"East Is East" (1916)

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OUR DOCUMENTARY

We are proud to present to all silent film lovers our multiple award-winning documentary! In March 2015 it won the distinction "Award of Merit" at the San Francisco Film Awards. In May it won the Silver Award at the 2015 International Independent Film Awards. In September 2015 it won the Award of Recognition at the Accolade Global Film Competition. Of equal merit is the inclusion of the documentary in the Official Selection of the San Jose International Short Film Festival in October 2015. In December the documentary won the extremely prestigious Diamond Award at the 2015 California Film Awards. The amazing run of recognition for our documentary continued in 2016. In February it was included in the Official Selection of the Buffalo Niagara International Film Festival.

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Florence-Turner-in-East-is-East-1916-00

Florence Turner

Directed by                     Henry Edwards
Produced by                   Florence Turner
Scenario by                    Henry Edwards
Based on a play by Philip Hubbard and Gwendolen Logan
Starring                          Florence Turner, Henry Edwards
Cinematography            Tom White
Distributed by                Mutual Film Corporation (USA)
Release date                November 9, 1916 (USA)
Running time                  71 minutes
Country                           UK
Language                        Silent film, English intertitles

This film is part of our series 'Hidden Gems'. It can be watched by registered users who make a donation. For more details, please click here.

We have included this film in our program to illustrate the work and contributions of our star Florence Turner.

Let's all give our thanks to a private collector named Mike for preserving this film and making it available to the public. You can find more of Mike's rare silent films here.

"East Is East" is a drama and romance. East here means eastern London, inhabited by "common" uneducated folks living in poverty, as opposed to the western part of the city, where everything is the opposite (i.e. uncommon educated folks living in luxury).

Florence Turner is a simple and poor, but happy girl. Henry Edwards, her childhood pal and admirer, declares to her and suggests marriage, but she brushes him off. One day she is shocked to discover that she is named the heiress to an enormous fortune. There is a catch, however, in one condition of the will according to which she must spend three years in the "West" refining her social skills for her new position. After much soul-searching she accepts and the first thing she does is loan money to Henry Edwards to start a business.

Florence Turner has a very hard time adapting to the new environment. She misses her old friends, and most of all Henry Edwards. To make Florence break away from the past, her guardian takes her on an extended trip to Europe. Upon her return she meets Henry again, now a successful businessman. He, however, decides to stay away from her until he also refines his manners and his grammar in order to be equal to her.

Unfortunately, Florence Turner falls prey to ever stronger sadness and unhappiness, and in a moment of desperation accepts a wedding proposal from a man she does not love. At that time Henry Edwards feels that he has made enough improvements and is ready to propose to her, only to find out that she has been engaged to another man.

Soon Florence Turner gets a sobering shock when she overhears her would-be husband state that his only reason for marrying her is her money. She breaks the engagement right away and leaves all her fortune to charity.

After that Florence Turner recalls all the happy times she had with Henry Edwards. She tries to find him, but he has sold his business and left without a trace.

Click to enlarge:

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Florence Turner

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Below is a short preview of the film.