.... and you can't get much better than that - playing the type of roles they were renowned for. Miljan as the cowardly Paul de Vigney who not only sneaks off and leaves his fiancée at the mercy of a ravenous street mob when she thoughtlessly opens her purse to distribute a few pennies and again in the middle of a typhoon at sea, as she is calling for him to save her he is hiding, scared out of his wits, as well as precipitating a mutiny by secretly hiding the ship's precious and scarce drinking water, then when he is caught publicly blaming his fiancée with "I did it for you"!!! Last but not least he has a lover, a beautiful Chinese girl who he frequently beats whenever she steps out of line!!
Walter Long is at the other end of the spectrum, a brutish seaman "Iron Head Joe", head shaved, a dagger in his belt (or between his teeth), from the moment he lechered after the heroine as the sea breeze blows up her voluminous skirts!! Initially wheedling and whining, he then decides the little cabin boy has to go - he kicks him out of the way while waiting for water, then when little Mickey thwarts his plan to get the helpless heroine in his clutches, he chases the little boy along the rigging, dagger between his teeth as he gesticulates exactly what will happen to him when he is caught!! All the more realistic because it takes place on a real ship. Junior Coghlan who gave a really terrific performance as the tobacco chewing Mickey remembered the role fondly because they were filming on a real clipper for 6 months, only coming ashore to buy provisions and he also remembers William Boyd being like a father to him.
I always remember "The Yankee Clipper" as being the first silent movie I ever saw. Yes, it was in a bowdlerized version in the early TV show "Silents Please" being only half an hour long but still - my Dad fondly remembered the movie from seeing it as a kid and once the race got under way it had everything - double dyed villains, storms at sea, even a sort of walk the plank. There is some spectacular camera-work - shots taken from the crow's nest that show the crew on deck looking like ants and a really terrific long shot of Joe stalking Mickey along the rigging.
The story, oh yes, it's about a race from China to Boston involving the pride of the British fleet "The Lord of the Isles" and the American upstart "The Yankee Clipper" - the stakes - the country who wins gets China's lucrative tea trade. There is the obligatory hero and heroine - handsome William Boyd plays dashing Captain Hal Wilson who rashly bets "The Yankee Clipper" against the other ship so stakes are running high. Elinor Fair was the fair but dumb Lady Jocelyn who stood by her cowardly fiancé until the last ten minutes and wow was she pretty. Even though she had been a Wampas Baby Star in 1924 her career was very up and down and she often took months off at a time to regroup, not exactly the most sensible thing to do if you want Hollywood to remember you. By 1927 she had had a run of good luck - she had married William Boyd and also scored a Pathe contract. To capitalize on their success as a movie and real life couple they were teamed in "The Yankee Clipper".
Walter Long is at the other end of the spectrum, a brutish seaman "Iron Head Joe", head shaved, a dagger in his belt (or between his teeth), from the moment he lechered after the heroine as the sea breeze blows up her voluminous skirts!! Initially wheedling and whining, he then decides the little cabin boy has to go - he kicks him out of the way while waiting for water, then when little Mickey thwarts his plan to get the helpless heroine in his clutches, he chases the little boy along the rigging, dagger between his teeth as he gesticulates exactly what will happen to him when he is caught!! All the more realistic because it takes place on a real ship. Junior Coghlan who gave a really terrific performance as the tobacco chewing Mickey remembered the role fondly because they were filming on a real clipper for 6 months, only coming ashore to buy provisions and he also remembers William Boyd being like a father to him.
I always remember "The Yankee Clipper" as being the first silent movie I ever saw. Yes, it was in a bowdlerized version in the early TV show "Silents Please" being only half an hour long but still - my Dad fondly remembered the movie from seeing it as a kid and once the race got under way it had everything - double dyed villains, storms at sea, even a sort of walk the plank. There is some spectacular camera-work - shots taken from the crow's nest that show the crew on deck looking like ants and a really terrific long shot of Joe stalking Mickey along the rigging.
The story, oh yes, it's about a race from China to Boston involving the pride of the British fleet "The Lord of the Isles" and the American upstart "The Yankee Clipper" - the stakes - the country who wins gets China's lucrative tea trade. There is the obligatory hero and heroine - handsome William Boyd plays dashing Captain Hal Wilson who rashly bets "The Yankee Clipper" against the other ship so stakes are running high. Elinor Fair was the fair but dumb Lady Jocelyn who stood by her cowardly fiancé until the last ten minutes and wow was she pretty. Even though she had been a Wampas Baby Star in 1924 her career was very up and down and she often took months off at a time to regroup, not exactly the most sensible thing to do if you want Hollywood to remember you. By 1927 she had had a run of good luck - she had married William Boyd and also scored a Pathe contract. To capitalize on their success as a movie and real life couple they were teamed in "The Yankee Clipper".
