After he missed his passage on a trading steamer as a second mate, Dick
(Richard Talmadge) lets professors Sneed (Henry Roquemore) & Harris (Jimmy
Aubrey) talk him into an expedition to the West Indies where he has years ago
found a vase that might be the only trace to a lost civilisation.
On board the sailship that would take them there is also a stowaway who
turns out to be the captain's (Charles K.French) daughter (Alberta Vaughn), who
has dressed up a man so she can be near her daddy ... & of course she -
after being identified as a woman - & Dick soon fall in love.
But aboard is also Dick's arch-enemy Dennis (George Walsh), who is not only
a pretty unlikeable guy but he also plans a mutiny - to both get the ship under
his control, & to get to the alleged treasure the professors are after -
& the mutiny will eventually blow up the ship.
However, all of the main characters - good or bad - can save themselves
& reach the next island ... which of course is exactly the island Dick
found the vase on, & soon Dick sees himself pitted against Dennis & his
henchmen amidst the ruins of the island that are littered with skeletons. In
the end however, Dick can defeat all the baddies & find a vast fortune for
the professors ... & true love for himself.
In general, Richard Talmadge pictures are not so great on storytelling or
characterisations, & Talmadge himself is not much of an actor (in fact he
shows a certain unease with dialogue, paired with a too high & too smooth
voice& a serious lack of dramatic scope) ... but he is one of the top
stuntmen of his time that would his films, all action flicks, highly enjoyable,
since he is fully aware of his strengths & uses his stunts in very
inventive ways that would often make more than up for the weaknesses of script
& acting, & in fact elevate his films slightly over their b-movie
status.
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