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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.
Original Release
08/19/1923
US Release
08/19/1923
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Edmund Lowe | Capt. Decatur |
Bela Lugosi | Hisston |
Carl Harbaugh | Menchen |
Martin Faust | Cordoba |
Gordon McEdward | Gridley Nevins |
Byron Douglas | Adm. Nevins |
Theodore Babcock | Adm. Meade |
George Lessey | Mr. Collins |
Warren Cook | Ambassador Mendizabal |
Henry Armetta | Pedro |
Directors
Writers
Anthony Paul Kelly, Rufus King
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Edmund Lowe | Capt. Decatur |
Bela Lugosi | Hisston |
Carl Harbaugh | Menchen |
Martin Faust | Cordoba |
Gordon McEdward | Gridley Nevins |
Byron Douglas | Adm. Nevins |
Theodore Babcock | Adm. Meade |
George Lessey | Mr. Collins |
Warren Cook | Ambassador Mendizabal |
Henry Armetta | Pedro |
Roger Keene | Jack Decatur |
Wes Jenkins | The Butler |
Alma Tell | Mrs. Richard Decatur |
Martha Mansfield | Peg Williams / Peg Williams, the vamp |
Florence Martin | Peg's Maid |
Betty Jewel | Dolores |
Kate Blancke | Mrs. Nevins |
Elizabeth Foley | Jill Decatur |