Heures d'épouvantes

Lawson Butts runs a munitions plant in the US shortly before the country declared war on Germany. He has developed a new shell for the Allies and is anxious to get it into production, not just for profit, but to aid in the war he sees coming. His oldest employee is German-born Stanton Heck, who is not bothered by the purpose. He is a proud American now. His daughter, Ann Forrest, works in the office under Butts' son, Rowland V. Lee, with whom she is in love. He figures he will go to Canada and get in the fight early. Butts is proud, but Lee's social-butterfly mother, Clarissa Selwynne, throws a fit and talks him out of it.

But there's more. Frank Leigh is Heck's brother or cousin, or friend from the German beer hall, and a German agitator. He convinces Heck to quit, and then works on him, convincing Heck that Lee and Miss Forrest are having an affair. He works the man over to the point where he horsewhips her, and she goes into hiding with Lee's aid. When the US declares war, Leigh convinces Heck to rejoin the enterprise and blow up the entire plant.

There's more, but that's enough for the moment. It is a potboiling movie, released a couple of years too late, and director Reginald Barker gives it a decent look, but can't handle it as more than average visually. After more than a hundred years, it falls into the middle of the pack for movies released in 1920, despite it being from a Mary Roberts Rinehart novel and having her write the titles... whatever they originally were. We can certainly admire the numerous subplots it covers, but winds up being a trifle confusing in their profusion.

This is a very entertaining film and moves along pretty quickly. The acting is generally good, with top honors going to the lovely Ann Forrest, as the ill-fated Anna Klein. Lawson Butt (as Clayton Spencer) and Clarissa Selwynne (as Natalie Spencer) are adequate, while future director Rowland V. Lee, as Graham, shows a good range of emotions. Barbara Castleton is lovely as Audrey, but Pauline Starke (as Delight) is barely given any screen time. Frank Leigh (as Rudolph Klein) makes a nasty villain. Stanton Heck (as Herman Klein) gives an understated and sympathetic performance early on, but as the film progresses, he goes just a bit over the top.

At least one scene is probably missing from the print I watched. During a costume party, we see a mysterious woman asking Clayton Spencer for a pen. She then substitutes another pen for it when she returns it. This is never explained. Earlier on, we see a detective capturing a German spy and taking a pen from him, sarcastically telling the spy "I have a pen collection." Contemporaneous reviews mention that the pen at the costume party contained an explosive which detonated; however, none of the characters were injured.

Natalie Spencer is shown for a split second with a mustachioed character, in what appears to be a romantic situation. No context is provided. Again, contemporaneous reviews mention that her character is having an affair with an architect named Rodney Page, played by Bertram Grassby (who did have a mustache). Delight Haverford is shown briefly in the beginning of the film, then just shows up at the end. One must wonder if her character had more scenes. Finally, the beating scene is implied; we never see Herman actually swing the strap at Anna.