''One Clear Call'' is a surviving 1922 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-g ...

directed by

John M. Stahl John Malcolm Stahl (January 21, 1886 – January 12, 1950) was an American film director and producer. Life and work He was born Jacob Morris Strelitsky in Baku (Azerbaijan) to a Russian Jewish family. When he was a child, his family le ...

and starring

Milton Sills Milton George Gustavus Sills (January 12, 1882 – September 15, 1930) was an American stage and film actor of the early twentieth century. Biography Sills was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a wealthy family. He was the son of William Henr ...

Claire Windsor Claire Windsor (born Clara Viola Cronk; April 14, 1892 – October 24, 1972) was an American film actress of the silent screen era. Early life Windsor was born Clara Viola Cronk (nicknamed "Ola") in 1892 in Marvin, Phillips County, Kansas to ...

, and

Irene Rich Irene Rich (born Irene Frances Luther; October 13, 1891 – April 22, 1988) was an American actress who worked in both silent films and talkies, as well as radio. Early life Rich was born in Buffalo, New York. At age 17, she wed Elvo Elc ...

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 ...

, Dr. Alan Hamilton (Sills) takes an unusual interest in Faith (Windsor), a young woman who has been admitted to the hospital after fainting. Faith recovers and stays in a cottage near the doctor's home, but her identity remains a mystery. Dr. Hamilton proposes to her, but learns that she is already married, and the mystery of her husband arouses his curiosity. One of the doctor's other patients is Henry Garnett (Walthall), the proprietor of a cafe in town called "The Owl", which is a notorious dance hall and bar. Citizens of the town that are members of a

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

-like group attack Garnett's cafe, but the doctor dissuades them after telling them that Garnett has perhaps 30 days to live due to an ailment. Garnett then confesses that he has stolen the property of a close friend that was entrusted to him for the friend's daughter, Helen Ware (Day), and he wants to make restitution. Garnett finds Helen in his dance hall, but she turns from him, preferring the gay life. Garnett decides to close his place. Disappointed in love, Dr. Hamilton has started to drink excessively. Then he is called upon to save the child of his sister Maggie Thornton (Rich), who has fallen and cut himself severely with glass. The operation is successful. Faith seeks out her husband, who is Garnett, but he takes poison. This leaves Faith to seek happiness with the doctor.

Cast

Preservation

A copy of ''One Clear Call'' is in the

George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection The George Eastman Museum Motion Picture Collection in Rochester, New York comprises about 28,000 titles, including features, shorts, documentaries, newsreels, and experimental moving images. The collection is renowned for its holdings of silent f ...

. American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: ''One Clear Call''.
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References

Bibliography

* Munden, Kenneth White. ''The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Part 1''. University of California Press, 1997.

External links

* * 1922 films 1922 drama films Silent American drama films Films directed by John M. Stahl American silent feature films 1920s English-language films First National Pictures films American black-and-white films 1920s American films {{silent-film-stub