''Bride 13'' is a 1920 American thriller

film serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

directed by

Richard Stanton Richard Stanton (October 8, 1876 – May 22, 1956) was an American actor and director of the silent era. He appeared in 68 films between 1911 and 1916. He also directed 57 films between 1914 and 1925. He was born in Iowa and died in Los An ...

, and the first film serial made by

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

. It is considered to be a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...

. ''Bride 13'' was promoted as romantic film.

Plot

A band of pirates operating from a submarine off the U.S. coast cause depredations, and thirteen young and beautiful brides from wealthy families disappear and are held for ransom for millions of dollars, requiring the assistance of the Department of Justice and the U.S. Navy.

Cast

Marguerite Clayton Marguerite Clayton (born Margaret Fitzgerald; April 12, 1891 – December 20, 1968) was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 170 films between 1909 and 1928, many of which were westerns with Broncho Billy Anderson ...

as Bride 13 *

John B. O'Brien John B. "Jack" O'Brien (December 13, 1884 – August 15, 1936) was an American actor and film director of the silent era. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1909 and 1936. He also directed 53 films between 1914 and 1926. Biography O' ...

as Lt. Bob Norton *

Gretchen Hartman Gretchen Hartman (born Grace Barrett; August 28, 1897 – January 27, 1979) was an American stage and film actress. She is credited on 67 movies, nearly all silent. Early life Hartman was born Grace Barrett in Chicago, the daughter of actress ...

as Zara * Arthur Earle * Lyster Chambers as Stephen Winthrop * Mary Christensen * Justine Holland as Bride 2 * Dorothy Langley as Bride 1 * Mary Ellen Capers as Bride 8 * Martha McKay as Bride 5 * Helen Johnson as Bride 6 * Leona Clayton as Bride 4 * Florence Mills as Bride 9 * W. E. Lawrence (as William Lawrence)

Production

Aiming to give the American public a sense of the importance of its warships and their operations, the U.S. Navy assisted in the production of the film by making its ships available. In addition to film of warships underway, scenes were filmed on board the destroyer USS ''Breckinridge'' (DD-148) and submarine USS ''R-1'', and on seaplanes from the squadron assigned to the USS ''Shawmut'' (CM-4).

Promotion

From an ad for the film: :Do you want to be thrilled as you never have been thrilled since as a boy or girl you first read

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

, Dumas,

Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widel ...

Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

? :If you do, don't miss the first or any succeeding episodes of ''BRIDE 13''. Beginning with the abduction for ransom of wealthy brides by a cutthroat band of submarine pirates from

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

, carrying you from palatial homes to the sun-scorched sands of Northern Africa. Bride 13 piles crisis upon crisis, climax upon climax, thrill upon thrill. :Each episode leaves you feeling that you could not endure the excitement of another reel, yet in tremendous suspense to know what happens next. :So stupendous is the situation created by the plot of Bride 13 that it could only be solved by the most powerful actor in the world! :OUR NAVY, with its

dreadnought The dreadnought (alternatively spelled dreadnaught) was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her ...

s, destroyers, submarines, seaplanes, blimps, officers and men, is one of the most important actors in ''Bride 13'', through the special courtesy of the Government. :The fierce combats on sea and land, the pursuits by sea, air and land, and hundreds of other incidents are made absolutely realistic because enacted by genuine naval officers, sailors and marines."

Chapter titles

#Snatched from the Altar #The Pirate's Fangs #The Craft of Despair#The Vulture's Prey #The Torture Chamber #The Tarantula's Trail #Tongues of Flame #Entombed #Hurled from the Clouds #The Cavern of Terror #Greyhounds of the Sea #The Creeping Peril #Reefs of Treachery #The Fiendish Tribesmen #Thundering Vengeance

References

''This article cites public domain text published in 1920, as referenced below.''

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0011026, title=Bride 13 1920 films 1920 thriller films American black-and-white films American silent serial films American thriller films Lost American films American romantic thriller films 1920 lost films Films directed by Richard Stanton 1920s English-language films 1920s American films Silent thriller films