{{short description|1925 film directed by Frank R. Strayer}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2020}} {{Infobox film | name = An Enemy Of Men | image = | alt = | caption = | director = Frank R. Strayer | producer = | writer = Douglas Bronston | screenplay = | story = | based_on = | starring = Dorothy Revier<br />Cullen Landis<br />Caesare Gravina | narrator = | music = | cinematography = Frank B. Good | editing = | studio = Waldorf Productions | distributor = Columbia Pictures | released = {{Film date|1925|7|1|''US''|ref1=<ref name=AFI>{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=8843 | title=An Enemy Of Men: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate=September 20, 2017 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415163509/http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s= | archivedate=April 15, 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref>}} | runtime = 6 reels | country = United States | language = Silent (English intertitles) }}
'''''An Enemy Of Men''''' is a 1925 American silent melodrama film directed by Frank R. Strayer from an original script by Douglas Bronston. It stars Dorothy Revier, Cullen Landis, and Caesare Gravina,<ref>Munden p. 215</ref> and was released by Columbia Pictures on July 1, 1925.
==Plot== As described in a film magazine review,<ref>{{Citation |last=Pardy |first=George T. |author-link= |title=Pre-Release Review of Features: ''An Enemy of Men'' |journal=Motion Picture News |volume=33 |issue=5 |pages=598 |date=30 January 1926 |publisher=Motion Picture News, Inc. |location=New York City, New York |url=https://archive.org/details/motionpic33moti/page/n613/mode/1up |access-date=1 February 2023}} {{Source-attribution}}</ref> because of her sister's betrayal and subsequent death, Norma Bennett takes a vow to make all men pay. She becomes a night club favorite and is courted by John Hurd, who is the man who ruined her sister. Dr. Phil Ordway is in love with her, but she refuses his offer of marriage. When she discovers the identity of John as her sister's betrayer, she takes a gun and goes to the cabaret to shoot him, but he dies by another's hand. She then agrees and weds Dr. Ordway.
==Cast list== * Dorothy Revier as Norma Bennett * Cullen Landis as Dr. Phil Ordway * Caesare Gravina as Tony Caruso * Charles Clary as John Hurd * Leo White as Roberti * Barbara Luddy as Janet * Virginia Marshall as Baby Janet * Margaret Landis as Miss Ordway
==Production== While the American Film Institute's database gives an opening date of July 1, 1925, ''Motion Picture News'' gives the world premiere date of July 20, at the Strand Theatre in Providence, Rhode Island.<ref>{{cite news|title=World Premiere is Given: Enemy of Men |url=https://mediahistoryproject.org/reader.php?id=motionpicturenew00moti_8 |newspaper=Motion Picture News |date=August 1, 1925 |pages=550 |accessdate = June 11, 2023}}</ref>
==Reception== ''The Bridgeport Telegram'' gave the film a lukewarm review, calling Revier and Landis' work "capable", with the rest of the performers being an "able cast".<ref>{{cite news|title=Shura Buluwa Gives Wonderful Performance |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/126244048/ |newspaper=The Bridgeport Telegram |date=November 6, 1925 |pages=26 |via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = June 11, 2023}}</ref> ''The Shreveport Times'' called the script "a powerful drama of woman's bitter life".<ref>{{cite news|title=Saenger Theater |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/126252943/ |newspaper=The Shreveport Times |date=October 28, 1925 |pages=26 |via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = June 11, 2023}}</ref> ''The Chicago Tribune'' gave the picture a lukewarm review, stating that "there's nothing new or original about the story, which is, if you get down to brass tacks, far from convincing." However, they felt the acting was good, while the direction and photography were good as well.<ref>{{cite news|title=Here's a Sensation |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/126253322/ |newspaper=The Chicago Tribune |date=September 19, 1925 |pages=15 |via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = June 11, 2023}}</ref>
==Preservation and status== A copy of the film is held at EYE Film Institute Netherlands.<ref>{{Cite web |title=An Enemy Of Men [motion picture] |url=https://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.mbrs.sfdb.4996/ |accessdate=2023-10-10 |work=American Silent Feature Film Survival Database}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==Bibliography== * Munden, Kenneth White. ''The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Part 1''. University of California Press, 1997.
==External links== * {{IMDb title|0016824}} * {{TCMDb title|492698}} * {{AFI film|8843}} {{Frank R. Strayer}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enemy of Men}} Category:Columbia Pictures films Category:Films directed by Frank R. Strayer Category:1920s melodrama films Category:1925 drama films Category:1925 films Category:American silent drama films Category:American silent feature films Category:American black-and-white films Category:1925 English-language films Category:1925 American films Category:English-language drama films