''Tyrant Fear'' is a 1918 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

Roy William Neill Roy William Neill (4 September 1887 – 14 December 1946) was an Irish-born American film director best known for directing the last eleven of the fourteen Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, made between 1943 and 19 ...

, written by R. Cecil Smith, and starring

Dorothy Dalton Dorothy Dalton (September 22, 1893 – April 13, 1972) was an American silent film actress and stage personality who worked her way from a stock company to a movie career. Beginning in 1910, Dalton was a player in stock companies in Chicago; Te ...

Thurston Hall Ernest Thurston Hall (May 10, 1882 – February 20, 1958) was an American film, stage and television actor.Aylesworth, Thomas G. and Bowman, John S. (1987). ''The World Almanac Who's Who of Film''. World Almanac. . Pp. 186-187. Career Stag ...

Melbourne MacDowell Willet Melbourne MacDowell (November 22, 1856 – February 18, 1941) was an American stage and screen actor. He began on the legitimate stage in the 1870s and first appeared on the silent screen in 1917. He used the stage name Virginia Drew Pres ...

William Conklin William Conklin (December 25, 1872 – March 21, 1935) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 80 silent films between 1913 and 1929. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and died in Hollywood, California. Partial filmography * ''Ariz ...

, Lou Salter, and

Carmen Phillips Carmen Phillips (born Anna Catherine Phillips; September 15, 1888 – December 14, 1966) was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 60 films between 1914 and 1926, frequently as a "vamp". Biography A native Calif ...

. It was released on April 29, 1918, by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. A print of the film is held by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

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 ...

, Allaine Grandet (Dalton) is sold to Jules Latour (Conklin) by her father Paula Grandet. As a climax to his constant brutality, Latour turns her over to James Dermot (MacDowell), who offers to pay the husband well for his wife's appearance at the Northern Star dance hall. At the dance hall she is put up as the stake in a card game between Dermot and a miner, with the dance hall proprietor being the looser. She resists her new owner and is assisted by the piano player, Harley Dane (Hall), who is shot down by Dermot. She, in turn, shoots Dermot and she escapes with the piano player, whom she nurses back to health. He wants to marry her, but she appraises him of her husband. Later, they find Latour's body in the snow, which simplifies matters for the couple.

Cast

as Allaine Grandet *

as Harley Dane *

as James Dermot *

as Jules Latour *Lou Salter as Theodore De Coppee *

as Marie Courtot

Preservation status

*A fragment, or reel 1, exists of this film in the

collection.

Reception

Like many American films of the time, ''Tyrant Fear'' was subject to cuts and restrictions by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors cut, in Reel 1, the intertitles "At Dermot's Settlement are girls to warm a man's heart" and "That is the life — drink, cards and women of fire", two scenes of bridegroom passionately embracing Marie after the dance, Reel 2, the intertitles "Wife, hell, you're not a wife for a real man — you're as cold as the snow outside" and "A magnet which draws men's souls from their bodies where unbridled indulgence holds sway", scene in which Dermot sends woman over to Allaine to include the twisting of her arm, Reel 3, flash one gambling scene, girl on bar falling back into man's arms, girls at bar, girl throwing arms around man's neck, three intertitles "One whirl for the girl" etc., "She is your woman, Dermot", and "By God, I'm through — I'll play no more for your dirty swine", entire incident of gambling for girl to include man throwing bag of money on gambling table, two closeups of wheel, and Dermot pushing girl towards man, four scenes of man dragging girl except for scene in which she breaks away and runs to man at the piano, all scenes of man dragging girl upstairs, three struggle scenes with man on balcony and girl throwing him over balustrade, and, Reel 5, the three intertitles containing the words "The lustful lights of the North Star", "What will you do if I consent", and "Damn you, you're made of ice".

References

External links

* * {{allmovie, 114918, synopsis 1918 films 1910s English-language films Silent American drama films 1918 drama films Paramount Pictures films Films directed by Roy William Neill American black-and-white films American silent feature films 1910s American films