The White Raven

(George D. Baker, US 1917, 60 min., DCP)

The only extant complete silent film starring Ethel Barrymore, The White Raven is a rollicking out-and-out sensation piece. Nan Baldwin (Barrymore), the daughter of a former Wall Street broker who was ruined by his partner, supports herself by singing in an Alaskan saloon under the name "The White Raven." Desperate to get away from her present surroundings and resume her studies of music, Nan offers to sell herself to the winner of a card game at a thousand dollars a hand. She is won by a stranger, who permits her to leave with the gold on the condition that she become his when she has realized her ambition as a singer. Nan does find success all over the world as she becomes a renowned opera singer. Despite the admiration of several, including many eligible bachelors, Nan sticks to the agreement she made, but things get complicated when she falls in love with a young stranger (William B. Davidson). The settings are lavish; cameraman Arthur Martinelli achieves some impressive compositions and lighting effects. Director George D. Baker moves things along with a zest also amply evident in Barrymore’s assertive performance, which won praise from contemporary reviewer Margaret I. MacDonald: “The character of the feminine lead played by Ethel Barrymore, in pleasing contrast to the big majority of screen plays, presents a quality of almost masculine strength, a determination to follow the paths of virtue born of knowledge rather than ignorance, and a sense of honor and womanly tenderness, all of which has an appeal and influence for good.” Of Baker’s direction she added, “the picture is staged in a pleasingly daring manner that is strongly realistic and savors of good red blood.”