The Ace of Hearts (1921)

Director:

Wallace Worsley

Writers:

Gouverneur Morris (by)
Ruth Wightman (scenario)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

A romantic rivalry among members of a secret society becomes even tenser when one of the men is assigned to carry out an assassination.

Plot Keywords:

Assassination | Secret Society | Love | Romantic Rivalry | Suicide

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Lon Chaney	...	Farallone
Leatrice Joy	...	Lilith
John Bowers	...	Forrest
Hardee Kirkland	...	Morgridge
Raymond Hatton	...	The Menace
Edwin Wallock	...	Chemist (as Edwin N. Wallock)
Roy Laidlaw	...	Doorkeeper
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Cullen Landis	...	Young Man in Restaurant (uncredited)

Directed by
Wallace Worsley

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Gouverneur Morris		by
Ruth Wightman		scenario

Produced by
Samuel Goldwyn	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Vivek Maddala		(2000)

Cinematography by
Don Short		(photography by) (as Donovan Short)

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Music Department
Vivek Maddala	....	orchestrator: original music (2000 score)

Production Companies

• Goldwyn Pictures Corporation (as A Goldwyn Picture) (presents)

Distributors

• Goldwyn Pictures Corporation (1921) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Nostalgia Family Video (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Critics' Choice Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• FilmAnnex (2006) (worldwide) (all media)
• Grapevine Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Turner Classic Movies (TCM) (????) (USA) (TV)
• Videobrary (????) (USA) (VHS)

Runtime:

75 min (2000 alternate version) (21 fps)

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White | Color (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating)

Company:

Goldwyn Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The original ending to the film picked up after the bomb explodes at the meeting headquarters. Forrest and Lillith are living in a cabin in the woods, and believe that they are safe thanks to Farralone. Rushing back to the cabin to warn Lillith, he sees Morgridge, who tells him that they have nothing to fear - Farralone's sacrifice has taught him that love is the solution, not destruction. This ending was cut on the request of Samuel Goldwyn, who felt that it was too contrived and that the lovers reading about it in the newspaper was a much more satisfying ending.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Settling the Score (2005) (TV)

Lon Chaney's performance is the main reason to see it.

...the plot isn't particularly strong to begin with; one has to have a good knowledge of the post-WW1 "Red Scare" to get out of it what the filmmakers intended, and even then it's not much to speak of. However, that actually works in an odd way, since it allows for this picture to be an example of how Lon Chaney's acting talents contributed to his movies. They truly carry the show here, especially the subtleties of his facial expressions. There's also a rare opportunity to see John Bowers, one of the stars of silent cinema whose career came to a screeching halt with the advent of talkies; the character of Norman Maine in the first two Hollywood productions of A STAR IS BORN was in part based on Bowers. It's also interesting to see the original Goldwyn Pictures logo at the beginning of the picture, before the design was only slightly adapted for use by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer three years later...