The Silent Command

Silent Command, The (1923)

*** (out of 4)

A Naval officer (Edmond Lowe) must stop a terrorist (Bela Lugosi) from blowing up the Panama Canal, which would cut the U.S. Navy in half. Directed by J. Gordon Edwards, this is a pretty good little thriller with a terrific start and nice ending, both of which pack some nice suspense. The middle drags a little bit as Lugosi pays a blonde to try and seduce the Naval officer into giving away his secrets. Lowe is very good in his role but it's Lugosi who really steals the picture with his wonderful performance. This is certainly the best I've seen from his silent pictures, which I believe this was the last remaining one for me to see. I think the rest are lost.

Very good drama about a scheme to destroy the U.S. Navy fleet and the Canal of Panama, done with more resources, even to have location shooting in Panama. Béla Lugosi is the sinister Eastern Europe leader of a band of terrorists. He stands with his mercenary associate Menchen by the Miraflores locks (one of the three gateways to pass from the Pacific ocean to the Atlantic and vice versa) and studies the plan that needs to be executed, while he runs a sugar cane plantation and has his secret headquarters below the ruins of the cathedral from the first settlement of the city of Panamá, that was destroyed by pirate Henry Morgan in late 16th century. Béla decides to get information from a righteous official (Edmund Lowe), who knows where the mines for the defense of the canal are located; and to obtain such fact he uses the services of vamp Peg Williams (Martha Mansfield) in Washington, where most of the action takes place. The story then seemingly goes the direction of a typical melodrama about adultery and military degradation, but do not be misled, stay with the movie, and you will reach a tense climax aboard a ship on its way to Panamá, while a storm is ravaging the sea and Lugosi fights Lowe to death. For his first motion picture in the United States Lugosi had a very good start: a fine leading role mostly handled with moderation, without the mannerisms that would become his trademark.