Josef von Sternberg, in his first effort producing and directing a feature film, made a sort of resume movie demonstrating his cinematic skills. He financed half of the relatively cheap $5,000 production costs, the other half bankrolled by the movie's main actor, George Arthur. The two premiered the film, "The Salvation Hunters," in New York City in February 1925 amid scathing criticism. A subsequent nationwide showing also fell flat.
But as writer Henry Adams noted, it's not the amount of people who see an artist's work; the importance lies with those who have influence to appreciate it. Charlie Chaplin heard of the young Sternberg film and arranged for a private showing to his United Artists Corporation partners, including Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. They loved it, especially Chaplin. It launched the career of one of the most highly regarded directors in cinema, largely known for his composition and lighting techniques in film.
Born in Austria and educated in New York City before dropping out of high school, Jonas Sternberg, who changed his name to Josef at 17 and adding von to give him a little image panache, entered the film world in 1911. As a projectionist handling and cleaning up film stock for movie studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey, he rose up the ranks at the World Film Company as a chief assistant, editor and composer of inter titles. During the Great War he made training films in Washington, D. C.
After the war, he soaked up the European cinematic style in his trips overseas. He worked as an assistant under director Emile Chautard. Sternberg credits Chautard in lending him invaluable lessons on film composition, leaving a huge imprint on his life's work. He continued assisting and editing other American and European productions before he and actor Arthur jumped in to make his debut feature, "The Salvation Hunters."
"I had in mind a visual poem," Sternberg recalled. "Instead of flat lighting, shadows. In the place of pasty masks, faces in relief, plastic and deep-eyed." His lingering shots on his characters reveal a "psychological conflict rather than physical action."
The film, lending an "unglamorous realism" onto the screen, is set in a dingy waterfront harbor and the rundown district of the seaside city. A Boy (Arthur) sees a Brute (Olaf Hytten) beat up a little orphaned Child (Bruce Guerin), but is afraid to intercede until a Girl (Georgia Hale) shames him on his inaction. Boy scoops up the Child along with the Girl to walk to the city, where the Boy is confronted with an aggressive Man (Otto Matieson). The Girl sees if the latest confrontation could motivate the Boy to kick some butt.
Chaplin was so captivated by actress Georgia Hale he slotted her into his next feature, 1925's 'The Gold Rush.' The comedian also incorporated the finale of "The Salvation Hunters" by using its 'walk into the sunset' conclusion into a few of his future films.
For the 30-year-old Sternberg, "The Salvation Hunters" was successful for its original purpose. United Artists bought the movie for $20,000, more than recouping the costs for the director and Arthur. More importantly, it opened the door to Sternberg for an eight-film contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer later in the year.
