The Eagle's Eye
The Eagle's Eye | |
---|---|
Directed by | George Lessey Wellington A. Playter Leopold Wharton Theodore Wharton |
Written by | Courtney Ryley Cooper (scenario) |
Based on | William J. Flynn[1] |
Starring | King Baggot Marguerite Snow William Bailey |
Cinematography | Levi Bacon John K. Holbrook Ray June |
Production company | The Whartons Studio |
Distributed by | Foursquare Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 20 2 reel episodes |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
The Eagle's Eye is a 1918 American serial film consisting of 20 episodes that dramatizes German espionage in the United States during World War I.[2] The stories are based on the experiences of William J. Flynn during his career as chief of the United States Secret Service from 1912–1917.[1]
It features King Baggot as the president of the Criminology Club and Marguerite Snow as a Secret Service agent who investigate spies.[3] Among the events depicted are the sending of the Zimmermann Telegram, Franz von Rintelen's attempts to sabotage cargo loading in San Francisco Harbor, and the capture of the German espionage plans. It was directed by George Lessey, Wellington A. Playter, Leopold Wharton, and Theodore Wharton, and produced by the Whartons Studio. The serial is now considered lost.[4] Because this serial was a commercial failure, it was the last one made by Whartons due to the studio being forced to declare bankruptcy.
Background
[edit]After Flynn's retirement from the Secret Service his work investigating sabotage during the war were interwoven with fictitious characters and events by Courtney Ryley Cooper into a 20-part spy thriller.[3] These were also published as weekly installments in The Atlanta Constitution's magazine section during 1918 under the title The Eagle's Eye: A True Story of the Imperial German Government's Spies and Intrigues in America.[5] Fifteen of the episodes were republished as chapters in a book the following year.[6]
Cast
[edit]- King Baggot as Harrison Grant
- Marguerite Snow as Dixie Mason
- William Bailey as Heinrich von Lertz
- Florence Short as Madame Augusta Stephan
- Bertram Marburgh as Count Johann von Bernstorff
- Paul Everton as Captain Franz von Papen
- John P. Wade as Captain Karl Boy-Ed
- Fred C. Jones as Dr. Heinrich Albert
- Wellington A. Playter as Franz von Rintelen
- Louise Hotaling
- Louis C. Bement as Uncle Sam
- Allan Murnane
- F.W. Stewart
- Robin H. Townley
- Bessie Wharton as Mrs. Blank
Chapter titles
[edit]- Hidden Death
- The Naval Ball Conspiracy
- The Plot Against the Fleet
- Von Rintelen, the Destroyer
- The Strike Breeders
- The Plot Against Organized Labor
- Brown Port Folio
- The Kaiser's Death Messenger
- The Munitions Campaign
- The Invasion of Canada
- The Burning of Hopewell
- The Canal Conspirators
- The Reign of Terror
- The Infantile Paralysis Epidemic
- The Campaign Against Cotton
- The Raid of the U-53
- Germany's U-Base in America
- The Great Hindu Conspiracy
- The Menace of the I.W.W.
- The Great Decision
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "Serials and Series". Exhibitors Herald and Motography. Vol. VII, no. 5. Chicago. July 27, 1918. p. 41. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
- ^ Tucker, Spencer C., ed. (2014). "F". World War I: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection. Vol. 2. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 562. ISBN 9781851099658. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
- ^ a b Rainey, Buck (1999). Serials and Series: A World Filmography, 1912 1956. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. p. 67. ISBN 9781476604480. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
- ^ "The Eagle's Eye". Silent Era. 17 November 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
- ^ Flynn, William J. (April 21, 1918). "The Eagle's Eye: True Story of the Imperial German Government's Spies and Intrigues in America". The Atlanta Constitution. No. 1. p. 18.
- ^ Cooper, Courtney Ryley & Flynn, William James (1919). The Eagle's Eye: A True Story of the Imperial German Government's Spies and Intrigues in America from Facts Furnished by William J. Flynn, Recently Retired Chief of the U.S. Secret Service. New York: McCann. ASIN B009QJTQCO.
External links
[edit]- The Eagle's Eye at IMDb
- Synopsis at AllMovie
- 1918 films
- 1918 lost films
- 1910s American films
- 1910s English-language films
- 1910s spy films
- American black-and-white films
- American silent serial films
- American spy films
- American war films
- Cultural depictions of Franz von Papen
- English-language spy films
- Film serials
- Films directed by George Lessey
- Films set in San Francisco
- Lost American films
- Lost war films
- Silent war films
- World War I spy films
- World War I film stubs