''K – The Unknown'' is a 1924 American silent

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means ...

directed by

Harry A. Pollard Harry A. Pollard (23 January 1879 – 6 July 1934) was an American silent film actor and Film director, director. His wife was silent screen star Margarita Fischer. Biography Harry A. Pollard was born in Republic, Kansas, and began his career on ...

and starring

Virginia Valli Virginia Valli (died September 24, 1968) was an American stage and film actress whose motion picture career started in the silent film era and lasted until the beginning of the sound film era of the 1930s. Early life Born Virginia McSweeney in ...

Percy Marmont Percy Marmont (25 November 1883 – 3 March 1977) was an English film actor. Biography Marmont appeared in more than 80 films between 1916 and 1968. A veteran film actor by 1923, he scored a big hit that year in ''If Winter Comes'', later rem ...

, and

Margarita Fischer Margarita Fisher (née Fischer, February 12, 1886 – March 11, 1975) was an American actress in silent motion pictures and stage productions. Newspapers sometimes referred to her as "Babe" Fischer. Early life Margarita Fischer was born on Fe ...

. It is based on the 1915 novel '' K.'' by

Mary Roberts Rinehart Mary Roberts Rinehart (August 12, 1876September 22, 1958) was an American writer, often called the American Agatha Christie.Keating, H.R.F., ''The Bedside Companion to Crime''. New York: Mysterious Press, 1989, p. 170. Rinehart published her fir ...

Plot

As described in a

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

, Sidney Page (Valli), glorious in the beauty and charm of young womanhood, awoke one day to the dazzling realization that she was the object of the affection of two mature men. Masculine affection was nothing new to her: from her schooldays she had been courted by two youths of her own age, and she had been considered the belle of the small city where she lived. “K” Le Moyne (Marmont), quiet, distinguished, mysterious, his presence in the city a mystery, intrigued her. Dr. Max Wilson (Roche), recently come to assume direction of the new hospital, swept her off her balance by the swiftness of his wooing. Herself studying to be a nurse, she came in close contact with him, even as she had with Le Moyne, who was a boarder in the home of the aunt with whom she lived. It was her interest in Le Moyne that was responsible for her breaking off sentimental association with two youths of her school days, George “Slim” Benson (Keith) and Joe Drummond (Ryan). Slim did not take his conge much to heart, although he and Joe had engaged in fierce quarrels concerning their position in the regards of Sidney. However, Joe was deeply affected; in time he was to do an act of desperation that had vital consequence in the lives of Sidney, Le Moyne, Dr. Wilson, and Carlotta Harrison (Fischer), who had come with Dr. Wilson to the hospital as his special nurse. The complications that came into the lives of these men and women brought tragedy in their wake, but they also brought happiness to two and the sad penalty of mourning over cold ashes of vengeance for another.

Cast

Preservation

A complete print of ''K – The Unknown'' is held in the collection of the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the archiv ...

that originally was at

EYE Film Institute Netherlands Eye Filmmuseum is a film archive, museum, and cinema in Amsterdam that preserves and presents both Dutch and foreign films screened in the Netherlands. Location and history Eye Filmmuseum is located in the Overhoeks neighborhood of Amsterdam in t ...

.''The Fast Worker'' (1924); ''K – The Unknown'' (1924)
at UCLA Film and Television Archive, 2006 UCLA Festival of Preservation

References

Bibliography

* Theresa St. Romain. ''Margarita Fischer: A Biography of the Silent Film Star''. McFarland, 2008.

External links

* *

at silentfilmstillarchive.com 1924 films 1924 mystery films American silent feature films English-language mystery films American black-and-white films Films directed by Harry A. Pollard Universal Pictures films Films based on American novels 1920s English-language films 1920s American films Silent American mystery films {{1920s-US-film-stub