{{short description|1923 film by Roland West}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}} {{Infobox film | name = The Unknown Purple | image = The Unknown Purple (1923) - 1.jpg | alt = | caption = Advertisement from ''The Film Daily''<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/filmdaily2728newy/page/189/mode/1up|via=Archive.org|work=The Film Daily|date=January 27, 1924|volume=27|issue=22|title=The Unknown Purple|accessdate=May 29, 2025}}</ref> | director = Roland West{{sfn|Willis|1985|p=17}} | producer = <!-- or: |producers = --> | writer = Roland West<br>Paul Schofield<br>Alfred A. Cohn (titles) | screenplay = | story = | based_on = <!-- {{based on|title of the original work|writer of the original work}} --> | starring = {{plainlist| *Henry B. Walthall *Alice Lake *Stuart Holmes *Helen Ferguson}} | music = | cinematography = Oliver T. Marsh{{sfn|Willis|1985|p=17}} | editing = Alfred A. Cohn{{sfn|Soister|2004|p=30}} |production_companies = Carlos Productions{{sfn|Willis|1985|p=17}} | distributor = Truart Film Corporation{{sfn|Soister|2004|p=30}} | released = {{film date|1923|10|29|}} | runtime = 92 minutes{{sfn|Soister|2004|p=30}} | country = United States | language = Silent (English intertitles) | budget = | gross = <!--(please use condensed and rounded values, e.g. "£11.6 million" not "£11,586,221")--> }} '''''The Unknown Purple''''' is a lost<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20230321012413/https://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.mbrs.sfdb.10164/default.html The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: ''The Unknown Purple''](Wayback Machine)</ref> 1923 American silent mystery film that was written and directed by Roland West.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: The Unknown Purple|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/12959-THE-UNKNOWNPURPLE|website=catalog.afi.com|access-date=2025-12-01}}</ref><ref>[http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/U/UnknownPurple1923.html Progressive Silent Film List: ''The Unknown Purple''] at silentera.com</ref>

==Plot== After his release from prison, an inventor develops an eerie purple light that renders him invisible, enabling him to seek revenge on his unfaithful wife and his crooked business partner.

==Cast== {{Cast listing| *Henry B. Walthall as Peter Marchmont {{sfn|Willis|1985|p=17}} *Alice Lake as Jewel Marchmont *Stuart Holmes as James Dawson *Helen Ferguson as Ruth Marsh *Frankie Lee as Bobbie *Dorothy Phillips as Mrs. Freddie Goodlittle *Ethel Grey Terry as Leslie Bradbury *James Morrison as Leslie Bradbury *Johnny Arthur as Freddie Goodlittle *Richard Wayne as George Allison *Brinsley Shaw as Hawkins *Mike Donlin as Burton }}

==Production== Film historian Scott MacQueen cited "The Vanishing Men", a treatment West had targeted for film in 1921, as the inspiration for the film.{{sfn|Soister|2004|p=31}} In that way, it’s also inspired by H.G. Wells’ novel The Invisible Man, which wouldn’t get a proper adaptation until a decade later in 1933. The film was adapted from a stage play which was written by Roland West and Carlyle Moore.{{sfn|Willis|1985|p=17}} Comedian Johnny Arthur made his feature-length debut in ''The Unknown Purple''.{{sfn|Soister|2004|p=35}}

==Release== The premiere of ''The Unknown Purple'' was on October 29, 1923 at Strand Theatre in Providence, Rhode Island.{{sfn|Moving Picture World|1923|p=248|ref=MPW}} The manager of the repeater said in ''Moving Picture World'' that the film "opened with capacity business."{{sfn|Moving Picture World|1923a|p=319}}

==Reception== In contemporary reviews, ''Variety'' described the film as an "exceptionally well-made picture - among the best of its type - a mystery."{{sfn|Willis|1985|p=17}} The review praised the photography of Oliver Marsh and the acting by Henry Walthall and Alice Lake.{{sfn|Willis|1985|p=17}} Mary Kelly of ''Moving Picture World'' described the film making good use of actor Henry Walthall and that the production was "elaborate and impressive" while finding the only lacking element in the film was comedy.{{sfn|Kelly|1923}}

==See also== *Invisibility in fiction

==References== {{reflist}}

===Bibliography=== * {{cite magazine|magazine=Moving Picture World|volume=65|issue=2|date=November 10, 1923|title=Providence Premiere of "The Unknown Purple"|ref=MPW}} * {{cite magazine|magazine=Moving Picture World|volume=65|issue=3|date=November 17, 1923|title=Providence Likes "Unknown Purple"|ref={{sfnref|Moving Picture World|1923a}}}} * {{cite magazine|magazine=Moving Picture World|volume=65|issue=6|date=December 8, 1923|title=Newest Reviews and Comments|editor-first=Charles S.|editor-last=Sewell|last=Kelly|first=Mary|p=565}} * {{cite book |last=Soister |first=John T. |title=Up from the Vault: Rare Thrillers of the 1920s and 1930s |publisher=McFarland |isbn=0786417455 |year=2004 }} * {{cite book |editor-last=Willis |editor-first=Donald |title=Variety's Complete Science Fiction Reviews |publisher=Garland Publishing Inc. |isbn=0-8240-6263-9 |year=1985 }}

==External links== {{commons category|The Unknown Purple}} *{{IMDb title|id=0014569|title=The Unknown Purple}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Unknown Purple, The}} Category:1923 films Category:1923 lost films Category:1923 science fiction films Category:1923 American films Category:1923 English-language films Category:American black-and-white films Category:American films based on plays Category:American silent feature films Category:English-language mystery films Category:English-language science fiction films Category:Films directed by Roland West Category:Lost American silent mystery films Category:Lost science fiction films Category:Silent science fiction films