Highly Overrated But Still Good

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Munitions magnate Winthrop Waldon names his daughter Pearl as heir to his empire disappointing his brother Ezra, nephew Haynes and niece Naomi. Soon after, Waldon is murdered by the Hooded Terror who the police confirm must be a member of the household, also including Pearl's sweetheart and Waldon chemist Harry Gresham. With her standing as head of her father's company (remember this is still WWI), Pearl stands to be next in line for murder and spends the remainder of the serial dodging accidents and a near prison execution. The version I saw was a condensation shown to USSR audiences in 1925, so a lot of the plot was removed but very little of the action which this serial had aplenty. The Hooded Terror now ranks as my all time serial villain due to his persistence and strength. It is also nice to see a lot of Fort Lee location shooting here. I really hope this becomes available to a larger audience in the near future.

I've just seen (October, 2005) a tape of the Moscow Film Archive's copy of this film. Despite a previous report, their print is not complete. It runs about two hours and forty-five minutes. Since the serial was comprised of twenty episodes, it undoubtedly had a running time of over seven hours. However, Moscow's version has the beginning, the ending, and the rest is generally cohesive, plus lots of fun. A hooded killer, an avaricious family with a curse on it, almost non-stop gun-play, fights and chases, etc. Pearl and costar Antonio Moreno work well together, with very little of the exaggerated acting we used to associate with silents. Elaborate sets, lots of location work (Fort Lee, NJ), and appearances by Louis Wolheim (a small, but recognizable role) and Paul Panzer, the villain of "Perils of Pauline", though here he seems first to be a gangster, then on the side of the law (but perhaps something was cut). A newspaper's account of an excellent print is exaggerated. It varies from just okay to somewhat better than that, but always acceptable. A nice rescue job, though whether or not it will reach the public, I don't know. I also wonder if Sergei Eisenstein cut the film to be a feature. All titles are in Russian and Ukrainian, though separate sheets of paper with the translations accompanied the tape. All credits are gone; no title, no cast credits, no chapter headings, etc.