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The Unchanging Sea

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6.4/10 • 37

1910-05-050h 14m

Drama

In this story set at a seaside fishing village and inspired by a Charles Kingsley poem, a young couple's happy life is turned about by an accident. The husband, although saved from drowning, loses his memory. A child is on the way, and soon a daughter is born to his wife. We watch the passage of time, as his daughter matures and his wife ages. The daughter becomes a lovely young woman, herself ready for marriage. One day on the beach, the familiarity of the sea and the surroundings triggers a return of her father's memory, and we are reminded that although people age and change, the sea and the ways of the fisherfolk remain eternal.

Directors
D.W. Griffith

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Arthur V. Johnson

    Arthur V. Johnson

    The Fisherman

  2. Linda Arvidson

    Linda Arvidson

    The Fisherman's Wife

  3. Mary Pickford

    Mary Pickford

    The Daughter as an Adult

  4. Gladys Egan

    Gladys Egan

    The Daughter as a Small Child

  5. Charles West

    Charles West

    The Daughter's Sweetheart

  6. Dell Henderson

    Dell Henderson

    The Rescuer

  7. Kate Bruce

    Kate Bruce

    Villager (uncredited)

  8. Alfred Paget

    Alfred Paget

    Villager (uncredited)

  9. Frank Opperman

    Frank Opperman

    In Second Village (uncredited)

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Apr 22, 2024

7/10

Based on the poem by Charles Kingsley, this tells the tale of a young woman (Linda Arvidson) who waves goodbye to her fisherman husband (Arthur V. Johnson) as he sets off with his friends in an open boat to fish the Atlantic for their livelihood. Living in what looks like a row of beach-huts, she emerges every morning and longingly looks seaward, but when it only yields death one day she fears the worst. There's a young girl to bring up, though, so she much focus so she can grow up, turn into Mary Pickford and marry Charles West - himself a man in the same line of perilous work as her father. The audience knows something of the fate of that man, but will he ever be able to return to his love? Whilst it's certainly quite a bleak scenario, there is still a warming degree of hope here and the very simplicity of the single camera photography lends richness to what must have been for a life as routine as it was a subsistence existence for the families of these brave men. An enjoyable glimpse at a way of life now long gone.

Media

  • The Unchanging Sea poster
  • The Unchanging Sea poster
  • The Unchanging Sea poster
  • The Unchanging Sea poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
memory lossbased on song, poem or rhymesilent filmpassage of time