Red Lights

Raymond Griffith appears in this rather odd silent comedy as a psychic detective who refers to himself a "Crime Deflector" - deflects crimes *before* they occur. This is a pretty weird story with a touch of sci-fi in it - about a railroad tycoon about to reunite with his long-lost daughter (played by Marie Prevost), kidnapped in childhood. But meanwhile, a mad man is trying to frighten this girl by creating these "red lights" that flash messages above her head saying stuff like "Say your prayers - Prepare for death". Well, this all ends in a lengthy train-board murder mystery segment featuring our detective slithering around with magnifying glass in hand, sliding through secret panels, even hanging under the train in pursuit of clues.

This film is pretty unusual, not particularly funny, though interesting in it's way. I thought Raymond Griffith actually pretty memorable in this part, Marie Prevost is adequate, Johnnie Walker appears as her boyfriend in this and is handsome, though *not* memorable here and given little to do. It includes a runaway train sequence that includes some really exciting live action photography shot from a first person perspective on a real, very scenic rail line through a Western desert area rocky mountain pass. This film was a little rambling/hard to follow, but fun nevertheless.