Just finished a silent that recently premiered on TCM -- The White Sister. Lillian Gish plays one of two daughters of an Italian nobleman. Daddy dies, the other sister cheats her out of her inheritance -- but her soldier fiance (Ronald Colman) promises to marry her after he returns from overseas duty. He's reported as dead, so she becomes a nun -- but he was really only captured, and he returns to try to convince her to renounce her vows. And Evil Sister warns the local priest that relations between the two are highly improper.
So far, we have a pretty decent melodrama. But then things get wild. The local volcano (did I mention this all takes place on the slopes of Vesuvius?) starts to erupt. Soldier runs into town to warn people. Evil Sister is badly injured when her carriage tips over, so she crawls her way to the church and starts confessing to the nun (thinking she's the priest). And then the dam bursts....
The first two hours (give or take a few minutes) is actually pretty absorbing. And Colman looks very good. It's just that the last 20 minutes or so gets so ridiculous.