High Treason (1928 film)
Encyclopedia
High Treason is a 1929 film
based on a play by Noel Pemberton Billing
. It was directed by Maurice Elvey
, and stars James Carew
, Humberstone Wright, Benita Hume
, Henry Vibart
, Hayford Hobbs
, Irene Rooke
and Jameson Thomas
. Raymond Massey
makes his first screen appearance in a small role. The original silent film was released to a trade show August 9, 1929, then went into general release September 9, 1929. A version with sound added was released March 13, 1930. The last known surviving complete copy of this film that contains the original sound track is a lavender fine grain held in the collection of Alaska Moving Image Preservation Association (AMIPA).
The film is a science fiction drama set in a futuristic 1950. The plot and aesthetics of the film are heavily influenced by Fritz Lang
's Metropolis
.
In the film the prohibition era in America extends to 1950 and the tension is initially caused by bootleggers
crossing the borders between territories. One such incident leads to a shoot-out between border guards in which both sides suffer casualties. War looks likely, but the pacifist Peace League intervenes. Meanwhile, we learn that the tension is in fact carefully orchestrated by a sinister terrorist group financed by arms manufacturers. They blow up a rail tunnel under the Atlantic that links America and Europe. The President of Europe orders a mass enlistment and mobilisation, fearing that the Atlantic States are preparing a sneak attack.
Dr. Seymour, leader of the Peace League, desperately attempts to avert war. His daughter Evelyn attempts to convince her boyfriend Michael, commander of the European air force, not to fight, but he insists he must do his duty. Evelyn says she will leave him.
The European council are divided, but the president decides on war, saying that he will announce the outbreak of hostilities on television.
The terrorists try to kill Dr. Seymour by bombing the Peace League, but Seymour survives. He tells Evelyn to make another effort to stop Michael ordering the airforce to attack, while he appeals directly to the President. Pacifists led by Evelyn demonstrate en masse at the airfield. Michael is uncertain what to do, but Evelyn convinces him to delay the attack. Seymour confronts the President, but is forced, despite his pacifism, to shoot him to stop him making the broadcast.
1929 in film
-Events:The days of the silent film are numbered. A mad scramble to provide synchronized sound is on.*January 20 - The movie In Old Arizona is released. The film is the first full-length talking film to be filmed outdoors....
based on a play by Noel Pemberton Billing
Noel Pemberton Billing
Noel Pemberton Billing was an English aviator, inventor, publisher, and Member of Parliament. He founded the firm that became Supermarine and promoted air power, but he held a strong antipathy towards the Royal Aircraft Factory and its products...
. It was directed by Maurice Elvey
Maurice Elvey
Maurice Elvey was the most prolific film director in British history. He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year....
, and stars James Carew
James Carew
James Carew was an American actor who appeared in many films, mainly in Britain. He was born in Goshen, Indiana in 1876 and began work as a clerk in a publishing firm...
, Humberstone Wright, Benita Hume
Benita Hume
Benita Hume was an English film actress. She appeared in 44 films between 1925 and 1955.She was married to actor Ronald Colman from 1938 to his death in 1958; they were the parents of a daughter, Juliet...
, Henry Vibart
Henry Vibart
Henry Vibart was a Scottish stage and film actor, active from the 1880s until the early 1930s. He appeared in many theatrical roles in the UK and overseas, and featured in over 70 films of the silent era.-Career:...
, Hayford Hobbs
Hayford Hobbs
Hayford Hobbs was a leading British film actor of the silent era and later became a film director. He was born in 1892. He made his first screen appearance in the 1915 film The Third Generation and appeared in his last film High Treason in 1929. The following year he directed his first film, a...
, Irene Rooke
Irene Rooke
Irene Rooke was an English theater and motion picture actress from Bridport, Dorset, England.-Stage Actress:She was the daughter of a prominent London, England journalist. Rooke left boarding school in 1896 and went directly on the stage. Unlike many novices, she achieved quick success as an...
and Jameson Thomas
Jameson Thomas
Jameson Thomas was an English film actor. He appeared in 82 films between 1923 and 1939.He was born in London and died in Sierra Madre, California, it is said from Tuberculosis....
. Raymond Massey
Raymond Massey
Raymond Hart Massey was a Canadian/American actor.-Early life:Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna , who was born in Illinois, and Chester Daniel Massey, the wealthy owner of the Massey-Ferguson Tractor Company. Massey's family could trace their ancestry back to the American...
makes his first screen appearance in a small role. The original silent film was released to a trade show August 9, 1929, then went into general release September 9, 1929. A version with sound added was released March 13, 1930. The last known surviving complete copy of this film that contains the original sound track is a lavender fine grain held in the collection of Alaska Moving Image Preservation Association (AMIPA).
The film is a science fiction drama set in a futuristic 1950. The plot and aesthetics of the film are heavily influenced by Fritz Lang
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute...
's Metropolis
Metropolis (film)
Metropolis is a 1927 German expressionist film in the science-fiction genre directed by Fritz Lang. Produced in Germany during a stable period of the Weimar Republic, Metropolis is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and makes use of this context to explore the social crisis between workers and...
.
Plot
1950: pacifist ideals are threatened when the "United States of Europe" comes into conflict with the "Empire of the Atlantic States". The former comprises both Europe and the territories of the European empires of the time. The latter is a combination of the United States and South America.In the film the prohibition era in America extends to 1950 and the tension is initially caused by bootleggers
Rum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
crossing the borders between territories. One such incident leads to a shoot-out between border guards in which both sides suffer casualties. War looks likely, but the pacifist Peace League intervenes. Meanwhile, we learn that the tension is in fact carefully orchestrated by a sinister terrorist group financed by arms manufacturers. They blow up a rail tunnel under the Atlantic that links America and Europe. The President of Europe orders a mass enlistment and mobilisation, fearing that the Atlantic States are preparing a sneak attack.
Dr. Seymour, leader of the Peace League, desperately attempts to avert war. His daughter Evelyn attempts to convince her boyfriend Michael, commander of the European air force, not to fight, but he insists he must do his duty. Evelyn says she will leave him.
The European council are divided, but the president decides on war, saying that he will announce the outbreak of hostilities on television.
The terrorists try to kill Dr. Seymour by bombing the Peace League, but Seymour survives. He tells Evelyn to make another effort to stop Michael ordering the airforce to attack, while he appeals directly to the President. Pacifists led by Evelyn demonstrate en masse at the airfield. Michael is uncertain what to do, but Evelyn convinces him to delay the attack. Seymour confronts the President, but is forced, despite his pacifism, to shoot him to stop him making the broadcast.
Cast
- Jameson ThomasJameson ThomasJameson Thomas was an English film actor. He appeared in 82 films between 1923 and 1939.He was born in London and died in Sierra Madre, California, it is said from Tuberculosis....
as Michael Deane - Benita HumeBenita HumeBenita Hume was an English film actress. She appeared in 44 films between 1925 and 1955.She was married to actor Ronald Colman from 1938 to his death in 1958; they were the parents of a daughter, Juliet...
as Evelyn Seymour - Basil GillBasil GillBasil Gill was a British film actor whose film career started with Henry VIII , a short silent film. In 1926, Gill appeared in two short films made in the DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process, Santa Claus as the title character, and Julius Caesar as Brutus.-Selected filmography:* The Admirable...
as President Stephen Deane - Humberston WrightHumberston WrightHumbertson Wright was a British film actor. He is sometimes credited as Humberstone Wright.-Selected filmography:* Thelma * God's Clay * The Garden of Resurrection * Henry, King of Navarre...
as Dr. Seymour - Henry VibartHenry VibartHenry Vibart was a Scottish stage and film actor, active from the 1880s until the early 1930s. He appeared in many theatrical roles in the UK and overseas, and featured in over 70 films of the silent era.-Career:...
as Lord Sycamore - James CarewJames CarewJames Carew was an American actor who appeared in many films, mainly in Britain. He was born in Goshen, Indiana in 1876 and began work as a clerk in a publishing firm...
as Lord Rawleigh - Hayford HobbsHayford HobbsHayford Hobbs was a leading British film actor of the silent era and later became a film director. He was born in 1892. He made his first screen appearance in the 1915 film The Third Generation and appeared in his last film High Treason in 1929. The following year he directed his first film, a...
as Charles Falloway - Milton RosmerMilton RosmerMilton Rosmer was a British actor, film director and screenwriter. He was born in Southport, Lancashire on 4 November 1881. He made his screen debut in the 1916 film The Mystery of a Hansom Cab and continued to act in film and television until 1956...
as Ernest Stratton - Judd GreenJudd GreenJudd Green was a British film actor of the silent era. He was sometimes credited as R. Judd Green. He was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire in 1866 and made his first screen appearance in 1914.-Selected filmography:* Thelma...
as James Groves - Alf GoddardAlf GoddardAlf Goddard was a British film actor.Brother of a famous boxer, Alf Goddard was once a boxer too. He was also a trained athlete and a professional dancer. He served in the army in World War I and when he was invalided out he worked on munitions. He made his stage debut in a musical hall act in 1916...
as Tele-radiographer - Irene RookeIrene RookeIrene Rooke was an English theater and motion picture actress from Bridport, Dorset, England.-Stage Actress:She was the daughter of a prominent London, England journalist. Rooke left boarding school in 1896 and went directly on the stage. Unlike many novices, she achieved quick success as an...
as Senator - Clifford HeatherleyClifford Heatherley-Selected filmography:* The Tavern Knight * The Autumn of Pride * Mademoiselle from Armentieres * The King's Highway * The Constant Nymph * Champagne * The W Plan...
as Delegate - Wally PatchWally PatchWally Patch was a British character actor, who had supporting roles in many films. He was born Walter Sidney Vinnicombe in Willesden, London on 26 September 1888...
as Commissionaire - Raymond MasseyRaymond MasseyRaymond Hart Massey was a Canadian/American actor.-Early life:Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna , who was born in Illinois, and Chester Daniel Massey, the wealthy owner of the Massey-Ferguson Tractor Company. Massey's family could trace their ancestry back to the American...
as cabinet-maker
Updated version
In 1998, a new sound version was produced by the combined efforts of the French drum & bass DJ duo Les Electrons Libres and local film archive La Cinémathèque de Toulouse. That version was a live electronic music mix to a 71 minutes copy from the Cinémathèque vault. Les Electrons Libres version of High Treason was screened in various French cities from 1998 to 1999 (Paris, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Rennes) and in Barcelona, Spain for the 1999 Sonar Festival.External links
- AMIPA AMIPA
- La Cinémathèque de Toulouse French wikipedia article La Cinémathèque de Toulouse French wikipedia article