The Summary for this unviewed film was based on reviews from the 3 Sep 1922 FD and the 9 Sep 1922 Exhibitors Trade Review.
       The 25 Jun 1921 Exhibitors Herald announced the film adaptation of James Oliver Curwood’s 1920 novel, The Valley of Silent Men: a Story of the Three River Country. The film was set to be one of Paramount Pictures’ forthcoming fall releases, produced by Cosmopolitan Productions. At that time, Peter B. Kyne was listed as the storywriter, but John Lynch received sole writing credit as the scenarist in contemporary reviews.
       Nine months later, the 1 Apr 1922 FD^D reported that director Frank Borzage was currently in Banff, Alberta, Canada, preparing to begin production, and the crew would be arriving that day. The 15 Apr 1922 Exhibitors Trade Review announced that production had begun. Final scenes were shot on the Nipigon River in Ontario, Canada, as stated in the 27 May 1922 Exhibitors Trade Review. H. P. Carver, the general manager of International Film Service Co., was named as production manager.
       On 10 Jun 1922, Moving Picture World reported a legal battle between International Film Service, writer James Oliver Curwood, and Affiliated Distributors. International argued that Affiliated’s production of I Am the Law (1922, see entry), an adaptation of Curwood’s 1910 short story, “The Poetic Justice of Uko San,” infringed upon the copyright of their property, The Valley of Silent Men. The company stipulated that the two narratives were too similar, and charged Affiliated with “appropriating the story of The Valley of Silent Men.” International sent out letters to film exhibitors asking them not to show I Am the Law. As a result, Affiliated filed a petition to restrain International from continuing its campaign. A Supreme Court hearing was held on 31 May 1922. Pending the Court’s decision, International filed an injunction that would prevent I Am the Law from being exhibited until a verdict was made.
       According to the 24 Jun 1922 Exhibitors Trade Review, Cosmopolitan Productions had purchased screen rights to The Valley of Silent Men for $15,000, and spent $170,000 on production costs. International Film Service later acquired the copyright, and was requesting the judge to order the I Am the Law producers to remove portions of their picture. Three months later, Justice Knox ruled to dismiss the $500,000 in damages sought by the plaintiffs, as stated in the 23 Sep 1922 Exhibitors Herald. The defendants were ordered to make changes to their picture and show the edited version to International Film Service, which was given the authority to determine a need for continued litigation. Anticipating this ruling, Affiliated president Charles C. Burr had already ordered cuts to I Am the Law, and submitted the revised print to International for review.
       In the midst of the lawsuit, production resumed on The Valley of Silent Men. The 1 Jul 1922 Exhibitors Trade Review announced that the company was en route to the Kipawa River in Quebec, Canada, where they would spend two weeks completing the picture. On 7 Jul 1922, Var reported that Jack Robinson, a technical expert at Cosmopolitan, had drowned during filming. As the last scene of the picture was being shot at Lake Temiskaming in Quebec, Robinson, an expert diver and former sailor, attempted to remove a scow that had become stuck on a rock. He waded into the water with a rope tied around his waist, the ends of which were held by men on shore. When he was unexpectedly pulled under, the ropes became tangled in the rocks and he could not be rescued. Jack Robinson had been married just two weeks before his death. Director Frank Borzage was deeply affected by the accident.
       Reviews praised Borzage’s direction and noted that the film’s tension was sustained from beginning to end. The mountain scenery was also lauded. According to the 3 Sep 1922 FD, audience members at the Rialto Theatre in New York City applauded during some of the scenes “for their sheer beauty alone.”