Mildly entertaining silent film about Anthony Hamilton Hawthorne, American (played by Wallace Reid), who breaks the bank at Monte Carlo, then travels through the kingdom of Bovinia, along with his best pal/sidekick Harry Blake (Harrison Ford). When Hawthorne's cap blows over a high wall, he climbs it and encounters a "lonely little girl", playing make-believe in her dream garden, which for all the world looks just like "The Secret Garden". Well, though described as a "little girl", she is really a very beautiful young lady, played by Lila Lee. He falls in love immediately, then gets caught up in a local revolution to overthrow the king, and the revolutionaries are determined to get Hawthorne to finance this revolution with his gambling winnings! But wait - the twist - the beautiful, lonely little girl is actually a princess, daughter of the king, and about to be forced to marry a Prince from a rival kingdom, a man she hates!
I found this film interesting, though thought the plot revolved too much around this "revolution" and not enough about the romance between the characters. The film is boosted up considerably by the three main stars (Reid, Ford, and Lee), who are all very engaging and attractive - all three I would count among my favorite silent era actors. I really enjoyed the interplay between the two male leads, they actually seemed like real buddies. The DVD version of this I saw featured a quite decent looking print, tinted mainly in a greenish-sepia tone. The music score was also decent, what I would describe as mid-range to pleasant. Enjoyable, light fare.
I found this film interesting, though thought the plot revolved too much around this "revolution" and not enough about the romance between the characters. The film is boosted up considerably by the three main stars (Reid, Ford, and Lee), who are all very engaging and attractive - all three I would count among my favorite silent era actors. I really enjoyed the interplay between the two male leads, they actually seemed like real buddies. The DVD version of this I saw featured a quite decent looking print, tinted mainly in a greenish-sepia tone. The music score was also decent, what I would describe as mid-range to pleasant. Enjoyable, light fare.
