White Tiger

2141. WHITE TIGER (1923-usA). With RAYMOND GRIFFITH, PRISCILLA DEAN, WALLACE BEERY, MATT MOORE. Directed and written by TOD BROWNING. Roy and Sylvia Donovan are young children whose father Mike is an aging criminal in the London underworld. The elder Donovan is unaware that his crony Sill Hawkes is a stool pigeon who has sold him out. In a fracas with the authorities Mike is shot dead; Sylvia and Roy are separated. Roy thinks that his sister has died along with his father, while Sylvia grows up under the thumb of Hawkes. Fifteen years pass. Hawkes operates a con game in the guise of one “Count Donelli” while the now grown-up Sylvia poses as his daughter. They happen to meet a fellow trickster known as “The Kid,” who earns his keep by manipulating a mechanical chess-player and stiffing unsuspecting stooges. “The Kid,” of course, is Roy Donovan. He teams up with Hawkes and “daughter” not knowing their true identities. Bear in mind, however, that the siblings have each separately sworn bloodthirsty vengeance against the man responsible for their dad’s demise. What follows is a tense and clever suspense tale expertly directed by master of the macabre. Tod Browning. In typical Browning fashion, there even is a sequence in a Chamber of Horrors. The film also is of note for the rare dramatic performance by the great but mostly forgotten silent screen comic Raymond Griffith, who is cast as Roy. “Silent” film with music score. 82 minutes. ÒSilentÓ Drama