Civilization

The inventor of a submarine of war finds his conscience troubled when called upon to sink a passenger ship suspected of transporting weapons for the enemy. The ill-fated Thomas H. ince's ambitious epic features some spectacular battle scenes, and is admirably compact despite its scale (if it were made by Griffith it would probably have been at least an hour longer) but is far too preachy and simplistic for a modern audience. Must have packed quite a punch back in 1915, though.