The Shield of Honor

It was a privilege and pleasure to screen this long lost Universal Pictures silent for an audience on January 27th., 2011. The print is considered to be the only surviving element on this title known to exist. Tinted in sepia for daytime, blue for night and red for fire and explosions, this film is enjoyable and brisk as it runs just an hour.

Neil Hamilton, best remembered for the television series Batman, takes the lead as Jack MacDowell, a young officer with the Los Angeles Police Department, following in the footsteps of his father, played by Ralph Lewis. Along the way, they have to stop a crime ring and this takes Jack to the air in an LAPD plane for a nice fight with the enemy in another plane.

Playing a secretary and a bad girl is Thelma Todd, as beautiful as always. The cast is very good and the story is intriguing with much of the film shot on location all around Los Angeles.

At the screening was an executive from Universal and cards were exchanged so this may very well be used for preservation. We shall see and maybe you will as well.