Mystery of the Double Cross

The premise of this is MURDER and how the existence of a symbol, the double cross, plays into it. The double cross is shown on all caption stills, which hampers the reading of the words and the caption letters are too thick and/or bold to decipher and I would gladly shake anyone's hands who could sit through this long movie experience. One could make some semblance of understanding from what little one could make of it, but again frankly it really isn't worth it. In the scenes where people are reading letters or telegrams to them, again, it is all very faint and this makes the whole thing very hard to sit through for one hour, much less about six. "A Woman in Grey" was a great silent serial, and I meant to review that at the time, but where that grabbed you from the beginning with people you cared about, this mishmash with no cohesive captions makes time with a silent serial for escapism a serious workout and a serious waste of time. I do admit to not finishing this and encourage someone to prove me wrong. But please find a better preserved copy.

"The Mystery of the Double Cross" is a silent serial broken into many parts. According to IMDb, all the segments exist today...so why did Alpha Video put ONLY episode 14 on the disc?! Because of this, you really have no idea what's been going on nor what's going on in the film. Additionally, the print isn't great...and that makes reading the intertitle cards a bit difficult. The bottom line is that the version found on "Thrillers of the Silent Screen" is a mess...and one that really is impossible to rate. While I have no idea where to find the rest of the film, don't waste your time with the crappy Alpha version. It's really a shame, as what I did see seemed interesting and reasonably well made...though this sort of thing doesn't surprise me much about Alpha.

Over a couple of weeks I watched "The Mystery of the Double Cross" (1917), a 15 chapter serial that showcased a new serial star, Mollie King, who was stepping up to Pathé's need for a female stunt lady and actress for its serials. Absolutely superb material, TMotDC is possibly the best serial I've ever seen! There is not one dull or horribly repetitive chapter in the bunch. I couldn't wait to continue each time I viewed this thing. Each chapter is two-reel (approx. 20-25 minutes segment), and, rather than leaving each segment hanging on some death-defying antic, we're left with a deeper intrigue and mystery than we've already had! Condition of the film is not superb, but compared to separate chapters that are out there from the gray market, this is quite good. A tad of strain near the last three or four chapters, but nothing difficult to take. There are, perhaps, three or so nitrate deterioration spots, but they're only minimal and last but a second or two.

Mollie King is the sister of Charles King who some may know from "Broadway Melody" (1929). She's pretty and she's savvy, a fine actress and loads of fun to watch. She's joined in this escapade by Léon Bary, a man I only know as Athos in Fairbanks, Sr.'s 1921 swashbuckler "The Three Musketeers" and a repeat of the character in 1929's "The Iron Mask". He was a Frenchman who was born in Paris, died in Paris, and who was also a director and actor in many French films as well. He and Gladden James are the good guy males in this serial, along with Robert Brower who plays Mollie King's father. The baddies - and they're BAD - are Ralph Stuart and Theodore Friebus, especially Stuart who is a main character throughout the piece.

The double cross is a brand that's on the arm of the heroine of the piece. Why it's there and anything else about it I'll leave to your viewing. It's, afterall, THE mystery - isn't it? Well, there may be more to it than that, but I'll leave it to you to find out. This was really worth my time, and it's a full five hours, fifty minutes - yes, nearly six hours, and not a boring minute in it. In all the time I watched, I only found one title card that was banal. From my experience with serials, that's a record. This one is told well, well-written, well directed by William Parke and an uncredited Louis Gasnier, and overall acted with great aplomb for 1917. Only one character plays to the third balcony, and she's only in a couple of scenes. Originally written for Pearl White, King stepped in and took over admirably.

Look for Clarine Seymour and Helene Chadwick, and, if you care, for Harry Fraser. The only thing that may grate on some people is that music that's tacked on. It's good classical stuff, and it sort-of fits. If you keep the volume low, it's fine. It actually was enjoyable to me, though a great accompaniment by a virtuoso performer for silents would have made this better than great. I'll take what I got: it was more than acceptable; it was huge fun!