Never the Twain Shall Meet (1925)

Genres - Drama, Romance  |   Countries - United States  |  
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Synopsis by Janiss Garza

The title to this picture came from a Rudyard Kipling poem, and accurately reflected the attitude of Victorian and post-Victorian white people toward cultures different from their own -- they didn't understand them, and there's an underlying sense of superiority. Obviously, that attitude was still very much alive in 1925 (and, truthfully, carried on in one subtle form or another throughout the rest of the 20th century). This South Seas tale, however, had little to do with Kipling -- it was actually based on a story written by a less classic author by the name of Peter B. Kyne. Tamea (Anita Stewart) is the daughter of Gaston Larrieau, a French sea captain (Lionel Belmore), and the queen of a small South Sea island. Father and daughter travel to San Francisco, but he discovers he has leprosy and commits suicide. Tamea is left in the care of Larrieau's young employer, Dan Pritchard (Bert Lytell). Since she is not accustomed to civilized ways, her behavior becomes a problem and Pritchard's ex-fiancée Maisie (Justine Johnstone) and friend Mark Mellenger (Huntley Gordon) both help straighten her out. Tamea returns to her island and Pritchard, who has fallen in love with her, follows. They marry in a native ceremony, but soon Pritchard finds he is bored by island life. Tamea writes to Maisie, admitting that she and her new husband are from two different worlds. Maisie and Mellenger show up on the island, and Pritchard is more than happy to dump his native wife and return to the U.S. with his former flame. Mellenger, however, stays behind and proves to be a better mate to Tamea.

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Keywords

captain [military], couple, daughter, fever, France, friendship, island, jungle, leprosy, love, newspaper, offer, princess, queen [royalty], reporter, return, sailing, sea, South-Seas