The Purple Cipher

{{short description|1920 silent film}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = The Purple Cipher | image =File:The Purple Cipher (1920) - 2.jpg | caption = | director = Chester Bennett | producer =Albert E. Smith | based_on =''The Purple Hieroglyph'' by Murray Leinster | writer =J. Grubb Alexander | narrator = | starring =Earle Williams <br> Vola Vale <br> Ernest Shields | music = | cinematography =Jack MacKenzie | editing = | studio =Vitagraph Company of America | distributor = Vitagraph Company of America | released = {{Film date|1920|10|11}} | runtime =50 minutes | country = United States | language = Silent <br> English intertitles | budget = | gross = }} '''''The Purple Cipher''''' is a 1920 American silent mystery film directed by Chester Bennett and starring Earle Williams, Vola Vale and Ernest Shields. Shot by Vitagraph at the company's Brooklyn studios, it was based on the short story ''The Purple Hieroglyph'' by Murray Leinster.<ref>Stallings & Jo-an J. Evans p.41</ref> The story was adapted twice more in the sound era as ''Murder Will Out'' (1930) and ''Torchy Blane in Chinatown'' (1939).

==Plot== {{no plot|date=January 2024}}

==Cast== * Earle Williams as Leonard Staunton * Vola Vale as Jeanne Baldwin * Ernest Shields as Jack Baldwin * Allan Forrest as Alan Fitzhugh * Henry A. Barrows as Frank Condon * Goro Kino as Hop Lee * Frank M. Seki as Wong Foo

==References== {{reflist}}

==Bibliography== * Billee J. Stallings & Jo-an J. Evans. ''Murray Leinster: The Life and Works''. McFarland, 2011.

==External links== * {{IMDb title|0196878}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purple Cipher, The}} Category:1920 films Category:1920 mystery films Category:American silent feature films Category:English-language mystery films Category:American black-and-white films Category:Films directed by Chester Bennett Category:Vitagraph Studios films Category:1920 English-language films Category:1920 American films Category:American silent mystery films