''High Treason'' is a 1929 film based on a play by

Noel Pemberton Billing Noel Pemberton Billing (31 January 1881 – 11 November 1948), sometimes known as Noel Pemberton-Billing, was a British aviator, inventor, publisher and Member of Parliament for Hertford. He founded the firm that became Supermarine and promoted ...

. It was directed by

Maurice Elvey Maurice Elvey (11 November 1887 – 28 August 1967) was one of the most prolific film directors in British history. He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year. He a ...

, and stars

James Carew James Usselman (February 5, 1876 – April 4, 1938), known professionally as James Carew, was an American actor who appeared in many films, mainly in Britain. He was born in Goshen, Indiana in 1876 and began working as a clerk in a publishing fi ...

, Humberstone Wright,

Benita Hume Benita Hume (14 October 1907 – 1 November 1967) was an English theatre and film actress. She appeared in more than 40 films from 1925 to 1955. Life and career She was married to film actor Ronald Colman from 1938 to his death in 1958; t ...

, Henry Vibart,

Hayford Hobbs Hayford Hobbs (25 August 1890 – 10 January 1957) was a leading British film actor of the silent era and later became a film director. He was born in London, England, in 1891. He made his first screen appearance in the 1915 film ''The Third Gene ...

, Irene Rooke, and

Jameson Thomas Jameson Thomas (born Thomas Roland Jameson; 24 March 1888 – 10 January 1939) was an English film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1923 and 1939. Biography He was born in St George Hanover Square, London. On the stage from ...

Raymond Massey Raymond Hart Massey (August 30, 1896 – July 29, 1983) was a Canadian actor known for his commanding stage-trained voice. For his lead role in '' Abe Lincoln in Illinois'' (1940), Massey was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He r ...

makes his first screen appearance in a small role. The film was initially produced as a silent but mid-way during production, Elvey was pushed by the studio to add sound to the film in order to cash in on the

talkies A sound film is a Film, motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, bu ...

. Although a third of the film was filmed in sound, Elvey maintained much of the silent footage and dubbed over the dialogue for shots that were originally silent, with Elvey himself voicing some of the minor characters, which he admitted when interviewed by the Manitoba Free Press shortly after the film was released in the US. Likewise, BIP's ''Blackmail'', directed by

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

, was also turned into a sound picture mid-way during production (concurrently when ''High Treason'' was also in production) and many of the silent scenes used dubbed dialogue and sound effects in a similar fashion to ''High Treason''. The sound version of the film was presented in a London

trade show A trade show, also known as trade fair, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and ...

on 9 August 1929, then went into UK general release in silent and sound versions on 9 September 1929. The sound version was released in the US by Tiffany Productions in a heavily cut version (running just over 60 minutes) on 13 March 1930. The silent version and a trailer for the sound version are preserved and held by the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

; the only known surviving original copy of the sound version is a lavender fine grain of the American release version held in the collection of Alaska Moving Image Preservation Association (AMIPA), which has been recently restored by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

. The film is a science fiction drama set in a futuristic 1940 (though this was originally set in 1950 for the silent version). The plot and aesthetics of the film are heavily influenced by

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), better known as Fritz Lang (), was an Austrian-born film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety Obituari ...

's ''

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...

''.

Plot

In 1940/50, world peace is threatened when the "United States of Europe" comes into conflict with the "Empire of the Atlantic States". The former comprises Europe, India, the Middle East, Canada, Africa, and Australasia. The latter is a combination of the United States and South America. In the film the

prohibition era Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacturing, manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption ...

in America extends to 1940 and the tension is initially caused by bootleggers crossing the borders between territories. One such incident leads to a shoot-out between border guards in which both sides suffer casualties. War looks likely, but the pacifist Peace League intervenes. Meanwhile, we learn that the tension is in fact carefully orchestrated by a sinister terrorist group financed by arms manufacturers. They blow up a rail tunnel under the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. The President of Europe orders a mass enlistment and mobilisation, fearing that the Atlantic States are preparing a sneak attack. Dr. Seymour, leader of the Peace League, desperately attempts to avert war. His daughter Evelyn seeks to convince her boyfriend Michael, commander of the European air force, not to fight, but he insists he must do his duty. Evelyn says she will leave him. The European council are divided, but the president decides on war, saying that he will announce the outbreak of hostilities on television. The terrorists try to kill Dr. Seymour by bombing the Peace League, but Seymour survives. He tells Evelyn to make another effort to stop Michael ordering the airforce to attack, while he appeals directly to the President. Pacifists led by Evelyn demonstrate ''en masse'' at the airfield. Michael is uncertain what to do, but Evelyn convinces him to delay the attack. Seymour confronts the President, but is forced, despite his pacifism, to shoot him to stop him making the broadcast. He's tried for murder but says he is content when a guilty verdict is reached.

Cast

as Michael Deane *

as Evelyn Seymour * Basil Gill as President Stephen Deane *

Humberston Wright Humberston Wright (27 September 1876 – 1953), sometimes credited as Humberstone Wright or Humberston H. Wright, was a British film actor. Filmography * '' Trapped by the London Sharks'' (1916) * '' Thelma'' (1918) * '' The Secret Woman'' ...

as Dr. Seymour * Henry Vibart as Lord Sycamore *

as Lord Rawleigh *

as Charles Falloway *

Milton Rosmer Milton Rosmer (4 November 1881 – 7 December 1971) was a British actor, film director and screenwriter. He made his screen debut in ''The Mystery of a Hansom Cab'' (1915) and continued to act in theatre, film and television until 1956. In ...

as Ernest Stratton * Judd Green as James Groves * Alf Goddard as Tele-radiographer * Irene Rooke as Senator *

Clifford Heatherley Clifford Heatherley Lamb (8 October 1888 in Preston, Lancashire – 15 September 1937 in London) was an English stage and film actor. Filmography * ''Henry VIII'' (1911) * ''Bleak House'' (1920) * '' The Tavern Knight'' (1920) * '' The Mys ...

as Delegate *

Wally Patch Walter Sydney Vinnicombe (26 September 1888 – 27 October 1970), known as Wally Patch, was an English actor and comedian. He worked in film, television and theatre. Biography Vinnicombe was born in Willesden, Middlesex and began working on th ...

as Commissionaire *

as cabinet-maker

Music

The sound version featured a theme song entitled "There's Nothing New In Love" which was composed by Louis Levy.

Critical reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote, "this story is really such a farrago of nonsense that one is sorry Maurice Elvey could not find better material to his expert hand"; and more recently, the ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

'' wrote, "there is a sticky-backed plastic feel to the world of 1940 created by director Maurice Elvey on Gaumont's

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a suburb of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, its ...

soundstage, while the plot demonstrates a singular ignorance of political reality"; whereas Horrornews.net wrote, "''High Treason'' is one of the best examples of early science fiction cinema."

Updated version

In 1998, a new sound version was produced by the combined efforts of the French drum & bass DJ duo ''Les Electrons Libres'' and local film archive ''La Cinémathèque de Toulouse''. That version was a live electronic music mix to a 71 minutes copy from the Cinémathèque vault. Les Electrons Libres version of ''High Treason'' was screened in various French cities from 1998 to 1999 (Paris, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Rennes) and in Barcelona, Spain for the 1999 Sonar Festival.

References

External links

''AMIPA''
AMIPA * * * ''La Cinémathèque de Toulouse'' French Wikipedia article ''La Cinémathèque de Toulouse'' French Wikipedia article
Movie projection in 2012
{{Herbert Wilcox 1929 films 1920s science fiction drama films British silent feature films British science fiction films 1920s English-language films British films based on plays Films directed by Maurice Elvey Films set in London Films set in 1940 Films set in the future British black-and-white films 1920s British films Silent science fiction films English-language science fiction films