This movie would be interesting historically if for no other reason than to see its pioneering use of the two-strip Technicolor, which still looks good over 80 years later. It's also well worth seeing to watch Anna May Wong in an early starring role, when she was still a teenager.
The story takes the "Madame Butterfly" plot and changes it slightly, setting it in China and adding some emphasis on the role of the sea. The story is simple, yet potentially packed with emotion, with its themes of clash between cultures and broken promises in relationships. Much of this particular production seems understandably to have been devoted to ways of showing off the potential of its new color process, and as a result there are times when the visual is emphasized over the dramatic potential.
Wong, as you would expect, is quite good in her role. She looks quite young, with plenty of youthful innocence instead of the full degree of elegance that characterized her later roles. But she already had the ability to use the smallest of expressions and gestures to express her character's emotions economically and convincingly.
The rest of the production (other than Wong and the color process) is merely solid for the time. Kenneth Harlan rarely shows much energy as Carver, although fortunately it often works positively in bringing out his character's spineless nature.
The basic story makes some powerful statements about relationships and cultures, and thanks to Wong, much of that comes through. It does miss a few opportunities, but it hits more than it misses, and the combination of Wong plus the chance to see what early Technicolor looked like is more than enough to recommend "The Toll of the Sea" to any silent movie fan.
