The Toll of the Sea

The Toll of the Sea 1922 is an American drama film, directed by Chester M. Franklin, produced by the Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation, released by Metro Pictures, and featuring Anna May Wong in her first leading role. The film was written by Frances Marion and directed by Chester M. Franklin brother of director Sidney Franklin, with the lead roles played by Anna May Wong and Kenneth Harlan. The plot was a variation of the Madama Butterfly story, set in China instead of Japan.

When young Chinese woman Lotus Flower sees an unconscious man floating in the water at the seashore, she quickly gets help for him. The man is Allen Carver, an American. Soon the two have fallen in love, and they get married Chinese fashion. Carver promises to take her with him when he returns home. Lotus Flowers friends warn her that he will leave without her, and one states she has been forgotten by four American husbands, but she does not believe them. However, Carvers friends discourage him from fulfilling his promise, and he returns to the United States alone.Lotus Flower has a young son, whom she names Allen after his father. When the older Allen finally returns to China, Lotus Flower is at first overjoyed. She dresses in her elaborate Chinese bridal gown to greet him. However, he is accompanied by his American wife, Elsie. Allen has told Elsie about Lotus Flower, and it is Elsie who persuaded her husband to tell Lotus Flower the real situation. When the boy is brought to see his father, Lotus Flower pretends he is the child of her American neighbors. Later, though, she confides the truth to Elsie and asks her to take the boy to America. She tells the child that Elsie is his real mother. After Elsie takes the boy away with her, Lotus Flower says, Oh, Sea, now that life has been emptied I come to pay my great debt to you. The sun is then shown setting over the water. ........

Source: Wikipedia