The Stoker

Prominent Manhattan businessman Dick Martin is ruined when his adulterous wife runs off with his lawyer and his board of directors forces him out of the corporation that bears his name. To forget his woes, he takes a job on a tramp steamer as a stoker, endlessly shoveling coal into the ship's insatiable furnace. When an engine explodes, he saves the life of beautiful Margarita Valdez and the grateful passenger hires him to work on her Nicaraguan coffee plantation. Laboring in the steaming jungle, battling trigger-happy bandits, Martin finds a chance for redemption.

Monte Blue rose to prominence in the role of Danton in D.W. Griffith's 1921 epic, Orphans Of The Storm. The rugged silent star played opposite Gloria Swanson, Norma Shearer and Clara Bow before the sound era saw him transition to supporting roles. Produced by Allied Pictures Corporation, The Stoker features strong supporting performances by Dorothy Burgess, Natalie Moorehead and journeyman heavy Noah Beery.

• drama