The Wind (1928)

Summary: Letty travels from Virginia to Texas in search of a better life on her cousin's ranch. But the jealousy of his wife forces Letty to leave the ranch through a marriage that she finds completely unacceptable. All the while, the constant whipping of the wind forces Letty's mind close to madness.

Stars: Lillian Gish, Lars Hanson, Montagu Love, Dorothy Cumming
Director: Victor Sjöström (Credited here as Victor Seastrom)

Viewed via: TCM/DVR
Current Commercial Availability: Unavailable

( Spoilers )

In conclusion, an awkward, suddenly happy ending puts a damper a tensely dramatic movie. It holds the film back from the greatness that it strove to achieve.

The Young Rajah (1922)

Summary: Amos Judd discovers that he is the son of a maharajah in his teens. But he rejects this family history and stays in America. But mechanizations from afar, as well as his own mystical powers, conspire to pull him back to India.

Stars: Rudolph Valentino, Wanda Hawley, Charles Ogle, Fanny Midgley, George Periolat, George Field, Bertram Grassby, Josef Swickard, William Boyd, Robert Ober, Jack Giddings, Edward Jobson, J. Farrell MacDonald
Director: Phil Rosen

Viewed via: TCM/VCR
Current Commercial Availability: The Valentino Collection (R0 - Flicker Alley)

Note: That The Young Rajah exists at all is a bit of a miracle. This version is a reconstruction using still images and the approximately thirty or so minutes of film that has survived. The film materials have disintegrated a great deal but are interested to behold in the way one would gape and awe at an old mansion that had obviously seen better days.

( spoilers )

While I certainly respect the amount of work it took to make this film available to the public, I have to say that the movie did nothing for me. It is, however, a must see for Valentino lovers.