The Silent Command is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by J. Gordon Edwards featuring Bela Lugosi as a foreign saboteur in his American film debut. The film, written by Anthony Paul Kelly and Rufus King, also stars Edmund Lowe, Alma Tell, and Martha Mansfield. The film depicts the story of Benedict Hisston (Lugosi), who is part of a plot to destroy the Panama Canal. Initially unable to obtain necessarily intelligence from Richard Decatur (Lowe), a captain in the United States Navy, he enlists the aid of femme fatale Peg Williams (Mansfield). Decatur pretends to be seduced into the conspiracy, costing him his career and estranging him from his wife (Tell), but he ultimately betrays the saboteurs in Panama and stops their plan. He returns home to the Navy and his wife, and to popular acclaim for his heroics. Cast Edmund Lowe as Captain Richard Decatur Alma Tell as Mrs. Richard Decatur Martha Mansfield as Peg Williams Betty Jewel as Dolores Florence Martin as Williams's maid Bela Lugosi as Benedict Hisston (miscredited as Belo Lugosi)[3] Carl Harbaugh as Menchen Martin Faust as Cordoba Gordon McEdward as Gridley Byron Douglas as Admiral Nevins Theodore Babcock as Admiral Meade George Lessey as Mr. Collins Warren Cook as Ambassador Mendizabal Henry Armetta as Pedro Rogers Keene as Jack Decatur J.W. Jenkins as the Decatur's butler Kate Blancke as Mrs. Nevins Elizabeth Mary Foley as Jill Decatur
The Silent Command is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by J. Gordon Edwards featuring Bela Lugosi as a foreign saboteur in his American film debut. The film, written by Anthony Paul Kelly and Rufus King, also stars Edmund Lowe, Alma Tell, and Martha Mansfield. The film depicts the story of Benedict Hisston (Lugosi), who is part of a plot to destroy the Panama Canal. Initially unable to obtain necessarily intelligence from Richard Decatur (Lowe), a captain in the United States Navy, he enlists the aid of femme fatale Peg Williams (Mansfield). Decatur pretends to be seduced into the conspiracy, costing him his career and estranging him from his wife (Tell), but he ultimately betrays the saboteurs in Panama and stops their plan. He returns home to the Navy and his wife, and to popular acclaim for his heroics. Cast Edmund Lowe as Captain Richard Decatur Alma Tell as Mrs. Richard Decatur Martha Mansfield as Peg Williams Betty Jewel as Dolores Florence Martin as Williams's maid Bela Lugosi as Benedict Hisston (miscredited as Belo Lugosi)[3] Carl Harbaugh as Menchen Martin Faust as Cordoba Gordon McEdward as Gridley Byron Douglas as Admiral Nevins Theodore Babcock as Admiral Meade George Lessey as Mr. Collins Warren Cook as Ambassador Mendizabal Henry Armetta as Pedro Rogers Keene as Jack Decatur J.W. Jenkins as the Decatur's butler Kate Blancke as Mrs. Nevins Elizabeth Mary Foley as Jill Decatur