High Treason

I have read that BLACKMAIL (directed by Alfred Hitchcock) was the first British talking picture. I was sure surprised when I learned that HIGH TREASON came out several months earlier. In both cases, they made sound and silent versions because most British theaters were not equipped for sound. I found the silent version and would love to see the sound version if I can find it.

The story is a natural outgrowth of WWI, which just ended a decade earlier. Millions of men were needlessly slaughtered in a war which had no 'good guys'...just victims. Because of this, many anti-war films were made in the 1920s and 30s...all hoping to convince everyone that war was avoidable and useless. Too bad they hadn't anticipated the rise of Naziism and, unfortunately, these films actually HELPED the Third Reich to gain control over Europe, as the films were particularly popular in Britain (such as with this film and THINGS TO COME) and France (such as with both versions of J'ACCUSE).

The film is set in 1950. Europe and North America have each formed a separate union--with the Federated States of Europe and the Atlantic States each representing many millions of people. A small border incident* occurs and instead of dealing with it like adults, the leaders begin preparing for war--fomented by evil industrialists who will profit from death. The only thing standing in the way is a large group of peace-lovers who are members of The World League of Peace....with 25,000,000 members who are willing, in some cases, to give their lives to maintain peace and prevent another senseless war. How this war is averted is fascinating....and gives an interesting twist to the notion of passive resistance!

This is a cool film to watch, as their view of the future is amazingly dated--with everyone flying about in dirigibles, auto-gyros and airplanes. The look of all this is pretty silly in some ways (sort of like THE JETSONS) but also is fascinating to see. Overall, a fascinating look at what if....and well worth seeing, particularly if you are a history buff like me.