Let me explain what I wrote in the summary. Nitrate film stock decays very quickly. In fact, sometimes it even turns to powder, goo or explodes! It's a very unstable medium and as a result, a very high percentage of films pre-1950 (or so) have degraded so much that they are unwatchable. Some can be salvaged by piecing together various copies to make one semi-pristine copy. However, some are just a mess--even after significant restoration work. "The Ocean Waif" is one of these film that is so degraded that I think, in hindsight, it should not have been released--at least not the copy released by Kino. I noticed that some talked about seeing it on TCM and that they enjoyed it--it surely must have been a better copy than the DVD. If it wasn't, then perhaps it too should just be shelved until they can hopefully find some better prints or pieces of prints to construct a better film. It is simply a mess--and is often unwatchable.
The film itself is pretty watchable...and pretty weird. It begins with a young lady who lives with her step-father and step-brother. It seems they found her as a child along the seashore and decide to keep her. The problem is that her new dad treats her like a dog and she's miserable. Eventually, she runs away and hides out in what she thinks is an abandoned home. However, soon a writer moves in to begin working on his next story. So, she hides and in the process scares the butler--he thinks every time she moves about the house at night that it's haunted. This is a cute idea, but the butler WAY over-acted.
Later, when she is discovered by the writer, he allows her to stay. He feels sorry for her and takes care of her. However, when the step-dad finds out, he wants his 'property' back and comes to get her. Now here's the weird part. The step-dad now tells her he is NOT her biological father and proposes to her!!! Ewww!!! And, when she refuses, he's about to rape her--when her step-brother sees this and shoots the man dead. No one saw this happen and somehow the writer (who is in love with the lady) is accused.
Here is where the movie completely falls apart and is the biggest reason why the film should not have been commercially released. Unlike the rest of the film, where the print is very bad, here it's obvious that MAJOR portions of the film (the most important parts, by the way) are missing!! So, how all this is resolved AND what happens to the killer are all explained in a series of intertitle cards at the very end. You see NONE of this--just a long explanation!! This just cannot be for a film you might have paid to own (fortunately, I only rented it from Netflix). To reiterate--the entire ending is gone!!! My score of 3 represents the film in the current state only. If it were ever to be fully restored, I'd be glad to see it again and re-review it. But as is, I suggest you see another more complete silent film instead.
At the very least, Kino should CLEARLY warn customers of the state of this film (missing ending included) before they purchase the DVD.
The film itself is pretty watchable...and pretty weird. It begins with a young lady who lives with her step-father and step-brother. It seems they found her as a child along the seashore and decide to keep her. The problem is that her new dad treats her like a dog and she's miserable. Eventually, she runs away and hides out in what she thinks is an abandoned home. However, soon a writer moves in to begin working on his next story. So, she hides and in the process scares the butler--he thinks every time she moves about the house at night that it's haunted. This is a cute idea, but the butler WAY over-acted.
Later, when she is discovered by the writer, he allows her to stay. He feels sorry for her and takes care of her. However, when the step-dad finds out, he wants his 'property' back and comes to get her. Now here's the weird part. The step-dad now tells her he is NOT her biological father and proposes to her!!! Ewww!!! And, when she refuses, he's about to rape her--when her step-brother sees this and shoots the man dead. No one saw this happen and somehow the writer (who is in love with the lady) is accused.
Here is where the movie completely falls apart and is the biggest reason why the film should not have been commercially released. Unlike the rest of the film, where the print is very bad, here it's obvious that MAJOR portions of the film (the most important parts, by the way) are missing!! So, how all this is resolved AND what happens to the killer are all explained in a series of intertitle cards at the very end. You see NONE of this--just a long explanation!! This just cannot be for a film you might have paid to own (fortunately, I only rented it from Netflix). To reiterate--the entire ending is gone!!! My score of 3 represents the film in the current state only. If it were ever to be fully restored, I'd be glad to see it again and re-review it. But as is, I suggest you see another more complete silent film instead.
At the very least, Kino should CLEARLY warn customers of the state of this film (missing ending included) before they purchase the DVD.