{{short description|1923 film directed by J. Gordon Edwards}} {{about|the 1923 film|text=For the 1915 film, see its entry in the list of Universal Pictures films.}} {{good article}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}} {{Infobox film | name = The Silent Command | image = The Silent Command poster.png | caption = Theatrical release poster | alt = A man in a suit; behind him, a woman wearing jewelry and holding a cigarette holder. Smoke rising from the cigarette appears to become water; in it, a Navy ship is on fire and sinking. Captioned: "Love Intrigue and the High Seas / William Fox presents / The Silent Command / with Edmund Lowe – Alma Tell – Martha Mansfield – Betty Jewel – Florence Martin – Bela Lugosi / 'Wrecked by Womens Wiles' / A J. Gordon Edwards production / Directed by the Man who staged 'Queen of Sheba' / Story by Rufus King" | director = J. Gordon Edwards | producer = William Fox | writer = Anthony Paul Kelly<br/>Rufus King | starring = Edmund Lowe<br/>Bela Lugosi | cinematography = George W. Lane | distributor = Fox Film Corporation | released = {{film date|1923|8|9}} | runtime = 8 reels | country = United States | language = Silent (English intertitles) }} '''''The Silent Command''''' is a 1923 American silent war film directed by J. Gordon Edwards featuring Bela Lugosi as a foreign saboteur in his American film debut. The film, written by Anthony Paul Kelly and Rufus King, also stars Edmund Lowe, Alma Tell, and Martha Mansfield. Shot in New York, ''The Silent Command'' began Lugosi's career in the American film industry.{{sfn|Rhodes|1997|pp=74–75}}{{sfn|Lennig|2003|pp=42–43}} The film's focus on his eyes, at times in extreme close-up, helped to establish his image for later roles.
The film depicts the story of Benedict Hisston (Lugosi), who is part of a plot to destroy the Panama Canal. Initially unable to obtain necessarily intelligence from Richard Decatur (Lowe), a captain in the United States Navy, he enlists the aid of femme fatale Peg Williams (Mansfield). Decatur pretends to be seduced into the conspiracy, costing him his career and estranging him from his wife (Tell), but he ultimately betrays the saboteurs in Panama and stops their plan. He returns home to the Navy and his wife, and to popular acclaim for his heroics.
The film was produced in cooperation with the Navy and was intended as a propaganda film to encourage support for a larger navy. ''The Silent Command'' was shown at the opening of several Fox Theatres locations and was sometimes marketed in conjunction with naval recruitment efforts. It received generally positive reviews from contemporary film critics, although modern appraisals consider the film mediocre.
Unlike most Fox Film productions of the silent era, several copies of ''The Silent Command'' have survived. It has been released in multiple home video formats, and is now in the public domain and available online.
==Plot== thumb|thumbtime=44|''The Silent Command'' (full film) Benedict Hisston is a foreign agent, part of a conspiracy to destroy the Panama Canal and the US Navy's Atlantic Fleet. He attempts to acquire information about mine placement in the Canal Zone from Captain Richard Decatur but fails. That information is essential to the conspiracy's success and so he then hires vamp Peg Williams to obtain the intelligence through seduction.
Decatur is not fooled and obeys the "silent command" of the Chief of Naval Intelligence to play along with the spies without revealing his purpose to friends or family. He is court-martialed, stripped of rank, and dismissed from the Navy after he strikes an admiral. His association with Williams estranges him from his wife but earns him the trust of Hisston and the other spies. When the conspirators are ready to enact their plan, he travels to Panama with them. He thwarts their attempt at sabotage, saving the canal and the fleet. He is then reinstated into the Navy, reunited with his wife, and honored by the nation for his heroism.{{sfn|Rhodes|1997|pp=74–75}}{{sfn|Lennig|2003|pp=42–43}}
==Cast== {{div col}} * Edmund Lowe as Captain Richard Decatur * Alma Tell as Mrs. Richard Decatur * Martha Mansfield as Peg Williams * Betty Jewel as Dolores * Florence Martin as Williams's maid * Bela Lugosi as Benedict Hisston (miscredited as Belo Lugosi){{sfn|Rhodes|1997|p=74}} * Carl Harbaugh as Menchen * Martin Faust as Cordoba * Gordon McEdward as Gridley * Byron Douglas as Admiral Nevins * Theodore Babcock as Admiral Meade * George Lessey as Mr. Collins * Warren Cook as Ambassador Mendizabal * Henry Armetta as Pedro * Rogers Keene as Jack Decatur * J.W. Jenkins as the Decatur's butler * Kate Blancke as Mrs. Nevins * Elizabeth Mary Foley as Jill Decatur{{sfn|Rhodes|1997|p=74}}<ref name=AFI-Silent /> {{div col end}}
==Production== [[File:Silent Command advert.png|thumb|This magazine advertisement for ''The Silent Command'' includes endorsements of the film by General John J. Pershing and Theodore Roosevelt Jr.|alt=Full-page advertisement from a magazine. At the top: "Pershing and Roosevelt have said O.K. Below that, images of two men. At left, captioned: "Gen. John J. Pershing / Commander-in-Chief, United States Army Says: / 'An intensely interesting, inspiring picture that should stir the patriotism of every true American.'" At right, captioned: "Theodore Roosevelt Jr. / Assistant Secretary of the United States Navy Says: / 'My opinion is that it will thrill the whole country when it appears in the theatres.'" Below both: "The endorsement of these men is assurance of 100% co-operation from every naval and military organization in the United States / William Fox presents The Silent Command / With Edmund Lowe, Alma Tell, Martha Mansfield, Betty Jewel, Florence Martin, Bela Lugosi / Love, Intrigue and the High Seas / A J. Gordon Edwards production]] Rufus King, later known for his detective novels,{{sfn|Kabatchnik|2010|p=353}} wrote the original story for ''The Silent Command'', which was adapted into a screenplay by Anthony Paul Kelly.<ref name=AFI-Silent /> It was intended as a propaganda film to encourage popular support for expansion of the United States Navy{{sfn|Rhodes|1997|p=75}}<ref name=Chandu /> and was made with the Navy's cooperation and support.{{sfn|Rhodes|1997|p=75}}<ref name=AFI-Silent /> Fox Film's publicity promoter, Wells Hawks, may have been responsible for this arrangement, as he had previously worked in a publicity role for the Navy.{{sfn|Rhodes|1997|p=75}} Quotes praising the film were provided by several prominent members of the military for use in advertising, including General John J. Pershing and Theodore Roosevelt Jr., the Assistant Secretary of the Navy.{{sfn|Rhodes|1997|p=75}} Years later, in a publicity interview for ''The Return of Chandu'', Bela Lugosi commented on the irony of being a propagandist for naval expansion when his native country, landlocked Hungary, "has no navy nor needs any!"<ref name=Chandu />
In December 1922, Lugosi had starred in a Greenwich Village play, ''The Red Poppy''. The play performed poorly, but Lugosi, in the role of a thuggish Spaniard, received critical praise.{{sfn|Bordman|1995|p=196}} He was cast as Hisston in ''The Silent Command'' based on the strength of that performance.{{sfn|Rhodes|1997|p=10}} Extreme close-ups of Lugosi's eyes were used throughout the film to reinforce perception of this character as evil.{{sfn|Rhodes|2001|p=30}} Film historian Gary Rhodes traced the origin of this technique, intended to suggest the evil eye or hypnosis, to characters in Weimar cinema inspired by Svengali.{{sfn|Rhodes|2001|p=30}} Lugosi had played one such character, Professor Mors, in the 1919 German film ''Sklaven fremdes Willens'';{{sfn|Rhodes|2001|p=30}}{{sfn|Mank|2009|p=626}} Edwards himself had portrayed Svengali in a run of ''Trilby'' on the St. Louis stage.<ref name=Star />
''The Silent Command'' was released in at least two editions. As shown at its New York premiere, it was an eight-reel film with a 91-minute run time. However, the version screened earlier in Chicago had been 18 minutes shorter, which reduced the film to seven reels;<ref name=Variety /> this cut was used for most subsequent releases.{{sfn|Rhodes|1997|p=74}}<ref name=AFI-Silent /> H.T. Hodge claimed to have shown a nine-reel version at the Palace Theatre in Abilene, Texas.<ref name=EH-Abilene /> Additionally, some prints were released as part-color films with tinted scenes.{{sfn|Rhodes|1997|p=75}}<ref name=Monsters />
''The Silent Command'' was also released internationally, including Australia and Cuba in 1924,<ref name=EH-Aus /><ref name=EH-Cuba /> and was retitled ''His Country'' for distribution in France.{{sfn|Rhodes|1997|p=75}}
==Release and reception== [[File:The Silent Command lobby card.jpg|thumb|left|Lobby card]] In 1923, William Fox was expanding his Fox Theatres chain of movie theaters. ''The Silent Command'' was shown at the opening or re-opening of several such locations. On August 25, 1923, the first Fox Theatre on the Pacific opened in Oakland, California.{{efn|This theater, later renamed the Orpheum, is distinct from the Fox Oakland Theatre opened in 1928.{{sfn|Tillmany|Dowling|2006|p=47}}}} ''The Silent Command'' was the first feature-length film screened at the Fox Oakland,{{sfn|Tillmany|Dowling|2006|p=47}}<ref name=MPN-Oakland /> during an elaborate opening gala that also included Tom Mix riding Tony, the Wonder Horse into the theater. Attendees included members of the film industry, city officials from Oakland and San Francisco, and faculty and students from the University of California, Berkeley<ref name=MPN-Oakland /><ref name=MPW-Oakland /> The following week, on August 31, it was also the first film shown at the grand opening of Fox's Monroe Theatre in Chicago, in an invitation-only showing involving studio executives and members of the film industry.<ref name=Mason /> To encourage attendance at further showings at the Monroe, the studio partnered with the Navy's local recruitment office to produce one-sheets encouraging men to see the film before enlisting.<ref name=MPN-Chicago /> In Springfield, Massachusetts and St. Louis,{{efn|This theater, later renamed the Sun,<ref name=Bryant /> is distinct from the Fox Theatre opened in 1929.<ref name=Tebbe />}} it was also the debut film shown at theaters re-opening after renovations.<ref name=MPW-Mass /><ref name=MPW-STL />
Despite the earlier showings in Oakland and Chicago, Fox advertised the film's world premiere at New York's Central Theatre on September 2.<ref name=MPN-NY1 /><ref name=MPN-NY2 /> As part of the Navy's support for the film, the audience included Rear Admiral Charles Peshall Plunkett and other officers.<ref name=MPN-Plunkett /> The film played at the Central for four weeks before being replaced with ''Monna Vanna''.<ref name=Variety-Mona />
''The Silent Command'' was generally praised by contemporary reviewers. Laurence Reid and C. S. Sewell, writing for ''Motion Picture News'' and ''Moving Picture World'' respectively, both offered acclaim for the film, despite what Reid described as a slow start.<ref name=Sewell /><ref name=Reid /> ''Variety'' was slightly less complimentary, suggesting the film was better suited for "regular neighborhood" theaters than prestigious first-run houses and criticizing the cinematography in Mansfield's vamp scenes.<ref name=Variety /> Most newspaper critics also gave positive reviews,<ref name=MPW-NY /><ref name=FD-newspapers /> although the ''Evening Journal'' wrote that the plot "taxes the credulity of even a generous picture fan."<ref name=FD-newspapers /> Modern reviews have been less enthusiastic. Lugosi biographer Arthur Lennig considered the film "turgid",{{sfn|Lennig|2003|p=45}} and AllMovie awarded it {{frac|2|1|2}} out of 5 stars.<ref name=AllMovie />
==Legacy== thumb|Bela Lugosi's eyes appear in extreme close-up in this frame from a tinted print of ''The Silent Command''. ''The Silent Command'' was Lugosi's first American film, and influenced the direction of his career in cinema.{{sfn|Lennig|2003|pp=42–43}} Lugosi had expressed an interest in playing Latin lover characters in the model of Rudolph Valentino, but his performance as Hisston revealed him to be convincing in more villainous roles.{{sfn|Bojarski|1980|p=22}} According to Rhodes, critics considered the focus on Lugosi's eyes cliché or even unintentionally humorous, but some filmgoers did find the shots genuinely frightening.{{sfn|Rhodes|2001|p=132}} This technique, showing Lugosi's eyes in extreme close-up, would be revisited in many of his later films,{{sfn|Rhodes|1997|p=10}}{{sfn|Rhodes|2001|pp=131–132}} such as ''The Midnight Girl'', ''Dracula'', and ''White Zombie''.{{sfn|Rhodes|2001|p=30}}<ref name=Weiss /> Images of Lugosi's eyes were eventually even used in advertising.{{sfn|Rhodes|2001|pp=131–132}}
Unlike most of Edwards's films,{{sfn|Solomon|2011|p=1}}{{sfn|Brownlow|1976|p=35}} copies of ''The Silent Command'' are preserved in three archives: the George Eastman Museum, the Department of Film at the Museum of Modern Art, and Brussels's Cinematek.<ref name=LOC /> Grapevine Video made the film available on VHS in 1999,<ref name=OCLC-VHS /> and released a DVD edition in 2005.<ref name=SEHV /> On January 1, 2019, the film entered the public domain in the United States and became freely available at the Internet Archive.<ref name=Evans />
==See also== * Bela Lugosi filmography
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist|30em|refs= <ref name=AFI-Silent>{{cite web |title=The Silent Command |work=AFI Catalogue of Feature Films: The First 100 Years 1893–1993 |publisher=American Film Institute |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/12099 |access-date=January 22, 2019}}</ref> <ref name=AllMovie>{{cite web |title=The Silent Command |publisher=AllMovie |access-date=January 23, 2019 |url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/v110131}}</ref> <ref name=Bryant>{{cite web |last=Bryant |first=Time |title=Lawrence Group will give Sun Theater an $11 million makeover |website=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=June 7, 2013 |access-date=January 23, 2019 |url=https://www.stltoday.com/business/local/lawrence-group-will-give-sun-theater-an-million-makeover/article_40c5a54e-b3cd-5107-8145-3a88fb1ce1eb.html}}</ref> <ref name=Chandu>{{cite journal |last=Lugosi |first=Bela |title=Bela Lugosi welcomes romantic role of "Chandu" after being 'typed' as 'heavy' |journal=The Return of Chandu |type=pressbook |volume=Publicity |page=1 |year=1934 |publisher=Principal Distributing Corporation}}</ref> <ref name=EH-Abilene>{{cite journal |last=Hodge |first=H.T. |title=The Silent Command |journal=Exhibitors Herald |volume=18 |issue=5 |date=January 26, 1924 |page=66 |url=https://archive.org/stream/exhibitorsherald18exhi#page/n603/mode/1up}}</ref> <ref name=EH-Aus>{{cite journal |title=Fox films abroad |journal=Exhibitors Herald |volume=18 |issue=10 |date=March 1, 1924 |page=40 |url=https://archive.org/details/exhibitorsherald18exhi/page/n1109/mode/1up}}</ref> <ref name=EH-Cuba>{{cite journal |title=Elaborate list of specials scheduled by Fox for Brazil |journal=Exhibitors Herald |volume=18 |issue=12 |date=March 15, 1924 |page=61 |url=https://archive.org/details/exhibitorsherald18exhi/page/n1343/mode/1up}}</ref> <ref name=Evans>{{cite web |last=Evans |first=Rachel |title=23 from '23: Celebrating the growth of the public domain with digital exhibits & silent film screenings |website=A Library with a View |publisher=Alexander Campbell King Law Library |date=January 8, 2019 |access-date=January 23, 2019 |url=https://ugalawlibrary.wordpress.com/2019/01/08/23-from-23-celebrating-the-growth-of-the-public-domain-with-digital-exhibits-silent-film-screenings/}}</ref> <ref name=FD-newspapers>{{cite journal |title='The Silent Command'–Fox Central |journal=The Film Daily |volume=25 |issue=57 |date=September 7, 1923 |page=4 |url=https://archive.org/details/filmdaily2526newy/page/n453/mode/1up}}</ref> <ref name=LOC>{{cite web |title=The Silent Command / Edmund Lowe [motion picture] |work=American Silent Feature Film Database |publisher=Library of Congress |date=October 8, 2015 |access-date=October 14, 2015 |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.mbrs.sfdb.787/default.html}}</ref> <ref name=Mason>{{cite journal |last=Mason |first=L. H. |title=Chicago and the Mid-West |journal=Motion Picture News |volume=28 |issue=9 |date=September 1, 1923 |page=1043 |url=https://archive.org/details/motionpicturenew00moti_3/page/1043/mode/1up}}</ref> <ref name=Monsters>{{cite journal |title=The return of Lugosi |journal=Famous Monsters of Filmland |issue=100 |year=1973 |pages=52–60 |url=https://archive.org/details/Famous_Monsters_of_Filmland_100_c2c_scanEdit_by_SomethingAnEditorWillRuin_S/page/n55/mode/1up}}</ref> <ref name=MPN-Chicago>{{cite journal |title=Recruiting tie-up boosts 'The Silent Command' |journal=Motion Picture News |volume=28 |issue=11 |date=September 15, 1923 |page=1325 |url=https://archive.org/details/motionpicturenew00moti_3/page/1325/mode/1up}}</ref> <ref name=MPN-NY1>{{cite journal |title=Five specials on Fox September list |journal=Motion Picture News |volume=28 |issue=9 |date=September 1, 1923 |page=1034 |url=https://archive.org/details/motionpicturenew00moti_3/page/1034/mode/1up}}</ref> <ref name=MPN-NY2>{{cite journal |title=Two Fox premieres due in New York |journal=Motion Picture News |volume=28 |issue=9 |date=September 1, 1923 |page=1098 |url=https://archive.org/details/motionpicturenew00moti_3/page/1098/mode/1up}}</ref> <ref name=MPN-Oakland>{{cite journal |title=Fox opens coast house in Oakland |journal=Motion Picture News |volume=28 |issue=10 |page=1182 |date=September 8, 1923 |url=https://archive.org/stream/motionpicturenew00moti_3#page/1182/mode/1up}}</ref> <ref name=MPN-Plunkett>{{cite journal |title=A great array on Broadway |journal=Motion Picture News |volume=28 |issue=11 |date=September 15, 1923 |page=1304 |url=https://archive.org/stream/motionpicturenew00moti_3#page/1304/mode/1up}}</ref> <ref name=MPW-Mass>{{cite journal |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=Sumner |title=Exhibitors' news and views |journal=Moving Picture World |volume=64 |issue=2 |date=September 8, 1923 |page=136 |url=https://archive.org/details/movingpicturewor64sept/page/136/mode/1up}}</ref> <ref name=MPW-NY>{{cite journal |title=Fox makes 1923 debut on Broadway with opening of big productions |journal=Moving Picture World |volume=64 |issue=3 |date=September 15, 1923 |page=273 |url=https://archive.org/details/movingpicturewor64sept/page/273/mode/1up}}</ref> <ref name=MPW-Oakland>{{cite journal |title=Fox opening Oakland Theatre acquires continental chain |journal=Moving Picture World |volume=64 |issue=2 |date=September 8, 1923 |page=130 |url=https://archive.org/details/movingpicturewor64sept/page/130/mode/1up}}</ref> <ref name=MPW-STL>{{cite journal |title=New season opens with bang at St. Louis film theatres |journal=Moving Picture World |volume=64 |issue=3 |date=September 15, 1923 |page=240 |url=https://archive.org/details/movingpicturewor64sept/page/240/mode/1up}}</ref> <ref name=OCLC-VHS>{{cite book |title=The Silent Command |via=WorldCat |publisher=Online Computer Library Center |oclc=52544481 }}</ref> <ref name=Reid>{{cite journal |last=Reid |first=Laurence |title=The Silent Command |journal=Motion Picture News |volume=28 |issue=11 |date=September 15, 1923 |page=1335 |url=https://archive.org/stream/motionpicturenew00moti_3#page/1335/mode/1up}}</ref> <ref name=SEHV>{{cite web |title=The Silent Command |series=Silent Era Films on Home Video |website=Silent Era |access-date=October 14, 2015 |url=http://www.silentera.com/video/silentCommandHV.html}}</ref> <ref name=Sewell>{{cite journal |last=Sewell |first=C. S. |title=The Silent Command |journal=Moving Picture World |volume=64 |issue=3 |date=September 15, 1923 |pages=264–265 |url=https://archive.org/details/movingpicturewor64sept/page/264/mode/1up}}</ref> <ref name=Star>{{cite journal |title=Charlotte Walker next at Suburban |journal=The St. Louis Star |volume=27 |issue=9447 |date=June 15, 1910 |page=9}}</ref> <ref name=Tebbe>{{cite web |last=Tebbe |first=Jen |title=Origin story: The Fabulous Fox |publisher=Missouri Historical Society |date=January 31, 2017 |access-date=January 23, 2019 |url=https://mohistory.org/blog/origin-story-the-fabulous-fox/}}</ref> <ref name=Variety>{{cite journal |author=Fred [pseud.] |title=The Silent Command |journal=Variety |date=September 6, 1923 |volume=72 |issue=3 |page=23 |url=https://archive.org/details/variety72-1923-09/page/n21/mode/1up}}</ref> <ref name=Variety-Mona>{{cite journal |title='Mona Vana' at Central |journal=Variety |date=September 20, 1923 |volume=72 |issue=5 |page=20 |url=https://archive.org/details/variety72-1923-09/page/n161/mode/1up}}</ref> <ref name=Weiss>{{cite journal |last=Weiss |first=Ron |title=Lugosi: the man and the vampire |journal=Quasimodo's Monster Magazine |issue=3 |year=1975| pages=34–45 |url=https://archive.org/details/Quasimodos_Monster_Magazine_v01n03_1975-07.Mayfair/page/n36/mode/1up}}</ref> }}
==Bibliography== * {{cite book |last=Bojarski |first=Richard |title=Films of Bela Lugosi |publisher=Citadel Press |year=1980 |isbn=978-0-8065-0716-3 }} * {{cite book |last=Bordman |first=Gerald |author-link=Gerald Bordman |title=American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama, 1914–1930 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-19-509078-9 }} * {{cite book |author-last=Brownlow |author-first=Kevin |author-link=Kevin Brownlow |title=The Parade's Gone By... |publisher=University of California Press |year=1976 |orig-year=1968 |isbn=978-0-520-03068-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/paradesgoneby0000brow }} * {{cite book |last=Kabatchnik |first=Amnon |title=Blood on the Stage 1925–1950: Milestone Plays of Crime, Mystery, and Detection |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-8108-6963-9 }} * {{cite book |last=Lennig |first=Arthur |title=The Immortal Count: The Life and Films of Bela Lugosi |publisher=The University Press of Kentucky |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-8131-2273-1 }} * {{cite book |last=Mank |first=Gregory William |title=Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff: The Expanded Story of a Haunting Collaboration |publisher=McFarland & Company |edition=Revised |year=2009 |orig-year=1990 |isbn=978-0-7864-3480-0 }} * {{cite book |last=Rhodes |first=Gary D. |author-link=Gary D. Rhodes |title=Lugosi: His Life in Films, on Stage, and in the Hearts of Horror Lovers |year=1997 |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=978-0-7864-2765-9 }} * {{cite book |last=Rhodes |first=Gary D. |title=White Zombie: Anatomy of a Horror Film |publisher=McFarland & Company |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-7864-2762-8 }} * {{cite book |author-last=Solomon |author-first=Aubrey |title=The Fox Film Corporation, 1915–1935: A History and Filmography |year=2011 |publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=978-0-7864-6286-5 }} * {{cite book |last1=Tillmany |first1=Jack |last2=Dowling |first2=Jennifer |title=Theatres of Oakland |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7385-4681-0 }}
==External links== {{commons category|The Silent Command}} * {{IMDb title|id=0014469|title=The Silent Command}} * {{Internet Archive film|id=TheSilentCommand1923|name=The Silent Command}} (79 min)
{{J. Gordon Edwards}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silent Command, The}} Category:1923 films Category:1923 drama films Category:1920s spy drama films Category:American spy drama films Category:American propaganda films Category:American silent feature films Category:American black-and-white films Category:Films directed by J. Gordon Edwards Category:Fox Film films Category:Surviving American silent films Category:1923 American films Category:American silent drama films Category:Articles containing video clips Category:Films about the United States Navy Category:1923 English-language films Category:English-language drama films