Via Wireless
Cast & Crew
George Fitzmaurice
Bruce Mcrae
Gail Kane
Harry Weaver
Brandon Hurst
Paul Mcallister
Film Details
Synopsis
After President Woodrow Wilson advocates strong defense, and a War Department committee discusses the need of big guns for coastal defenses, Marsh, a draftsman for steel king John Durant, designs a gun to meet government specifications. Edward Pinckney, Durant's manager, schemes to get a large share of the profits for himself. When Lieutenant Sommers of the U. S. Navy comes to the Durant mills with a new gun already approved by the government, Pinckney, who jealously sees Durant's daughter Frances renew her acquaintance with Sommers, arranges to have the construction of Sommers' gun sabotaged. After Pinckney causes Frances to break with Sommers, Sommers is sent to Turkey. Frances becomes engaged to Pinckney and sails in his yacht to Europe. Sommers' gun explodes during testing, killing two operators. He is returning home to face an inquiry board when Pinckney's yacht, in Turkish waters, hits a mine, and Frances wires an S.O.S. that Sommers receives. After Sommers rescues her, Pinckney is arrested. He is shot trying to escape the authorities, and his automobile falls over a cliff. Frances and Sommers marry.
Director
George Fitzmaurice
Cast
Bruce Mcrae
Gail Kane
Harry Weaver
Brandon Hurst
Paul Mcallister
Crew
Film Details
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The second scene in the third act is from a one-act sketch by E. Balmer and I. W. Edwards. Some shots in the film were taken from the Pathé Weekly Newsreel, including shots of President Wilson addressing a crowd on the question of national defense, West Point cadets drilling, the Atlantic fleet cruising, the dreadnaught New York at dry dock in Washington's Navy Yard and at sea, guns being tested at Sandy Hook, NJ, the shores of the Bosphorus, and the city of Constantinople. Some scenes in the film were shot at the estate of Commodore E. C. Benedict in Greenwich, CT and at a large steel mill in Pittsburgh, although the foundry scenes of the gun being cast were shot in the Pathé studio.
