The Silent Command
| The Silent Command | |
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| Directed by | J. Gordon Edwards |
| Produced by | William Fox |
| Written by |
Anthony Paul Kelly Rufus King |
| Starring |
Edmund Lowe Bela Lugosi |
| Cinematography | George W. Lane |
| Distributed by | Fox Film Corporation |
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Release date
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Running time
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8 reels |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
The Silent Command is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by J. Gordon Edwards and features 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. 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 (Martha Mansfield). Decatur pretends to be seduced into the conspiracy, costing him his career and marriage, but 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. It began Lugosi's career in the American movie industry. Unlike most Fox Film productions of the silent era, several copies of The Silent Command have survived, and it is available in on home video.
Benadict Hisston is a foreign agent, part of a conspiracy to destroy the Panama Canal and the United States Navy's Atlantic Fleet. He attempts to acquire information about mine placement in the Canal Zone from Captain Richard Decatur, but fails. With that information essential to the conspiracy's success, 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 reinstated into the Navy, reunited with his wife, and honored by the nation for his heroism.
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Wikipedia