The False Faces

The False Faces
Publicity still for film with Henry B. Walthall at center
Directed by	Irvin Willat
Written by	Louis Joseph Vance Irvin Willat
Produced by	Thomas H. Ince
Starring	Henry B. Walthall Lon Chaney
Cinematography	Paul Eagler Edwin W. Willat
Edited by	W. Duncan Mansfield
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	February 16, 1919 (1919-02-16)
Running time	97 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	Silent English intertitles

Henry B. Walthall and Lon Chaney (far right) in a 1919 magazine ad

The False Faces is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by Irvin Willat from the novel by Louis Joseph Vance and starring Henry B. Walthall as Michael Lanyard, the "Lone Wolf," and Lon Chaney as the villain. A print of the film survives at George Eastman House. Lon Chaney's energetic performance remains an early example of his celebrated work.

Plot

During World War I, a professional thief known as The Lone Wolf (Henry B. Walthall) is assigned to steal a cylinder with important information from behind the German lines and bring it to Allied intelligence headquarters. However, German agents set out to stop him, headed by the dreaded Eckstrom (Lon Chaney), the man who was responsible for slaughtering the Lone Wolf's sister and her family.

Cast

• Henry B. Walthall as Michael Lanyard, the "Lone Wolf"
• Mary Anderson as Cecilia Brooke
• Lon Chaney as Karl Eckstrom
• Milton Ross as Ralph Crane
• Thornton Edwards as Lieutenant Thackery
• William Bowman as Captain Osborne
• Garry McGarry as Submarine Lieutenant
• Ernest Pasque as Blensop

Context

Based on a series of novels begun in 1914 by Louis Joseph Vance, the Lone Wolf character remained a part of popular culture for generations, with movies ranging from 1917 to 1949 starring Jack Holt, Melvyn Douglas, Warren William, Gerald Mohr (who had also played the part in a radio series) and others as Michael Lanyard, as well as a 1954-55 television series with Louis Hayward delineating his fictional exploits.

Henry B. Walthall had starred in D. W. Griffith's seminal The Birth of a Nation four years earlier while Lon Chaney went on to become one of the world's most enduring cultural icons with performances in roles such as the Hunchback of Notre Dame four years later and the Phantom of the Opera in 1925.

External links

• The False Faces at IMDb
• The False Faces synopsis at allmovie.com
• The False Faces is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive