World War I Films of the Silen

This is a very good DVD produced by David Shepard - who has given us many other excellent silent films of all sorts - and it contains four different films: a documentary, a feature film ("The Secret Game") from 1917 and two films of authentic footage from World War I. Although I usually prefer a good silent drama, I still found the first two films of actual war footage quite interesting, and no doubt they would also appeal to the general history buff. The first film, "Fighting the War" gives an overview and insight into the battles, equipment and conditions facing WWI soldiers, and I preferred this one to the second, which focuses more on the exploits of a German U-Boat in the Mediterranean. After a while it became just a little tedious seeing one cruiser, steamer or other vessel being sunk after another, but it still has its appeal and some fascination due to the authentic footage, and the film quality of both these films is very good. They also have an excellent musical score by Eric Beheim which I enjoyed, and there are some good notes on both these films as well.

The highlight of the DVD for me is the feature film, "The Secret Game", directed by William C. de Mille, Cecil's brother. It stars Japanese-American actor, Sessue Hayakawa who was popular at the time and had made a big impression in Cecil B. DeMille's "The Cheat" two years earlier. His role in "The Secret Game" is similar to that in "The Cheat" in that his motives are questionable and he attempts to take a woman by force - but only after an interesting story about espionage involving German Secret Service agents, one of them being a young woman by the name of Kitty Little. The plot revolves around Kitty and whether she will fulfil her mission to spy on her new boss for the Germans, or will she change her mind and be loyal to her new boss and America?

Finally, there is a good and interesting documentary, "The Moving Picture Boys in the Great War" made in 1975, featuring short footage from some well-known films of the time such as Thomas Ince's "Civilization" and D W Griffith's "Intolerance" and "Hearts of the World", along with various other interesting bits. The documentary gives a good overview of America's neutrality in the first half of the war, and how this was represented in moving pictures at that time; then the decision to fight after all, and the dramatic change in motion pictures which were, of course, a good means of propaganda. Altogether, this DVD is historically very interesting and surely a treat for WWI and history buffs, but also of value to the silent film fan.

Having recently watched and reviewed MISS LULU BETT and being impressed with the job done by William C. de Mille (1878-1955), I went back and revisited THE SECRET GAME from this 2001 collection as it is the only other readily available film from Cecil B's older brother (Cecil was born in 1881 and died in 1959).

Although clearly made as propaganda after America's entry into World War I, THE SECRET GAME is a well made little espionage feature with solid performances from the principals in the cast. Top acting honors go to Sessue Hayakawa which is not surprising as this film was made as a star vehicle for him. He was at the height of his U.S. stardom at this time having created a sensation in brother Cecil's THE CHEAT two years earlier. Veteran silent performer Charles Ogle (he was the monster in Edison's 1910 version of FRANKENSTEIN) is fun to watch as the German agent Dr "Smith". He chews the scenery but does it in a restrained and dignified manner. The direction of William C. de Mille can be described exactly the same way, restrained and dignifed especially when compared to his more famous sibling. This is probably due to the fact that William was an established playwright before becoming a film director and was more aware of the subtle nuances of performance and of letting the story tell itself. It's a real shame that more of his films aren't available as it's fun and instructive to compare them with Cecil's whose frequently over the top style would become forever associated with Old Hollywood.

Some interesting biographical trivia on the two romantic leads: Jack Holt had a long and successful career in silents and early talkies. His profile was the inspiration for DICK TRACY and he was the father of Tim Holt who played key roles in THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE and THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS. Florence Vidor, who didn't make it out of the silent era, was once married to directing legend King Vidor. It should also be noted that William was the father of noted choreographer Agnes de Mille. In addition to THE SECRET GAME, actual footage from the WWI era (FIGHTING THE WAR and THE LOG OF THE U-35) and a 1975 documentary THE MOVING PICTURE PICTURE BOYS IN THE GREAT WAR are also included on this DVD making it an ideal choice for silent film fans and/or social historians.

Sessue Hayakawa was nominated for an Academy Award for Colonel Saito in 1957's The Bridge on the River Kwai. 40 years earlier he was one of the great Hollywood stars, often playing dashing romantic forbidden love, including the 1917 spy drama here, "The Secret Game". This DVD is one of the handful of ways to see an English-language Hayakawa movie. In 1918 he started his own very successful production company in Hollywood. Haworth Pictures released 23 movies, Asian themed for Western audiences, that weren't so deeply stereotypical. The finest might be The Dragon Painter, available on its own DVD.

The other reviewers here accurately reflect on the other three films on this one disc. I can only add that Donald C. Thompson's filming Verdun and, in the air, the slow death of a German plane is beautiful, awful and hypnotic. (22 minutes).

The U-Boat film is actually part of a "jaw dropping" 1917 German film (25 minutes). The award-winning 1975 documentary (50 minutes) on Movies and WWI includes real news and faked news.

This is really a very special DVD.

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