The Silent Command

Last updated

The Silent Command
The Silent Command poster.png
Theatrical release poster
Directed by J. Gordon Edwards
Written by Anthony Paul Kelly
Rufus King
Produced by William Fox
Starring Edmund Lowe
Bela Lugosi
CinematographyGeorge W. Lane
Distributed by Fox Film Corporation
Release date
  • August 9, 1923 (1923-08-09)
Running time
8 reels
CountryUnited States
Language Silent (English intertitles)

The Silent Command is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by J. Gordon Edwards featuring Bela Lugosi as a foreign saboteur in his American film debut. The film, written by Anthony Paul Kelly and Rufus King, also stars Edmund Lowe, Alma Tell, and Martha Mansfield. Shot in New York, The Silent Command began Lugosi's career in the American film industry. [1] [2] The film's focus on his eyes, at times in extreme close-up, helped to establish his image for later roles.

Contents

The film depicts the story of Benedict Hisston (Lugosi), who is part of a plot to destroy the Panama Canal. Initially unable to obtain necessarily intelligence from Richard Decatur (Lowe), a captain in the United States Navy, he enlists the aid of femme fatale Peg Williams (Mansfield). Decatur pretends to be seduced into the conspiracy, costing him his career and estranging him from his wife (Tell), but he ultimately betrays the saboteurs in Panama and stops their plan. He returns home to the Navy and his wife, and to popular acclaim for his heroics.

The film was produced in cooperation with the Navy and was intended as a propaganda film to encourage support for a larger navy. The Silent Command was shown at the opening of several Fox Theatres locations and was sometimes marketed in conjunction with naval recruitment efforts. It received generally positive reviews from contemporary film critics, although modern appraisals consider the film mediocre.

Unlike most Fox Film productions of the silent era, several copies of The Silent Command have survived. It has been released in multiple home video formats, and is now in the public domain and available online.

Plot

The Silent Command (full film)

Benedict Hisston is a foreign agent, part of a conspiracy to destroy the Panama Canal and the US Navy's Atlantic Fleet. He attempts to acquire information about mine placement in the Canal Zone from Captain Richard Decatur but fails. That information is essential to the conspiracy's success and so he then hires vamp Peg Williams to obtain the intelligence through seduction.

Decatur is not fooled and obeys the "silent command" of the Chief of Naval Intelligence to play along with the spies without revealing his purpose to friends or family. He is court-martialed, stripped of rank, and dismissed from the Navy after he strikes an admiral. His association with Williams estranges him from his wife but earns him the trust of Hisston and the other spies. When the conspirators are ready to enact their plan, he travels to Panama with them. He thwarts their attempt at sabotage, saving the canal and the fleet. He is then reinstated into the Navy, reunited with his wife, and honored by the nation for his heroism. [1] [2]

Cast

Production

This magazine advertisement for The Silent Command includes endorsements of the film by General John J. Pershing and Theodore Roosevelt Jr. Silent Command advert.png
This magazine advertisement for The Silent Command includes endorsements of the film by General John J. Pershing and Theodore Roosevelt Jr.

Rufus King, later known for his detective novels, [5] wrote the original story for The Silent Command, which was adapted into a screenplay by Anthony Paul Kelly. [4] It was intended as a propaganda film to encourage popular support for expansion of the United States Navy [6] [7] and was made with the Navy's cooperation and support. [6] [4] Fox Film's publicity promoter, Wells Hawks, may have been responsible for this arrangement, as he had previously worked in a publicity role for the Navy. [6] Quotes praising the film were provided by several prominent members of the military for use in advertising, including General John J. Pershing and Theodore Roosevelt Jr., the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. [6] Years later, in a publicity interview for The Return of Chandu , Bela Lugosi commented on the irony of being a propagandist for naval expansion when his native country, landlocked Hungary, "has no navy nor needs any!" [7]

In December 1922, Lugosi had starred in a Greenwich Village play, The Red Poppy. The play performed poorly, but Lugosi, in the role of a thuggish Spaniard, received critical praise. [8] He was cast as Hisston in The Silent Command based on the strength of that performance. [9] Extreme close-ups of Lugosi's eyes were used throughout the film to reinforce perception of this character as evil. [10] Film historian Gary Rhodes traced the origin of this technique, intended to suggest the evil eye or hypnosis, to characters in Weimar cinema inspired by Svengali. [10] Lugosi had played one such character, Professor Mors, in the 1919 German film Sklaven fremdes Willens ; [10] [11] Edwards himself had portrayed Svengali in a run of Trilby on the St. Louis stage. [12]

The Silent Command was released in at least two editions. As shown at its New York premiere, it was an eight-reel film with a 91-minute run time. However, the version screened earlier in Chicago had been 18 minutes shorter, which reduced the film to seven reels; [13] this cut was used for most subsequent releases. [3] [4] H.T. Hodge claimed to have shown a nine-reel version at the Palace Theatre in Abilene, Texas. [14] Additionally, some prints were released as part-color films with tinted scenes. [6] [15]

The Silent Command was also released internationally, including Australia and Cuba in 1924, [16] [17] and was retitled His Country for distribution in France. [6]

Release and reception

Lobby card The Silent Command lobby card.jpg
Lobby card

In 1923, William Fox was expanding his Fox Theatres chain of movie theaters. The Silent Command was shown at the opening or re-opening of several such locations. On August 25, 1923, the first Fox Theatre on the Pacific opened in Oakland, California. [lower-alpha 1] The Silent Command was the first feature-length film screened at the Fox Oakland, [18] [19] during an elaborate opening gala that also included Tom Mix riding Tony, the Wonder Horse into the theater. Attendees included members of the film industry, city officials from Oakland and San Francisco, and faculty and students from the University of California, Berkeley [19] [20] The following week, on August 31, it was also the first film shown at the grand opening of Fox's Monroe Theatre in Chicago, in an invitation-only showing involving studio executives and members of the film industry. [21] To encourage attendance at further showings at the Monroe, the studio partnered with the Navy's local recruitment office to produce one-sheets encouraging men to see the film before enlisting. [22] In Springfield, Massachusetts and St. Louis, [lower-alpha 2] it was also the debut film shown at theaters re-opening after renovations. [25] [26]

Despite the earlier showings in Oakland and Chicago, Fox advertised the film's world premiere at New York's Central Theatre on September 2. [27] [28] As part of the Navy's support for the film, the audience included Rear Admiral Charles Peshall Plunkett and other officers. [29] The film played at the Central for four weeks before being replaced with Monna Vanna . [30]

The Silent Command was generally praised by contemporary reviewers. Laurence Reid and C. S. Sewell, writing for Motion Picture News and Moving Picture World respectively, both offered acclaim for the film, despite what Reid described as a slow start. [31] [32] Variety was slightly less complimentary, suggesting the film was better suited for "regular neighborhood" theaters than prestigious first-run houses and criticizing the cinematography in Mansfield's vamp scenes. [13] Most newspaper critics also gave positive reviews, [33] [34] although the Evening Journal wrote that the plot "taxes the credulity of even a generous picture fan." [34] Modern reviews have been less enthusiastic. Lugosi biographer Arthur Lennig considered the film "turgid", [35] and AllMovie awarded it 2+1⁄2 out of 5 stars. [36]

Legacy

Bela Lugosi's eyes appear in extreme close-up in this frame from a tinted print of The Silent Command. Lugosi Silent Command eyes.png
Bela Lugosi's eyes appear in extreme close-up in this frame from a tinted print of The Silent Command.

The Silent Command was Lugosi's first American film, and influenced the direction of his career in cinema. [2] Lugosi had expressed an interest in playing Latin lover characters in the model of Rudolph Valentino, but his performance as Hisston revealed him to be convincing in more villainous roles. [37] According to Rhodes, critics considered the focus on Lugosi's eyes cliché or even unintentionally humorous, but some filmgoers did find the shots genuinely frightening. [38] This technique, showing Lugosi's eyes in extreme close-up, would be revisited in many of his later films, [9] [39] such as The Midnight Girl , Dracula , and White Zombie . [10] [40] Images of Lugosi's eyes were eventually even used in advertising. [39]

Unlike most of Edwards's films, [41] [42] copies of The Silent Command are preserved in three archives: the George Eastman Museum, the Department of Film at the Museum of Modern Art, and Brussels's Cinematek. [43] Grapevine Video made the film available on VHS in 1999, [44] and released a DVD edition in 2005. [45] On January 1, 2019, the film entered the public domain in the United States and became freely available at the Internet Archive. [46]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ This theater, later renamed the Orpheum, is distinct from the Fox Oakland Theatre opened in 1928. [18]
  2. ↑ This theater, later renamed the Sun, [23] is distinct from the Fox Theatre opened in 1929. [24]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bela Lugosi</span> Hungarian-American actor (1882–1956)

Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó, known professionally as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian–American actor. He was best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror film classic Dracula, Ygor in Son of Frankenstein (1939) and his roles in many other horror films from 1931 through 1956.

<i>Bride of the Monster</i> 1955 American science fiction horror film by Ed Wood

Bride of the Monster is a 1955 American independent science fiction horror film, co-written, produced and directed by Edward D. Wood Jr., and starring Bela Lugosi and Tor Johnson with a supporting cast featuring Tony McCoy and Loretta King.

<i>Mark of the Vampire</i> 1935 film by Tod Browning

Mark of the Vampire is a 1935 American horror film, starring Lionel Barrymore, Elizabeth Allan, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, and Jean Hersholt, and directed by Tod Browning. A series of deaths and attacks by vampires brings the eminent expert Professor Zelen to the aid of Irena Borotyn, who is about to be married. Her father, Sir Karell, died from complete loss of blood, with bite wounds on his neck, and it appears he may be one of the undead now plaguing the area.

<i>Dracula</i> (1931 English-language film) 1931 film

Dracula is a 1931 American pre-Code supernatural horror film directed and co-produced by Tod Browning from a screenplay written by Garrett Fort and starring Bela Lugosi in the title role. It is based on the 1924 stage play Dracula by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, which in turn is adapted from the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. Lugosi portrays Count Dracula, a vampire who emigrates from Transylvania to England and preys upon the blood of living victims, including a young man's fiancée.

<i>White Zombie</i> (film) 1932 film by Victor Hugo Halperin

White Zombie is a 1932 pre-Code horror film independently produced by Edward Halperin and directed by Victor Halperin. The screenplay by Garnett Weston, based on The Magic Island by William Seabrook, is about a young woman's transformation into a zombie at the hands of an evil voodoo master. Bela Lugosi stars as the zombie master "Murder" Legendre, with Madge Bellamy appearing as his victim. Other cast members include Joseph Cawthorn, Robert W. Frazer, John Harron, Brandon Hurst, and George Burr MacAnnan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bela Lugosi filmography</span>

Bela Lugosi (1882–1956), best known for the original screen portrayal of Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1931, performed in many films during the course of his 39-year film career. He appeared in films made in his native Hungary, Germany and New York before re-locating to Hollywood in 1928. Films are listed in order of release.

<i>Son of Frankenstein</i> 1939 film by Rowland V. Lee

Son of Frankenstein is a 1939 American horror film directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. The film is the third in Universal Pictures' Frankenstein series and is the follow-up to the 1935 film Bride of Frankenstein. Son of Frankenstein stars Rathbone as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein who, with his wife Elsa and son Peter, returns to his late father's estate. Near the castle lives Ygor, a crazed blacksmith whose neck was broken in an unsuccessful hanging attempt. Among the castle's remains, Frankenstein discovers the remains of the Monster and decides to try to save his family name by resurrecting the creature to prove his father was correct. He finds, however, the Monster only responds to Ygor's commands.

<i>Invisible Ghost</i> 1941 film by Joseph H. Lewis

Invisible Ghost is a 1941 American horror film directed by Joseph H. Lewis, produced by Sam Katzman and starring Bela Lugosi.

<i>Murders in the Rue Morgue</i> (1932 film) 1932 film

Murders in the Rue Morgue is a 1932 American horror film directed by Robert Florey, based on Edgar Allan Poe's 1841 short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". The plot is about Doctor Mirakle, a carnival sideshow entertainer and scientist who kidnaps Parisian women to mix their blood with that of his gorilla, Erik. As his experiments fail because of the quality of his victims' blood, Mirakle meets with Camille L'Espanye, and has her kidnapped and her mother murdered, leading to suspicion falling on Camille's fiance, Pierre Dupin, a medical student who has already become interested in the earlier murders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlotte Walker</span> American actress

Charlotte Ganahl Walker was a Broadway theater actress.

<i>Az élet királya</i> 1918 film

Az élet királya is a 1918 Hungarian film directed by Alfréd Deésy. It is an adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.

<i>The Invisible Ray</i> (1920 serial) 1920 film

The Invisible Ray is a 1920 American science fiction film serial directed by Harry A. Pollard.

<i>The Thirteenth Chair</i> (1929 film) 1929 film

The Thirteenth Chair is a 1929 American mystery film directed by Tod Browning. The picture is based on a 1916 play of the same name by Bayard Veiller. It stars Conrad Nagel, Leila Hyams and Margaret Wycherly.

<i>The Dark Eyes of London</i> (film) 1939 British film by Walter Summers

The Dark Eyes of London is a 1939 British horror film produced by John Argyle and directed by Walter Summers, and starring Béla Lugosi, Hugh Williams, and Greta Gynt. The film is an adaptation of the 1924 novel of the same name by Edgar Wallace. The film is about a scientist named Dr. Orloff who commits a series of murders for insurance money, while periodically disguising himself as the blind manager of a charity to further his scheme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alma Tell</span> American actress (1898–1837)

Alma Tell was an American stage and motion picture actress whose career in cinema began in 1915 and lasted into the sound films of the early 1930s.

Charles Cyprian Strong Cushing was an American playwright who wrote under the name Tom Cushing.

<i>Three Who Paid</i> 1923 film

Three Who Paid is a 1923 American silent Western film directed by Colin Campbell, and starring Dustin Farnum, with Bessie Love and Frank Campeau. The film was based on the 1922 short story by George Owen Baxter, and was produced and distributed through Fox Film.

<i>Night Life in Hollywood</i> 1922 film

Night Life in Hollywood, called The Shriek of Hollywood in Europe, is a 1922 American silent comedy film directed by Fred Caldwell. It starred J. Frank Glendon, Josephine Hill, and Gale Henry, and featured a number of cameo appearances of celebrities with their families.

<i>Such Men Are Dangerous</i> 1930 film

Such Men Are Dangerous is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film directed by Kenneth Hawks and written by Ernest Vajda. The film is based on a novella by Elinor Glyn who based her story on the 1928 real-life disappearance of Belgian banker Alfred Loewenstein who vanished on a flight over the English Channel. Such Men Are Dangerous stars Warner Baxter, Catherine Dale Owen, Hedda Hopper, Claud Allister, Albert Conti and Bela Lugosi. Shortly after a midair collision killed 10 crew members in the "worst air accident in film history", Such Men Are Dangerous was released on March 9, 1930, by Fox Film Corporation.

<i>The Mailman</i> (1923 film) 1923 American silent melodrama film

The Mailman is a 1923 American silent melodrama directed by Emory Johnson. FBO released the film in December 1923. The film's "All-Star" cast included Ralph Lewis, Johnnie Walker, and Virginia True Boardman. Emilie Johnson, Johnson's mother, wrote both the story and screenplay. The Mailman was the fourth film in Johnson's eight-picture contract with FBO.

References

  1. 1 2 Rhodes 1997, pp. 74–75.
  2. 1 2 3 Lennig 2003, pp. 42–43.
  3. 1 2 3 Rhodes 1997, p. 74.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "The Silent Command". AFI Catalogue of Feature Films: The First 100 Years 1893–1993. American Film Institute. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
  5. ↑ Kabatchnik 2010, p. 353.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rhodes 1997, p. 75.
  7. 1 2 Lugosi, Bela (1934). "Bela Lugosi welcomes romantic role of "Chandu" after being 'typed' as 'heavy'". The Return of Chandu (pressbook). Publicity. Principal Distributing Corporation: 1.
  8. ↑ Bordman 1995, p. 196.
  9. 1 2 Rhodes 1997, p. 10.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Rhodes 2001, p. 30.
  11. ↑ Mank 2009, p. 626.
  12. ↑ "Charlotte Walker next at Suburban". The St. Louis Star. 27 (9447): 9. June 15, 1910.
  13. 1 2 Fred [pseud.] (September 6, 1923). "The Silent Command". Variety. 72 (3): 23.
  14. ↑ Hodge, H.T. (January 26, 1924). "The Silent Command". Exhibitors Herald. 18 (5): 66.
  15. ↑ "The return of Lugosi". Famous Monsters of Filmland (100): 52–60. 1973.
  16. ↑ "Fox films abroad". Exhibitors Herald. 18 (10): 40. March 1, 1924.
  17. ↑ "Elaborate list of specials scheduled by Fox for Brazil". Exhibitors Herald. 18 (12): 61. March 15, 1924.
  18. 1 2 Tillmany & Dowling 2006, p. 47.
  19. 1 2 "Fox opens coast house in Oakland". Motion Picture News. 28 (10): 1182. September 8, 1923.
  20. ↑ "Fox opening Oakland Theatre acquires continental chain". Moving Picture World. 64 (2): 130. September 8, 1923.
  21. ↑ Mason, L. H. (September 1, 1923). "Chicago and the Mid-West". Motion Picture News. 28 (9): 1043.
  22. ↑ "Recruiting tie-up boosts 'The Silent Command'". Motion Picture News. 28 (11): 1325. September 15, 1923.
  23. ↑ Bryant, Time (June 7, 2013). "Lawrence Group will give Sun Theater an $11 million makeover". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  24. ↑ Tebbe, Jen (January 31, 2017). "Origin story: The Fabulous Fox". Missouri Historical Society. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  25. ↑ Smith, Sumner, ed. (September 8, 1923). "Exhibitors' news and views". Moving Picture World. 64 (2): 136.
  26. ↑ "New season opens with bang at St. Louis film theatres". Moving Picture World. 64 (3): 240. September 15, 1923.
  27. ↑ "Five specials on Fox September list". Motion Picture News. 28 (9): 1034. September 1, 1923.
  28. ↑ "Two Fox premieres due in New York". Motion Picture News. 28 (9): 1098. September 1, 1923.
  29. ↑ "A great array on Broadway". Motion Picture News. 28 (11): 1304. September 15, 1923.
  30. ↑ "'Mona Vana' at Central". Variety. 72 (5): 20. September 20, 1923.
  31. ↑ Sewell, C. S. (September 15, 1923). "The Silent Command". Moving Picture World. 64 (3): 264–265.
  32. ↑ Reid, Laurence (September 15, 1923). "The Silent Command". Motion Picture News. 28 (11): 1335.
  33. ↑ "Fox makes 1923 debut on Broadway with opening of big productions". Moving Picture World. 64 (3): 273. September 15, 1923.
  34. 1 2 "'The Silent Command'–Fox Central". The Film Daily. 25 (57): 4. September 7, 1923.
  35. ↑ Lennig 2003, p. 45.
  36. ↑ "The Silent Command". AllMovie. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  37. ↑ Bojarski 1980, p. 22.
  38. ↑ Rhodes 2001, p. 132.
  39. 1 2 Rhodes 2001, pp. 131–132.
  40. ↑ Weiss, Ron (1975). "Lugosi: the man and the vampire". Quasimodo's Monster Magazine (3): 34–45.
  41. ↑ Solomon 2011, p. 1.
  42. ↑ Brownlow 1976, p. 35.
  43. ↑ "The Silent Command / Edmund Lowe [motion picture]". American Silent Feature Film Database. Library of Congress. October 8, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  44. ↑ The Silent Command. Online Computer Library Center. OCLC   52544481 – via WorldCat.
  45. ↑ "The Silent Command". Silent Era. Silent Era Films on Home Video. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  46. ↑ Evans, Rachel (January 8, 2019). "23 from '23: Celebrating the growth of the public domain with digital exhibits & silent film screenings". A Library with a View. Alexander Campbell King Law Library. Retrieved January 23, 2019.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.