A sci-fi/espionage film in which world powers vie for control of a death ray during World War I.A sci-fi/espionage film in which world powers vie for control of a death ray during World War I.A sci-fi/espionage film in which world powers vie for control of a death ray during World War I.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaA complete copy is stored at the Library of Congress.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Letter (2018)
Featured review
Spy At Work
Cecil van Auker has developed a machine to make sheep drop dead and TNT explode at a distance. He offers to sell this to an unnamed foreign country involved in the Great War -- obviously Germany. Another unnamed power -- Russia -- learns of this and sends Countess Leonore Ulric to thwart the plans of Baron Howard Davies to collect the device and kill van Auker. Davies learns of this and tells off a minion to keep an eye on Ulric. She tells her maid to pretend to be her and travel in first class to America, while Lenore puts on a gypsy costume and travels in steerage. She gains the attention of van Auker, who is gallant, and Davies, who offers her a job as a housemaid in his house.
The version I looked at is a snappy 64 minutes with a nice crisis in the last fifteen minutes, as van Auker goes to Davies' house to hand him the instructions, get paid, and killed. The rest of it is rather straightforward and well acted by the standards of 1916. Although the IMDB would have you believe that Frank Lloyd directed, the screen credits clearly list writer Julia Crawford Ivers as the director. Lloyd is the "supervisor", which tended to be the producer. James van Trees, Miss Ivers' son, is the cinematographer.
Kino has just released this movie on blu-ray and DVD in a handsome set that includes three short films by Miss Ivers, a solid score by Ben Model, and a commentary track by Anthony Slide. It's a solid potboiler for anyone interested in movies in that era.
The version I looked at is a snappy 64 minutes with a nice crisis in the last fifteen minutes, as van Auker goes to Davies' house to hand him the instructions, get paid, and killed. The rest of it is rather straightforward and well acted by the standards of 1916. Although the IMDB would have you believe that Frank Lloyd directed, the screen credits clearly list writer Julia Crawford Ivers as the director. Lloyd is the "supervisor", which tended to be the producer. James van Trees, Miss Ivers' son, is the cinematographer.
Kino has just released this movie on blu-ray and DVD in a handsome set that includes three short films by Miss Ivers, a solid score by Ben Model, and a commentary track by Anthony Slide. It's a solid potboiler for anyone interested in movies in that era.
helpful•20
- boblipton
- Mar 25, 2020
Details
- Runtime1 hour 4 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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