''The Great Shadow'' is a 1920 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

Harley Knoles Harry Knoles (1880-1936) was a British film director of the silent era. Selected filmography * ''The Greater Will'' (1915) * ''The Master Hand'' (1915) * ''Bought and Paid For (1916 film), Bought and Paid For'' (1916) * ''His Brother's Wife (191 ...

and starring

Tyrone Power Sr. Frederick Tyrone Edmond Power Sr. (2 May 1869 – 23 December 1931) was an English-born American stage and screen actor, known professionally as Tyrone Power. He is now usually referred to as Tyrone Power Sr. to differentiate him from his son ...

Donald Hall Donald Andrew Hall Jr. (September 20, 1928 – June 23, 2018) was an American poet, writer, editor and literary critic. He was the author of over 50 books across several genres from children's literature, biography, memoir, essays, and includin ...

and

Dorothy Bernard Nora Dorothy Bernard (June 25, 1890 – December 15, 1955) was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in nearly 90 films between 1908 and 1956. Biography She was born Nora Dorothy Bernard in Port Elizabeth, British Cape Co ...

. The making of the film is the subject of the Canadian play of the same name, written by Alex Poch-Golden.

Plot

Jim McDonald, the head of an union, struggles against a group of

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

led by Klimoff. A strike is called and McDonald's child is killed due to sabotage. Elsie, daughter of the capitalist Donald Alexander, is kidnapped by the Bolsheviks, but is saved by her lover, a secret agent.

Cast

as Jim McDonald *

as Donald Alexander *

as Elsie Alexander * Jack Rutherford as Bob Sherwood * Louis Stern as Klimoff * E. Emerson as Greek leader * Eugene Hornboestel as Frank Shea

Production

The film was sponsored by the Canadian Reconstruction Association. A

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

factory in Montreal and a film studio in

Trenton, Ontario Trenton (2001 population 16,770) is a large unincorporated community in Central Ontario in the municipality of Quinte West, Ontario, Canada. Located on the Bay of Quinte, it is the starting point for the Trent-Severn Waterway, which continues n ...

were used for filming. Union members at the factory were used as unpaid extras.

References

Works cited

Bibliography

* Connelly, Robert B. ''The Silents: Silent Feature Films, 1910-36, Volume 40, Issue 2''. December Press, 1998. * 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

* 1920 films 1920 drama films 1920s English-language films American silent feature films Silent American drama films American black-and-white films Films directed by Harley Knoles Selznick Pictures films 1920s American films {{1920s-US-film-stub