In the Hands of the Enemy

1915 WarDrama 27 minutes (surviving print)

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About In the Hands of the Enemy

In a war between unnamed countries, the countess Constance (Inda Palmer) and her son Albert (Morris Foster), a young officer, disguise themselves and carry a secret message through enemy lines. The errand grows into cavalry and artillery fighting. A firing squad figures in the finish.

Cast & crew

More about In the Hands of the Enemy

Edwin Thanhouser presented the two-reeler, about 2,000 feet, released by Mutual on 16 November 1915. The story avoids naming the armies. A Library of Congress print runs 27 minutes 19 seconds. Thanhouser Film Company Preservation issued a DVD with a score by Ben Model.

Themes

  • a mother and son as couriers
  • disguise behind the lines
  • a firing squad
  • Constance
  • Albert
  • secret message
  • cavalry
  • Thanhouser
  • 1915

Background

Mutual put the film out on 16 November 1915, early for an American fiction film about the European war. The armies are not identified as French, German, or British.

Making

The picture starts as two people with a message and opens out into mounted troops and guns, staged for a Mutual program rather than as a newsreel.

Music

Silent on release. Ben Model later composed and played a score for the Thanhouser preservation DVD.

Preservation

The Library of Congress holds a print running 27 minutes 19 seconds. Thanhouser Film Company Preservation has issued it on DVD.

Notes

  • Silent Era credits Foster as Albert and Palmer as Constance, and places a print in the Library of Congress.
  • The original length was two reels, about 2,000 feet. The surviving copy is just over 27 minutes.
  • It was released fifteen months after the European war began, while the United States was still neutral.
  • Thanhouser had been in Europe when the war started. The company set the story in fictional countries and did not take a side.
  • The Internet Archive identifier is silent-in-the-hands-of-the-enemy.

Scenes

  • Constance and Albert put on disguises and start through enemy country with the message.
  • The personal errand opens into a cavalry and artillery fight.
  • A firing squad is drawn up at the end of the mission.

Also available

  • Internet Archive (silent-in-the-hands-of-the-enemy)
  • Thanhouser Film Company Preservation DVD