''The Enemy'' is a 1927 American silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Fred Niblo Fred Niblo (born Frederick Liedtke; January 6, 1874 – November 11, 1948) was an American pioneer film actor, director and producer. Biography He was born Frederick Liedtke (several sources give "Frederico Nobile", apparently erroneously) in Yo ...

and starring Lillian Gish,

Ralph Forbes Ralph Forbes (born Ralph Forbes Taylor; 30 September 1904 – 31 March 1951) was an English film and stage actor active in Britain and the United States. Early life Forbes was born in Wandsworth, London, the son of Ernest John "E.J." and Eth ...

and Ralph Emerson. The film was thought to have been lost for years until a copy was discovered at the MGM library, now owned by

Turner Entertainment Turner Entertainment Company is an American multimedia company founded by Ted Turner in 1986. Purchased by Time Warner in 1996 as part of its acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), the company was largely responsible for overseeing th ...

. However, the film is still missing its final

reel A reel is an object around which a length of another material (usually long and flexible) is wound for storage (usually hose are wound around a reel). Generally a reel has a cylindrical core (known as a '' spool'') with flanges around the ends ...

. Actor

Joel McCrea Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he bec ...

made an early appearance as an extra.

Plot

Newlywed Carl (Ralph Forbes) goes to war where he endures major suffering. Back home, wife Pauli (Lillian Gish) starves, becomes a prostitute to survive, and their baby dies.

Cast

* Lillian Gish as Pauli Arndt *

as Carl Behrend * Ralph Emerson as Bruce Gordon *

Frank Currier Frank Currier (September 4, 1857 – April 22, 1928) was an American film and stage actor and director of the silent era. Career Similar to Theodore Roberts, Kate Lester, Ida Waterman, and William H. Crane, Currier had a long and succe ...

as Professor Arndt *

George Fawcett George Fawcett (August 25, 1860 – June 6, 1939) was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. Biography Born in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1860, Fawcett graduated from the University of Virginia. His initial inclination was to ...

as August Bejremd *

Fritzi Ridgeway Fredericka Berneice "Fritzi" Ridgeway (April 8, 1898 – March 29, 1961) was an American silent film actress, vaudeville performer, and hotelier. Though she starred in numerous films, she is perhaps best known for her work in silent Western films ...

as Mitzi Winkelmann *

Hans Joby Hans Joby (3 August 1884 – 30 April 1943) was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in 63 films between 1920 and 1944. He was also billed as "Captain John Peters", and often played aristocratic Prussian-types, memorably in Laurel and Hardy ...

as Fritz Winkelmann (credited as John S. Peters) * Karl Dane as Jan *

Polly Moran Pauline Theresa Moran (June 28, 1883 – January 25, 1952) billed as Polly Moran, was an American actress of vaudeville, stage and screen and comedian. Career Born in Chicago, Illinois, Moran started in vaudeville, and widely toured North A ...

as Baruska * Billy Kent Schaefer as Kurt * Louise Emmons (uncredited) * Betty Jane Graham as Little girl (uncredited) *

as Extra (uncredited)

Censorship concern

The

Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distribu ...

, formed by the film industry in 1922, regulated the content of films through a list of subjects that were to be avoided. While Lillian Gish portrayed a prostitute in ''The Enemy'', this was acceptable as prostitution was not explicitly barred so long as it was not forced (i.e.,

white slavery White slavery (also white slave trade or white slave trafficking) refers to the slavery of Europeans, whether by non-Europeans (such as West Asians and North Africans), or by other Europeans (for example naval galley slaves or the Vikings' t ...

) and aspects of her work were not shown in the film.

References

External links

* *
Stills
as silentfilmstillarchive.com 1927 films 1927 drama films 1920s rediscovered films Silent American drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films directed by Fred Niblo Films set on the Austro-Hungarian home front during World War I Films set in Austria Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Rediscovered American films 1920s American films Silent war films {{1920s-silent-drama-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Censorship concern

See also

References

External links