Dashing leading man through most of the silent film era, Monte Blue took well to talking pictures and this 1932 production The Stoker is a wonderful part of Blue’s highly reputed body of work. Unflinchingly dramatic at ever turn, Blue plays a poor guy who’s been left by his faithless wife. Deciding to give up on his normal life, Blue drifts around before landing a job as a stoker aboard a large vessel, fueling the great furnaces by shoveling coal all day. His journeying eventually leads him to a plantation where he meets a nice young girl – who needs to be saved. This vivid and moving film will tug at your heartstrings. The Stoker is a keeper.
