Naval Warfare Movies

False Faces

Director: Irvin V. Willat
Starring: H.B. Walthall, Mary Anderson, Lon Chaney

Language:
Published: 1919
Country: USA
Keywords: WWI, Feature

This is the VHS release (see more).

Summary

A reformed criminal returns to the US with secret German intelligence. He is rescued by a U-boat after being pushed overboard by an enemy spy who is on his way to a rendez-vous in America with the rest of the ring. He convinces the U-boat crew that he is a German, and persuades them to take him to the US shore, where he breaks up the spy ring.


Notes

Subtlety was not a characteristic of World War I-era cinematic efforts. Even after the end of the war, right and wrong were sharply delineated, and there was to be no doubt in the minds of the audience as to who in the movie deserved what fate. In general, patriots always prevailed, or died making a grand gesture; the enemy always behaved reprehensibly and received his just deserts. Based on a novel by Louis Joseph Vance.

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