Mary Philbin deserves at least a permanent footnote in movie history, as the actress who memorably unmasked the Phantom of the Opera in Lon Chaney's greatest film. She also gave a fine performance as the blind heroine in 'The Man Who Laughs', directed by the brilliant Paul Leni. Apart from these two films and 'The Last Performance' (also by an exceptional director), Philbin's career is nothing much. Her beautiful looks far exceeded her acting ability, and she wasn't able to carry a film in the lead role.
In 'Surrender', Philbin plays the central role ... and her talents simply aren't up to the job. The poor script and lacklustre direction don't help. The action is set in 1914, in a Jewish village in Austria, near the eastern frontier. Philbin plays Lea, the beauteous daughter of the local rabbi (Nigel De Brulier). The town is invaded by a division of Cossack soldiers, commanded by a colonel named Constantine. (It doesn't help that the intertitles refer to this warlord by his forename rather than his surname.) Constantine's cossacks are all set to pillage the village, but there isn't much worth stealing ... so Constantine vows to burn the place to the ground. Then he spots beautiful Lea, and changes his mind: the village and its people will be spared if Lea will have sex with him.
SPOILERS COMING. Lea appears to be the standard silent-film heroine, virginal and noble, so it's surprising that her nobility exceeds her virginality. To the surprise and outrage of her father, Lea agrees to spend the night with Constantine in order to save her village. Rather surprisingly, and implausibly, she and Constantine fall in love with each other, and he repents his former actions. (You call yourself a Cossack, fella?) 'Surrender' is one of those annoying movies which subscribes to the view that, if a man harasses a woman long enough, she'll eventually fall in love with him.
This movie is extremely overwrought, and much of the blame goes to the subtitles ... which read like something out of a Mills & Boon paperback romance. There's plenty of blame left over for the actors, most of whom overact wretchedly. Otto Matieson gives a performance of some subtlety.
The film ends tragically but also implausibly, when the rabbi decides that he must strangle his own daughter for the dishonour she has brought upon him. Nigel De Brulier looks like he would blow away in a stiff wind, so I couldn't believe he was capable of strangling Philbin. Also, the close-ups reveal the pale irises in Philbin's eyes: I can't tell what colour her eyes are in this monochrome film, but these close-ups weaken the casting of Philbin as a (presumably Ashkenazi) dark-eyed Jewish princess. (Let's have no jokes about 'Princess Lea'.)
The best thing about 'Surrender' is its title, which turns out to have at least three meanings. Edward Sloman was a deservedly obscure director, whose best film is likely 'Murder by the Clock'. I'll rate 'Surrender' 4 points out of 10, and I'm being generous.
In 'Surrender', Philbin plays the central role ... and her talents simply aren't up to the job. The poor script and lacklustre direction don't help. The action is set in 1914, in a Jewish village in Austria, near the eastern frontier. Philbin plays Lea, the beauteous daughter of the local rabbi (Nigel De Brulier). The town is invaded by a division of Cossack soldiers, commanded by a colonel named Constantine. (It doesn't help that the intertitles refer to this warlord by his forename rather than his surname.) Constantine's cossacks are all set to pillage the village, but there isn't much worth stealing ... so Constantine vows to burn the place to the ground. Then he spots beautiful Lea, and changes his mind: the village and its people will be spared if Lea will have sex with him.
SPOILERS COMING. Lea appears to be the standard silent-film heroine, virginal and noble, so it's surprising that her nobility exceeds her virginality. To the surprise and outrage of her father, Lea agrees to spend the night with Constantine in order to save her village. Rather surprisingly, and implausibly, she and Constantine fall in love with each other, and he repents his former actions. (You call yourself a Cossack, fella?) 'Surrender' is one of those annoying movies which subscribes to the view that, if a man harasses a woman long enough, she'll eventually fall in love with him.
This movie is extremely overwrought, and much of the blame goes to the subtitles ... which read like something out of a Mills & Boon paperback romance. There's plenty of blame left over for the actors, most of whom overact wretchedly. Otto Matieson gives a performance of some subtlety.
The film ends tragically but also implausibly, when the rabbi decides that he must strangle his own daughter for the dishonour she has brought upon him. Nigel De Brulier looks like he would blow away in a stiff wind, so I couldn't believe he was capable of strangling Philbin. Also, the close-ups reveal the pale irises in Philbin's eyes: I can't tell what colour her eyes are in this monochrome film, but these close-ups weaken the casting of Philbin as a (presumably Ashkenazi) dark-eyed Jewish princess. (Let's have no jokes about 'Princess Lea'.)
The best thing about 'Surrender' is its title, which turns out to have at least three meanings. Edward Sloman was a deservedly obscure director, whose best film is likely 'Murder by the Clock'. I'll rate 'Surrender' 4 points out of 10, and I'm being generous.