The Toll of the Sea is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Chester M Franklin, featuring Anna May Wong in her first leading role. The film was written by Frances Marion with the lead roles played by Wong and Kenneth Harlan. The plot was a variation of the Madama Butterfly story, set in China instead of Japan.
The film was the second Technicolor feature (after 1917’s The Gulf Between), and the first Technicolor color feature anywhere that did not require a special projector to be used for screenings.
When young Lotus Flower sees an unconscious man floating in the water near the seashore, she quickly gets help for him. The man is Allen Carver, an American visiting China. Soon the two have fallen in love, and Carver promises to take her with him when he returns home. But Carver’s friends discourage him from doing this, and he returns to the USA alone. By the time the two of them meet again, much has changed, and their reunion proves very trying for them both.
Doors and bar open at 11am with refreshments, coffee and tea available. Movie screens at 12 noon. $15 for adults and free for kids 13 and under. Film duration 53 minutes.