K – The Unknown is a 1924 American silent mystery film directed by Harry A. Pollard and starring Virginia Valli, Percy Marmont, and Margarita Fischer.[1] It is based on the 1915 novel K. by Mary Roberts Rinehart.[2]

K – The Unknown
Directed byHarry A. Pollard
Written byLouis D. Lighton
Hope Loring
Raymond L. Schrock
Based onK.
by Mary Roberts Rinehart
Produced byCarl Laemmle
StarringVirginia Valli
Percy Marmont
Margarita Fischer
CinematographyCharles J. Stumar
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • November 17, 1924 (1924-11-17)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)

Plot

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As described in a film magazine,[3] Sidney Page (Valli), glorious in the beauty and charm of young womanhood, awoke one day to the dazzling realization that she was the object of the affection of two mature men. Masculine affection was nothing new to her: from her schooldays she had been courted by two youths of her own age, and she had been considered the belle of the small city where she lived. "K" Le Moyne (Marmont), quiet, distinguished, mysterious, his presence in the city a mystery, intrigued her. Dr. Max Wilson (Roche), recently come to assume direction of the new hospital, swept her off her balance by the swiftness of his wooing. Herself studying to be a nurse, she came in close contact with him, even as she had with Le Moyne, who was a boarder in the home of the aunt with whom she lived. It was her interest in Le Moyne that was responsible for her breaking off sentimental association with two youths of her school days, George "Slim" Benson (Keith) and Joe Drummond (Ryan). Slim did not take his conge much to heart, although he and Joe had engaged in fierce quarrels concerning their position in the regards of Sidney. However, Joe was deeply affected; in time he was to do an act of desperation that had vital consequence in the lives of Sidney, Le Moyne, Dr. Wilson, and Carlotta Harrison (Fischer), who had come with Dr. Wilson to the hospital as his special nurse. The complications that came into the lives of these men and women brought tragedy in their wake, but they also brought happiness to two and the sad penalty of mourning over cold ashes of vengeance for another.

Cast

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Preservation

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A complete print of K – The Unknown is held in the collection of the UCLA Film and Television Archive that originally was at EYE Film Institute Netherlands.[4][5]

References

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  1. ^ St. Romain p.120
  2. ^ Progressive Silent Film List: K – The Unknown at silentera.com
  3. ^ "K – The Unknown". 18 (24). New York City, New York: Moving Picture Weekly Pub. Co. 2 August 1924: 40. Retrieved 16 September 2021. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: K – The Unknown
  5. ^ The Fast Worker (1924); K – The Unknown (1924) at UCLA Film and Television Archive, 2006 UCLA Festival of Preservation

Bibliography

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  • Theresa St. Romain. Margarita Fischer: A Biography of the Silent Film Star. McFarland, 2008.
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