The Red Mill (1927)

The Red Mill (1927)

  • 6.7
  • 72 mins
  • Comedy

Storyline

Tina works as a barmaid at the Red Mill Tavern and is at the mercy of volatile and bad tempered owner, Willem. Dennis is a visitor to the area and Tina soon falls in love with him. Dennis doesn't share her feeling and leaves only to return later on. He becomes interested in Gretchen, the Burgomaster's daughter. However, Gretchen, about to enter into an arranged marriage with the Governor, is in love with Captain Jacop Van Goop. Tina and Gretchen enter into an elaborate masquerade in order to be with the men they each love.—jodlyn



Short Review

Marion Davies may not have the highest comedic talent in this film, but she does have a certain girl-next-door appeal, and 'Red Mill' was reasonably entertaining. She plays a Dutch servant who is used cruelly by her boss, a tavern owner played by George Siegmann with appropriate snarl and meanness. In one scene, he's dragging her near-frozen body along the ice back to work; in another, he's literally whipping her. She keeps a little ray of sunshine in a pet mouse who lives in a large hole in one of her clogs, and then soon sees and falls for a young man played by Owen Moore. It's not so straightforward, however, in that her identity is confused with another woman (Louise Fazenda), who has her own troubles, being betrothed to an old man but wanting another (Karl Dane). It gets a bit silly and some of the intertitles are oddly worded, but there are some nice scenes at the end in the "haunted" old mill, especially as the chase moves outside to the windmill blades themselves. There is also a brief scene of riches in the imagination of the young lovers which then returns to the present, a touching reminder of what the important thing is in life - true love.


Trailer