The House of Hate

1918 ActionMystery 20 episodes Directed by Arthur C. Miller

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About The House of Hate

Winthrop Waldon, head of a munitions works, is murdered by a cowled figure just after he betroths his adopted daughter Pearl to a cousin so the factory will stay in the family. Pearl inherits the Waldon War Works. With engineer Harry Gresham she survives repeated attacks by the Hooded Terror while cousins Haynes, Naomi, and Ezra each scheme for the fortune. Pearl and Harry follow messages from someone who claims to know the killer, take false names, and unmask him in the last chapter.

Cast & crew

More about The House of Hate

George B. Seitz directed the 20-chapter serial for Astra Film. Pathé Exchange released it, beginning March 10, 1918. Pearl White and Antonio Moreno star. A condensed print from Sergei Eisenstein's collection is at Gosfilmofond in Moscow. The Serial Squadron issued a restored version on DVD on May 25, 2015.

Themes

  • A munitions heiress under attack
  • Cousins competing for a factory
  • A hooded killer unmasked
  • Pearl White
  • serial
  • Hooded Terror
  • munitions
  • cliffhanger
  • Pathé

Background

Released in March 1918, the serial sets a masked killer against an American munitions plant while the United States was at war with Germany.

Making

Seitz staged the cliff sequences on the Hudson Palisades above Fort Lee, the same ridge Pathé used for other Pearl White serials.

Preservation

A condensed print from Sergei Eisenstein's collection is at Gosfilmofond. The Serial Squadron DVD of May 25, 2015 restores chapter titles and divisions. A copy is also on the Internet Archive.

Notes

  • Pearl White plays Pearl Grant, also called Jenny Acton. Antonio Moreno plays Harvey Gresham.
  • John Webb Dillion plays Haynes Waldon. Paul Clerget plays Ezra. Peggy Shanor plays Naomi. J. H. Gilmour plays Winthrop Waldon.
  • Louis Wolheim plays Patch-eye Pete.
  • The Fort Lee Film Commission screened about three hours of surviving footage on April 12, 2015, including Pearl White at Cliffhanger Point on the Palisades.
  • The Gosfilmofond condensation drops most of the spy material, keeps much of chapters 1 to 4, highlights from the middle, and the finale in which the masked man is named.

Scenes

  • The cowled killer strikes Winthrop Waldon just after the betrothal.
  • Pearl White is filmed on the edge at Cliffhanger Point.
  • The last chapter names the Hooded Terror in a flashback.

Also available

  • Internet Archive (silent-the-house-of-hate)
  • The Serial Squadron DVD (May 25, 2015)