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Harry T. Morey and Peggy Rice.
Photograph: Silent Era image collection.
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The Rapids
(1922) [?] United States of America and/or Canada?
B&W : Six reels
Directed by David M. Hartford
Cast: Harry T. Morey [Robert Fisher Clarke], Mary Astor [Elsie Worden], Walter Miller [Tim Belding], Harlan Knight [John Minton], Charles Slattery [Henry Marsham], Edwin Forsberg [Horace Wimperley], Jack Newton [Herbert Stoughton], Charles Wellesley [Bishop Sullivan], John W. Dillon (John Webb Dillon) [Louis Beaudette], Peggy Rice [Sue], Frank Andrews [Mayor Filmer], Major P.B. Wilson [the manager of the works], Mrs. Clarke, Thomas Dodds Jr., Henry Feltham, Sam Hagen, John Jackson, Captain King, Jack Lobban, Sam Marks, Joseph Rogers, Angus Taylor, William Wicket, Mrs. R. Wyman
Sault Ste. Marie Films, Limited, production; distributed by W.W. Hodkinson Corporation [A David M. Hartford Production]. / Produced by Ernest Shipman. Scenario by Faith Green + [Kenneth O’Hara], from the novel The Rapids by Alan Sullivan. Cinematography by Walter L. Griffin and Oliver Sigardson. Presented by Ernest Shipman. / Premiered October 1922 at the Orpheum Theatre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. General release, 24 June 1923 (USA). / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format. / The production was shot in Sault Ste. Marie and Thessalon, Ontario, Canada.
Drama.
Synopsis: [From unknown publication] Robert Fisher Clarke, a dreamer and engineering genius, on his way to Chicago, astonishes the Pullman porter by leaving the train at a small way station on the Sault Ste. Marie rapids. Clarke has seen a wonderful vision of a model industrial town situated on the banks of the river, utilizing the harnessed power of the great rapids. After he has succeeded in gaining backing for his project, a conflict between certain financiers so hampers the completion of his plans that he decides to bid farewell to the rapids. Before going, he proposes marriage to Elsie Worden, but when Jim Belding, a young engineer in his employ, meets with an accident in the river, Elsie suddenly awakens to the fact that it is Jim she loves and not Clarke. Clarke accepts his fate and takes with him little Sue, a child he has rescued from the rapids.
Reviews: [From unknown publication] “The Rapids” is not a particularly well-made production, but in spite of this fact the picture will interest the majority of audiences in the neighborhood house and in some transient theatres. Harry Morey is the type to play convincingly the role of Robert Fisher Clarke, engineering genius, desirous of harnessing the Sault Ste. Marie rapids and of building a model industrial town on the banks of the river, although at times he overacts the part. The scenes on the river, with closeups of the rapids, are inspiring, and it is a pity that the author’s big idea has not been handled in a more masterful way. The conflict between the three financiers, which works havoc on Clarke’s project and destroys his faith in his associates, includes some well-staged mob scenes, and altogether there is much to be enjoyed in the picture. A crudeness in direction is the main fault to be found with this feature, in which capable players are employed.
Survival status: The film is presumed lost.
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Keywords: Canada: Ontario: Sault Ste. Marie, Thessalon, St. Mary’s Rapids
Listing updated: 7 December 2022.
References: ClasIm-302 p. 10 : Website-IMDb; Website-LAC : with additional information provided by Jami van Haaften.
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