''Somewhere in France'' is a 1916

silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

starring

Louise Glaum Louise Glaum (September 4, 1888 – November 25, 1970) was an American actress. Known for her roles as a vamp in silent era motion picture dramas, she was credited with giving one of the best characterizations of a vamp in her early career ...

and

Howard C. Hickman Howard Charles Hickman (February 9, 1880 – December 31, 1949) was an American actor, director and writer. He was an accomplished stage leading man, who entered films through the auspices of producer Thomas H. Ince. Career In 1900, Hickman d ...

Directed Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Charles Giblyn Charles Giblyn (September 6, 1871 – March 14, 1934) was an American film director and actor of the silent era. He directed nearly 100 films between 1912 and 1927. He also appeared in 23 films between 1914 and 1934. He was one of the foun ...

and produced by

Thomas H. Ince Thomas Harper Ince (November 16, 1880 – November 19, 1924) was an American silent film - era filmmaker and media proprietor. Ince was known as the "Father of the Western" and was responsible for making over 800 films. He revolutionized the mo ...

, the

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

was

adapted In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

by J. G. Hawks based on the 1915 novel of the same title by

Richard Harding Davis Richard Harding Davis (April 18, 1864 – April 11, 1916) was an American journalist and writer of fiction and drama, known foremost as the first American war correspondent to cover the Spanish–American War, the Second Boer War, and the First ...

, which was also serialized in ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

''. The

production companies A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, an ...

for ''Somewhere in France'' were the New York Motion Picture Company and

Kay-Bee Pictures Kay-Bee Pictures was a film company. Its executives included Thomas Ince. The company's mottos included "Every picture a headliner" and "Kay-Bee stands for Kessel and Baumann and Kessel and Baumann stands for quality", referring to Adam Kessel a ...

. It was

distributed Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations *Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...

through the

Triangle Film Corporation Triangle Film Corporation (also known as Triangle Motion Picture Company) was a major American motion-picture studio, founded in July 1915 in Culver City, California and terminated 7 years later in 1922. History The studio was founded in July 1 ...

. Glaum brings her

femme fatale A ''femme fatale'' ( or ; ), sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of ...

persona of a

vamp (woman) A ''femme fatale'' ( or ; ), sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of ...

to this

feature length A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

war drama.

Plot

An evil French woman, Marie Chaumontel (played by Glaum), is a spy for the Germans during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. She vamps and seduces officers of the French high command, accumulating state secrets and then discarding her lovers. Chaumontel is the mistress of Captain Henry Ravignac (played by Storm). She steals some papers from him and gives them to the Germans, then escapes to Berlin. He is tried and found guilty of neglect. He then commits suicide. His brother, Lieutenant Charles Ravignac (played by Hickman), vows revenge on Chaumontel. Pretending to be a spy, he goes to work for the Germans and becomes her assistant. He poses as a chauffeur of her phony countess. When he gathers enough evidence against her, he turns the information over to the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

. Chaumontel is arrested by French authorities for her foul deeds and sent to prison. He is then hailed as a hero for damaging German espionage operations.

Cast in credits order

as Marie Chaumontel *

as Lt. Charles Ravignac *

Joseph J. Dowling Joseph Johnson Dowling (September 4, 1850 – July 8, 1928) was an American stage and silent film actor. Early life and career Born in Pittsburgh, the son of James and Fredericka (''nee'' Edstrem) Dowling. His father was a native of Pennsy ...

as Gen. Andres *

Fanny Midgley Fanny Midgley (born Fanny B. Frier; November 26, 1879 – January 4, 1932) was an American film actress of Hollywood's early years, mostly in silent films. Biography Midgley was born Fanny B. Frier on November 26, 1879, in Cincinnati, Ohio. ...

as Madame Benet *

Jerome Storm Jerome Storm (November 11, 1890 – July 10, 1958) was an American film director, actor, and writer. He acted in 48 films between 1914 and 1941 and directed 47 films between 1918 and 1932. He was born in Denver, Colorado, and died in Desert ...

as Capt. Henry Ravignac * George Fisher as Herr Vogel *

William Fairbanks William Fairbanks (born Carl Ullman; May 24, 1894 – April 1, 1945) was an American actor. He appeared in over 65 silent era films between 1916 and 1928. Biography Fairbanks was born Carl Ullman in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Charles ...

as Capt. Pierre Thierry

External links

*
''Somewhere in France''
at the

AFI Catalog of Feature Films The ''AFI Catalog of Feature Films'', also known as the ''AFI Catalog'', is an ongoing project by the American Film Institute (AFI) to catalog all commercially-made and theatrically exhibited American motion pictures from the birth of cinema in ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Somewhere in France 1916 films American war drama films American silent feature films World War I spy films American black-and-white films 1910s war drama films Triangle Film Corporation films Films based on American novels Films set in France 1916 drama films Films directed by Charles Giblyn 1910s American films Silent American drama films Silent war drama films