''Unknown Treasures'' is a 1926 American silent horror film directed by

Archie Mayo Archibald L. Mayo (January 29, 1891 – December 4, 1968) was a film director, screenwriter and actor. Early years The son of a tailor, Mayo was born in New York City. After attending the city's public schools, he studied at Columbia Unive ...

and starring

Gladys Hulette Gladys Hulette (July 21, 1896 – August 8, 1991) was an American silent film actress from Arcade, New York, United States. Her career began in the early years of silent movies and continued until the mid-1930s. She first performed on stage at ...

Robert Agnew Robert Agnew (June 4, 1899 – November 8, 1983) was an American movie actor who worked mostly in the silent film era, making 65 films in both the silent and sound eras. He was born in Dayton, Kentucky. A review of ''The Heart of Broadway'' i ...

and

John Miljan John Miljan (November 9, 1892 – January 24, 1960) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1924 and 1958. Biography Born in 1892, Miljan was the tall, smooth-talking villain in Hollywood films for almost four deca ...

. The screenplay by Charles A. Logue was based on a short story written by Mary Spain Vigus called ''The House Behind the Hedge''. Although the film is considered lost today, it is said to have been a straight forward "old dark house" film without the usual 1920s comedy elements.

Gustav von Seyffertitz Gustav von Seyffertitz (4 August 1862 – 25 December 1943) was a German film actor and director. He settled in the United States. He was born in Haimhausen, Bavaria, and died in Los Angeles, California, aged 81. Biography Gustav von Seyffertit ...

plays the mad doctor in the film, and later went on to appear in several other horror films, including ''The Bat Whispers'' (1930) and ''Son of Frankenstein'' (1939). Director Mayo started out making comedic shorts, but moved on in later life to directing more prestigious films. He only directed two horror films however, this one and ''

Svengali (1931 film) ''Svengali'' is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by Archie Mayo. The film stars John Barrymore and Marian Marsh. It is based on the 1894 George du Maurier novel ''Trilby'' and was among the many film adaptations of the book. The fi ...

''.Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p.308. .

Plot

Bob Ramsey is in love with Mary Hamilton, and he comes to suspect that her Uncle Cyrus has hidden a fortune in stolen bonds somewhere in his mansion. Bob tries to discover the hiding place of the old man's fortune, but only succeeds in getting involved in a complicated murder plot. A mad scientist named Dr. Simmons has trained a gorilla to kill people who get in his way.

Cast

as Mary Hamilton *

as Bob Ramsey *

as Ralph Cheneey * Bertram Marburgh as Cyrus Hamilton *

Jed Prouty Jed Prouty (born Clarence Gordon Prouty; April 6, 1879 – May 10, 1956) was an American film actor. Biography Born as Clarence Gordon Prouty in Boston, Massachusetts, Prouty was a vaudeville performer before becoming a film actor. Mostly app ...

as Remus *

as Simmons

References

Bibliography

* Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999.

External links

* 1926 films 1920s mystery films American mystery films Films directed by Archie Mayo American silent feature films American black-and-white films 1920s English-language films 1920s American films Silent mystery films Silent horror films {{Silent-film-stub