006]

This rather creaky old film is the distant ancestor of both Tarzan's New York Adventure and Crocodile Dundee. What charm and appeal it possesses comes from the titular barbarian's (played by Monroe Salisbury) native intellect and superior character in contrast with the superficial, spoiled and dishonest citizens of civilization. The leading man (Salisbury) overacts with all the dramatic gestures and rolling eyes of stage-trained actors of the early silents. As the romantic female lead, Jane Novak is winsome and appealing and considerably less a slice of ham than Salisbury. Alan Hale is effective and suitably oily as the shady villain trying to steal the backwoodsman's land. Donald Crisp's direction of the film can mainly be faulted for his failure to reign in Salisbury and produce a more realistic, less stagy performance. But it was a Monroe Salisbury Production, so the leading man who was also the head of the production company might not have been amenable to direction. This film is worth watching for its historical interest as a forerunner of other Noble Savage films and for Miss Novak's performance.