Sternberg’s first film is his most badly appreciated – or simply unseen. Sternberg: “I had in mind a visual poem. Instead of flat lighting, shadows. In the place of pasty masks, faces in relief, plastic and deep-eyed. Instead of scenery which meant nothing, an emotionalized background that would transfer itself into my fore- ground. Instead of saccharine characters, sober figures moving in rhythm. Instead of stars I had engaged extras, and instead of extras I had planned to use a well-known star for one or two scenes. And dominating all this was an imposing piece of machinery: the hero of the film was to be a dredge.” Sometimes described as America’s first avant-garde feature film, The Salvation Hunters was produced on a shoestring by actor George K. Arthur (The Boy), and shot mostly on location in San Pedro, near Los Angeles. Sternberg was the director, writer, art director, editor. Chaplin’s enthusiasm got the film distributed by United Artists and the critics’ attention. Sternberg was pro- claimed a genius, in part because he dared to make a “film about thought” as the opening titles tell us. He brought Georgia Hale to the screen and to Chaplin, who made her his leading lady in The Gold Rush