The Secret Game

Last updated
The Secret Game
Thesecretgame-1918-newspaperad.jpg
Newspaper advertisement.
Directed by William C. deMille
Harry Haskin (ass't director)
Written by Marion Fairfax (story, scenario)
Produced by Jesse Lasky
Starring Sessue Hayakawa
Cinematography Charles Rosher
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date
  • December 3, 1917 (1917-12-03)
Running time
5 reels
CountryUnited States
Language Silent (English intertitles)

The Secret Game is a surviving 1917 American silent drama film produced by Jesse Lasky and released through Paramount Pictures. It was directed by William C. deMille and starred Sessue Hayakawa. It survives complete at the Library of Congress and was released on DVD. [1] [2]

Contents

Plot

As described in a film magazine, [3] Kitty Little (Vidor), a German spy under the direction of Dr. Ebell Smith (Ogle), is employed by Major John Northfield (Holt). The spies are anxious to obtain information on the sailing dates of transport ships. Nara-Nara (Hayakawa), a clever Japanese spy, is on the trail of the German spies and suspects Northfield of dishonesty. However, a letter makes him suspect Kitty, whom he has grown to love. Northfield, who also loves Kitty and also suspects her, as a test gives her a blank letter which he tells her to mail as it contains transport sailing dates. Kitty takes the letter to Smith. Nara-Nara follows and in a struggle kills Smith. He then endeavors to force Kitty to go away with him, but she reminds him of his ambition to keep his sword clean and he leaves her. While going to examine the body of Smith, Nara-Nara is killed by one of Smith's accomplices. Northfield comes to Kitty, who is in receipt of a letter from her brother in the German trenches that states he is to be shot for shielding women and children. Kitty becomes a true American and the fiance of Northfield.

Cast

Related Research Articles

Tsuru Aoki Japanese actress (1892–1961)

Tsuru Aoki was a Japanese stage and screen actress whose career was most prolific in the United States during the silent film era of the 1910s through the 1920s. Aoki may have been the first Asian actress to garner top billing in American motion pictures.

<i>The Swamp</i> (1921 film) 1921 silent film by Colin Campbell

The Swamp is a 1921 American silent drama film released by the Robertson-Cole Pictures Corporation and directed by Colin Campbell. The film was written and produced by Sessue Hayakawa, who also co-stars with Bessie Love. A print of this film is preserved at the Gosfilmofond archive in Moscow.

Walter Stradling American cinematographer

Walter Stradling was an English-born American cinematographer of the silent era. He is best remembered for working on several well-known feature films of Mary Pickford and for the Famous Players-Lasky production company in general. He also worked on the films of Cecil B. DeMille, Sessue Hayakawa and Blanche Sweet. Stradling died relatively young at 43 in the 1918 flu pandemic. He was the uncle of the cinematographer Harry Stradling.

<i>The Secret Sin</i> 1915 film by Frank Reicher

The Secret Sin is a surviving 1915 silent film drama produced by Jesse Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Frank Reicher and starred Blanche Sweet, Thomas Meighan and Sessue Hayakawa. This film often thought lost actually survives at the Library of Congress and along with a few other surviving Lasky features from 1915-17 allows viewing of Blanche Sweet during her Paramount period immediately after she left D. W. Griffiths employ. In this film Sweet has a rare chance to act in a double exposure scene playing two different characters.

The Clue is a lost 1915 American drama silent film directed by James Neill and Frank Reicher and written by Margaret Turnbull. The film stars Blanche Sweet, Gertrude Kellar, Edward MacKay, Sessue Hayakawa, Page Peters and Ernest Joy. The film was released on July 8, 1915, by Paramount Pictures.

<i>The Call of the East</i> 1917 American film directed by George Melford

The Call of the East is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by George Melford and written by Beulah Marie Dix. The film stars Sessue Hayakawa, Tsuru Aoki, Jack Holt, Margaret Loomis, James Cruze, and Ernest Joy. The film was released on October 15, 1917, by Paramount Pictures. It is not known whether the film currently survives, which suggests that it is a lost film.

<i>The Courageous Coward</i> 1919 film by William Worthington

The Courageous Coward is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by William Worthington and featuring Sessue Hayakawa and Tsuru Aoki in lead roles. It is presumed to be a lost film, with only reel 5 preserved at the EYE Film Institute Netherlands film archive.

<i>The Honor of His House</i> 1918 American film

The Honor of His House is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by William C. deMille and written by Marion Fairfax. The film stars Sessue Hayakawa, Florence Vidor, Jack Holt, Mayme Kelso, Kisaburo Kurihara, and Forrest Seabury. The film was released on 1 April 1918, by Paramount Pictures.

The White Man's Law is a surviving 1918 American silent drama film directed by James Young and written by Marion Fairfax and John B. Browne. The film stars Sessue Hayakawa, Florence Vidor, Jack Holt, Herbert Standing, Mayme Kelso, and Forrest Seabury. The film was released on May 6, 1918, by Paramount Pictures.

<i>The Bravest Way</i> 1918 film by George Melford

The Bravest Way is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by George Melford and written by Edith M. Kennedy. The film stars Sessue Hayakawa, Florence Vidor, Tsuru Aoki, Yukio Aoyama, Jane Wolfe, and Winter Hall. The film was released on June 16, 1918, by Paramount Pictures.

<i>After the Show</i> (film) 1921 film by William C. deMille

After the Show is a 1921 American silent drama film directed by William C. deMille and written by Vianna Knowlton and Hazel Christie MacDonald based on a story by Rita Weiman. The film stars Jack Holt, Lila Lee, Charles Stanton Ogle, Eve Southern, Shannon Day, and Carlton S. King. The film was released on October 9, 1921, by Paramount Pictures. It is not known whether the film currently survives, and it may be a lost film.

<i>His Birthright</i> 1918 film

His Birthright is a 1918 American drama film directed by William Worthington for Haworth Pictures Corporation. Sessue Hayakawa produced the film and played the lead role. The rest of the cast includes Marin Sais, Howard Davies, Mary Anderson, and Hayakawa's wife Tsuru Aoki.

<i>The Gray Horizon</i> 1919 film by William Worthington

The Gray Horizon is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by William Worthington. Sessue Hayakawa's Haworth Pictures Corporation produced the film and he himself played the lead role. Bertram Grassby, Tsuru Aoki, Eileen Percy, Mary Jane Irving, and Andrew Robson also featured in the film.

<i>Five Days to Live</i> 1922 film by Norman Dawn

Five Days to Live is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Norman Dawn and featuring Sessue Hayakawa, Tsuru Aoki, Goro Kino, Misao Seki, Toyo Fujita, and George Kuwa.

<i>The Temple of Dusk</i> 1918 film by James Young

The Temple of Dusk is a lost 1918 American silent drama film directed by James Young. It was produced by Sessue Hayakawa's Haworth Pictures Corporation.

<i>The Man Beneath</i> 1919 film by William Worthington

The Man Beneath is a 1919 American silent crime drama film directed by William Worthington and produced by Sessue Hayakawa's Haworth Pictures Corporation. An incomplete copy of the film is in the collection of the EYE Film Institute Netherlands.

<i>His Debt</i> 1919 film by William Worthington

His Debt is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by William Worthington and produced by Haworth Pictures Corporation.

<i>The Tong Man</i> 1919 film by William Worthington

The Tong Man is a 1919 American thriller film directed by William Worthington and produced by Haworth Pictures Corporation.

<i>The Brand of Lopez</i> 1920 film by Joe De Grasse

The Brand of Lopez is a 1920 American film directed by Joseph De Grasse and produced by Sessue Hayakawa's Haworth Pictures Corporation. Although the main characters are a matador and an actress, there are no bull fighting or theater scenes portrayed in the film.

<i>The Hidden Pearls</i> 1918 film by George Melford

The Hidden Pearls is a surviving 1918 American silent drama film directed by George Melford and starring Sessue Hayakawa. It was produced by Adolph Zukor and Jesse Lasky and distributed by Famous Players-Lasky and Paramount Pictures. The production was shot in Hawaii.

References

  1. Progressive Silent Film List: The Secret Game at silentera.com
  2. The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: The Secret Game
  3. "Reviews: The Secret Game". Exhibitors Herald. New York: Exhibitors Herald Company. 5 (25): 28. December 15, 1917.