The Greatest Power (1917)
Drama | 18 June 1917
Director:
Edwin CareweWriters:
Albert Shelby Le Vino, Louis R. WolheimProduction Companies:
Metro Pictures Corp., Rolfe Photoplays, Inc.The start of principal photography at Metro-Rolfe Studios in Fort Lee, NJ, was reported in the 13 Apr 1917 Variety. Harry L. Franklin was credited as assistant director, and the original story was attributed to character actor Louis R. Wolheim. The film was referred to by its working title, Her Greatest Power.
The 2 Jun 1917 Motion Picture News reported that an entire village was constructed for the film over the course of a week in an undisclosed section of Long Island, NY, only to be destroyed on camera by artillery fire. Art director Edward J. Shulter designed the village and determined its location. Various sources have noted that members of the New York National Guard’s First Battery Field Artillery assisted in destroying the set. A related story noted that a staged fistfight between co-stars William B. Davidson and Harry S. Northrup resulted in the former sustaining an injury to the bridge to his nose and the latter an injury to his left hand. Davidson avoided close-ups for the rest of the film, while Northrup had to wear a glove. The title of the picture had since been changed to The Greatest Power. An article in the Jun 1917 Photo-Play Journal revealed that the facial scar Northrup wore in the film was actually received from a knife-wielding assailant in Tijuana, Mexico, who mistook the actor for his intended victim. Northrup generally concealed it with make-up for his screen appearances.
According to the 15 Jun 1917 Variety, the picture featured actual footage of the ...
The start of principal photography at Metro-Rolfe Studios in Fort Lee, NJ, was reported in the 13 Apr 1917 Variety. Harry L. Franklin was credited as assistant director, and the original story was attributed to character actor Louis R. Wolheim. The film was referred to by its working title, Her Greatest Power.
The 2 Jun 1917 Motion Picture News reported that an entire village was constructed for the film over the course of a week in an undisclosed section of Long Island, NY, only to be destroyed on camera by artillery fire. Art director Edward J. Shulter designed the village and determined its location. Various sources have noted that members of the New York National Guard’s First Battery Field Artillery assisted in destroying the set. A related story noted that a staged fistfight between co-stars William B. Davidson and Harry S. Northrup resulted in the former sustaining an injury to the bridge to his nose and the latter an injury to his left hand. Davidson avoided close-ups for the rest of the film, while Northrup had to wear a glove. The title of the picture had since been changed to The Greatest Power. An article in the Jun 1917 Photo-Play Journal revealed that the facial scar Northrup wore in the film was actually received from a knife-wielding assailant in Tijuana, Mexico, who mistook the actor for his intended victim. Northrup generally concealed it with make-up for his screen appearances.
According to the 15 Jun 1917 Variety, the picture featured actual footage of the sinking of three German battleships: the Gnelsenau, the Spandau, and the Bremerhurst. Studio chief B. A. Rolfe refused to disclose how he acquired the footage, which was currently stored in a “safe deposit vault.”
The Greatest Power was released on 18 Jun 1917 and opened that same day at the State Street Theatre in Trenton, NJ. Other openings followed on 26 Jun 1917 at the Garden Theatre in Washington, DC, and on 8 Jul 1917 at the Symphony Theatre in Los Angeles, CA.
The National Film Preservation Board (NFPB) included this film on its list of Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films as of October 2020.
Miriam Monroe and John Conrad are two young chemists who, independently of each other, have discovered a substance called exonite. Miriam discovered it while seeking a cure for cancer, while Conrad used it as a basis for a powerful explosive. Conrad convinces Miriam that exonite could bring about world peace, and they join forces to perfect the formula. Miriam's father, corporate executive Randolph Monroe, receives news that the country is threatened by war. He and his partner, Albert Bernard, consider exonite for government use but Conrad, still professing peace, refuses to share the chemical for military purposes. Miriam, however, steals into the laboratory to procure the formula, where she finds Albert, in reality a German spy, attempting to obtain the chemical for his government. Following a struggle, Albert is captured by U.S. Secret Service agents, and Conrad agrees to give exonite to his country. ...
Miriam Monroe and John Conrad are two young chemists who, independently of each other, have discovered a substance called exonite. Miriam discovered it while seeking a cure for cancer, while Conrad used it as a basis for a powerful explosive. Conrad convinces Miriam that exonite could bring about world peace, and they join forces to perfect the formula. Miriam's father, corporate executive Randolph Monroe, receives news that the country is threatened by war. He and his partner, Albert Bernard, consider exonite for government use but Conrad, still professing peace, refuses to share the chemical for military purposes. Miriam, however, steals into the laboratory to procure the formula, where she finds Albert, in reality a German spy, attempting to obtain the chemical for his government. Following a struggle, Albert is captured by U.S. Secret Service agents, and Conrad agrees to give exonite to his country.
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