''Ransom'' is a 1928 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

George B. Seitz George Brackett Seitz (January 3, 1888 – July 8, 1944) was an American playwright, screenwriter, film actor and director. He was known for his screenplays for action serials, such as '' The Perils of Pauline'' (1914) and ''The Exploits o ...

and is considered to be

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

. This is one of the many films of this period that sought to cash in on the fame of the then-popular

Sax Rohmer Arthur Henry "Sarsfield" Ward (15 February 1883 – 1 June 1959), better known as Sax Rohmer, was an English novelist. He is best remembered for his series of novels featuring the master criminal Dr. Fu Manchu."Rohmer, Sax" by Jack Adrian in Da ...

Fu Manchu Dr. Fu Manchu () is a supervillain who was introduced in a series of novels by the English author Sax Rohmer beginning shortly before World War I and continuing for another forty years. The character featured in cinema, television, radio, comic ...

'' novels. Surprisingly, Columbia resorted to aping the character instead of attempting to secure the rights legally from the author. The following year, Paramount released the first of a Fu Manchu trilogy of films that were very successful.Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p.329. .

Plot

An Asian mastermind named Wu Fang, who controls the Chinese underground in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, learns of the recent invention of a

poisonous gas Chemical warfare (CW) involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from nuclear warfare, biological warfare and radiological warfare, which together make up CBRN, the military acronym ...

which can be used as a

biological weapon A biological agent (also called bio-agent, biological threat agent, biological warfare agent, biological weapon, or bioweapon) is a bacterium, virus, protozoan, parasite, fungus, or toxin that can be used purposefully as a weapon in bioterroris ...

, invented by a Dr. Burton Meredith. Wu Fang kidnaps Bobby, the young brother of Dr. Meredith's fiancee Lois, and offers to trade the boy's life for the secret formula. Lois goes to Wu Fang's secret hideout to rescue her brother but winds up being captured herself. Just as Wu Fang prepares to torture her, Dr. Meredith bursts in with the police and saves both captives in the nick of time.

Cast

William V. Mong William V. Mong (June 25, 1875 – December 10, 1940) was an American film actor, screenwriter and director. He appeared in almost 200 films between 1910 and 1939. His directing (1911–1918) and screenwriting (1911–1922) were mostly for ...

as Wu Fang *

Edmund Burns Edmund Burns (September 27, 1892 – April 2, 1980 ) was an American actor. He was best known for his films of the silent 1920s, particularly ''The Princess from Hoboken'' (1927), '' Made for Love'' (1926), and ''After the Fog'' (1929), althoug ...

as Burton Meredith, scientist * Lois Wilson as Lois Brewster, fiancee * Jackie Combs as Bobby Brewster, the kid brother *

Blue Washington Edgar Hughes "Blue" Washington (12 February 1898 – 15 September 1970) was an American actor and baseball player who played in the Negro leagues from 1915 to 1920 as a pitcher and first baseman. Baseball career Washington started his baseba ...

as Oliver *

James B. Leong James B. Leong (born Leong But-jung and sometimes credited as Jimmy Leong) was a Chinese-American character actor and filmmaker who had a long career in Hollywood beginning during the silent era. Leong was born in Shanghai, and he moved to the ...

as Scarface

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ransom 1928 films American silent feature films 1928 drama films Films directed by George B. Seitz American black-and-white films Columbia Pictures films Lost American films Silent American drama films 1928 lost films Lost drama films Films about chemical war and weapons Films about child abduction in the United States Films about organized crime in the United States Films set in San Francisco 1920s American films Silent war films