Such a frustrating disappointment

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

"The Sea Lion" is a watchable silent film, but it also suffers from the most ridiculous series of coincidences that it prevents the viewer from ever taking the film seriously. The film begins with a sea captain learning that his wife has abandoned him with her lover. As a result, he became a vicious brute--and took all his anger out on his crew. Later in the film, the ship discovers an island in the middle of no where. And, on a planet over 24,000 miles in circumference, this tiny speck of an island has two shipwrecked folks--one of which is his wife's child who was born after she left him!! Talk about ridiculous! And, when he learns that his wife died after giving birth to the kid, he makes it his life's work to make the teenager miserable. However, there are a few surprises that shake his world.As I said above, the film is absolutely silly with coincidences. However, the acting and direction are pretty good--and worth seeing if you are a huge fan of silents. Otherwise, there are definitely better films out there you should see first.

A Pacific drama of the Blue Lagoon school, the story is no more far fetched than most, and the acting style has to be seen in the context of what was expected at the time, not least in terms of helping the audience understand the plot. The use of flash-back was well handled, and one or two shots were technically brilliant, like the vertiginous view down to the ship's deck from the crow's nest. Some of the sea-going sequences were could induce mal-de-mer, and gave a realistic impression of sailing ships of the time, and the hardy life of whalers. The story itself is many stranded and generally well handled, with some decent performances from the principals, despite excessive religiosity towards the end. A sea-brother to Captain Ahab runs his ship with an iron fist. A sailor looking forward to seeing his baby reminds the captain of his own unhappy past when his wife deserted him for another man. Back in Frisco the ne'er-do-well son a wealthy man is disowned by his father, who has had to pay off a gold-digger of a fiancée (after some interesting high-life scenes). Out to prove himself, the son signs on the whaler, where he learns the meaning of hard and dangerous work. Becalmed, the ship runs short of water, and the sailors mutiny when the captain takes more than his share. However, the son rescues him, but is hardly thanked for his pains. They sight an island inhabited by a shipwrecked sailor and a sixteen year old girl, whose mother survived the wreck, gave birth then subsequently died. The captain takes on these passengers, provided they work their passage. When he discovers that the girl's mother was his wife, he takes against her assuming her father to be the other man. He is about to beat her again when a whale is sighted, and a boat lowered. To protect her, the girl is hidden in the boat, but the captain sees this, and when a storm comes up, he leaves the boat and its crew to their fate. Back in his cabin he discovers the girl's Bible in which her mother had written her story. It appeared that when he husband went to sea, she was expecting. A former suitor, and another sailor, abducts her, leaving her rejection letter to him to be found by her husband and misinterpreted. Realising the error of his ways, and full of repentance, the captain returns to look for the boat and finds it dashed on rocks with everybody in the water. He swims out to rescue them, explaining that he now knows the truth. At this point it is unclear whether the ne'er-do-well, who tries to protect the girl, drowns or not. Otherwise, there is a generally Happy Ending as the ship sails back to Frisco, probably without a full cargo of blubber.Bessie Love (1898 - 1986), who played the girl, had 142 titles to her credit. Her penultimate film was the 1981 film about John Reed and the Russian Revolution, Reds.The real name of the Sea Lion is not given, though her wheel was made in London.

Hobart Bosworth was an interesting person. A traveler, adventurer, boxer, actor, sailor. He purportedly went to California at doctor's request for his health around 1908. In California Bosworth was amongst the earliest of stage actors to make movies in California becoming writer, director, actor, producer. Around 1913 Bosworth, already a movie veteran, formed his own production company ultimately producing a 1914 version of "The Sea Wolf". The Sea Lion is a 1921 adventure. The kind that Bosworthh liked to make. It is directed by Rowland Lee. Bosworth leads the cast in "The Sea Lion" in a yarn of a cuckold sailor who after 18 years is reunited with his daughter, played by Bessie Love. The print of this film is awful. The movie, is now in the public domain. Judging by the quality of the film it looks like a 6th generation print of a copy of a copy. It's hard to follow this movie because you can't read the intertitles at times or follow the action. Second and third viewings are almost mandatory to experience what the filmmakers are showing. Even in a messy print the story matter is exciting and one full of adventure. Hopefully a better print surfaces. dir. Rowland V. Lee, Bosworth Prods.

Brisk little tale about a brutal sea captain (Hobart Bosworth) nicknamed "the Sea Lion" and the fateful voyage that involves mutiny and the depletion of their water supply.We're told in flashback that Bosworth was once a jolly fellow, eagerly anticipating his return from sea to his wife and new baby. But when he arrives home, the wife and baby are gone. She's run off with another man. Nearly 20 years later, he holds the bitterness like a shield as he goes about his job.On the current voyage, a first-time seaman (Emory Johnson) is escaping his family and is the butt of all jokes on board. But after months at sea, the water runs out and the crew mutinies while Johnson is atop the crow's nest. He helps the captain quell the riot and is made first mate. Soon thereafter they spot an island and head for it.On the island they find some people who were shipwrecked 16 years before. The young girl named Blossom (Bessie Love) is the daughter of a white woman who died on the island after the shipwreck. back on board, while Johnson and Love fall in love, Bosworth's hatred flairs when he learns that Love is the daughter of his runaway wife. But who was the father? Bosworth is solid as the brutal captain, and Love and Johnson make their stock characters interesting. The scenes at sea are surprisingly authentic and add immensely to this simple story of love and hate and redemption.My copy has an excellent and rousing piano score. Worth a look.