Old Ironsides

The silent naval spectacle Old Ironsides (1926) is a romantic adventure set against the battle that inspired the line "to the Shores of Tripoli" in the "Marines' Hymn." Charles Farrell stars as a Midwest lad who answers a call for sailors to form the first American Navy and is shanghaied by Bos'n (Wallace Beery), a merchant seaman who turns him into a master sailor. Along the way, there's romance and a battle with Barbary pirates who capture the crew and passengers to sell into slavery. The American Naval battleship USS Constitution, one of the "Old Ironsides" of the title, arrives in the third act for the grand battle finale. These are not the Caribbean pirates of Errol Flynn movies but Corsairs from the Mediterranean Middle East with turbans, robes, and curved swords, and the Barbary kingdom looks like an Arabian Nights fantasy out of Rudolph Valentino silent movies. The story plays on racist clichés of dark-skinned foreigners trafficking in white slavery and the patriotic fervor of stalwart American heroes saving women from being defiled. It is also a grandly mounted spectacle with lavish sea battles and, for all of its xenophobia, a rousing piece of action moviemaking from director James Cruz. Restored and remastered and presented with a piano score performed and adapted by Rodney Sauer from the original, extras include select scene commentary by historian Toby Roan, and a booklet. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)