The Ace of Hearts (1921)

This very moody and atmospheric thriller about a secret society was directed by Wallace Worsley and written by Gouverneur Morris, who were both responsible for Lon Chaney's chilling movie "The Penalty" (1920). The evocative and eerie music (by Vivek Maddala, so much more appropriate than his score for "The Patsy") gets you into the mood instantly as a secret society meet on a windy, rainy night to plot the murder of "one who has lived too long". Even in the depths of all this seriousness there is a romantic triangle going on as Mr. Forrest (John Bowers) and Mr. Farallone (Lon Chaney) both fall in love with the elusive Lilith (Leatrice Joy) who is wedded to "the Cause"!!!After the gruelling role of "Blizzard" in "The Penalty", this role of the lovelorn Mr. Farallone must have seemed like a walk in the park to Chaney but such is the power of his acting that with a few emotive expressions he was still able to give a gripping performance. When the cards are dealt, the Ace of Hearts, the card of death, goes to Mr. Forrest and he is elated that he has been chosen to eliminate "the Menace" (Raymond Hatton). Lilith then announces that she will marry him if that will inspire him further but after a night of love she is a changed woman and begs Forrest to run away with her. He is supposed to go to his waiters job and leave a timed bomb at the seat where "the Menace" has his breakfast every morning at nine o'clock. But things don't go to plan and when he sees a pair of run away lovers (Cullen Landis is one) sitting at a nearby table he cannot go through with it. That means he, himself, is under sentence of death but meanwhile Lilith has extracted a promise from the lovesick Farallone that if something goes wrong he will help them. In an unexpected twist Farallone (which proves Chaney didn't give up all his intensity) makes Lilith promise that if Forrest doesn't return she will, in turn, marry him. But Farallone has an ace up his sleeve that paves the way for the newly wed's happiness.Chaney's intensity toward the end made me wonder if the movie was meant to be far longer than it's 75 minutes. It originally had a far different ending, much more exciting in my opinion. Lilith and Forrest are finally tracked down to their mountain haven by Morgridge, the Society leader, who, in the original ending had picked the Ace of Hearts as the one to hunt down and kill Forrest. He survives the bomb blast but when he sees the happy family (there is now a baby) he also renounces "the Cause" with a view that love conquers everything. When Samuel Goldwyn saw it, he declared it preposterous and ordered a new ending!!!It was this movie that bought Leatrice Joy (soon to be Mrs. John Gilbert) to the attention of Cecil B. DeMille and the next year she would shoot to fame in "Saturday Night" - he intended to do for her as he had done for Gloria Swanson. John Bowers was married to Marguerite De La Motte and his main claim to fame is that his life and death were the inspiration for the Norman Maine character of "A Star is Born", although neither he nor his wife were as famous as the two depicted in the movie.

"Ace of Hearts" (1921, Wallace Worsely) "Ace of Hearts" is a love triumphs over evil morality tale that happens to involve a vengeful secret society. One of the best faces for silent film ever, Lon Chaney, stars as Mr. Farallone, the dark, hulky, brooding assassin-like figure turned somewhat softie by love's charms, even if he's not going to be the ultimate victor in that battle. The film is overly dramatic throughout and yet beyond the already overwrought face of Lon Chaney, he possesses the most reserved acting and for a character who feels the event's story more so than any other character. In fact, "Ace of Hearts" may only be worth taking in for the chance to see Chaney. However, actors may definitely be mis- and/or underused in films and this film's prolific and veteran silent director Wallace Worsely should be given his dues. After all, one could expect a certain sense of added dramatization with the absence of diagetic sound.There are a couple of great external shots that are fantastic involving Chaney in a downpour and people walking on a really windy sidewalk at night. I get the poignant connection of the story of the secret society to the Red Scare of WWI, but the story still seems weak. Chaney carries the film.

This tense, interesting drama features a story full of suspense and a typically fine performance by Lon Chaney. The combination of an assassination plot with a romantic rivalry is hardly unique, but it works particularly well in this setting, and it is used to bring out a number of ideas with significance that go beyond the events themselves. Although set in its own era and to some degree connected with political concerns of the early 1920s, it probably works even better when it is removed from the historical context, since this allows the plot to work on a higher level.It starts with a secret society planning the death of a powerful man who in some undefined way poses a menace to society. It's both interesting and effective that the particular offenses of 'the man who has lived too long' are never detailed. Thus, instead of focusing a debate on whether or not the specific things he has done ought to be punished, the questions become broader: whether it is right to use violence to punish a dangerous or evil person outside of the law, and whether it would ever be right to harm innocent persons in the process. These kinds of questions are at least as important now as they were at the time, and the movie provides a worthwhile perspective.Chaney's character here has little of the make-up and disguises for which Chaney was well- known, so that his considerable acting talents do the work instead. His character is at the same time a broken-hearted suitor and a vengeful member of the radical group, often with conflicting motives, which gives Chaney lots of material to work with.The first part sets up the story in a careful and intriguing way. The middle part moves more slowly, and focuses most of the attention on the radical couple played by Leatrice Joy and John Bowers. Both are adequate, but their scenes together sometimes lack intensity, and even in limited screen time Chaney still has the stronger presence during this stretch. The couple's agonized soul-searching then sets up some very tense moments in the last part of the movie.

An anarchist group holds their clandestine meetings to discuss the elimination of people in high power who are deemed wasting their prestige and power. The group decides on a "Man Who Has Lived Too Long" who should be eliminated and deal the cards until the Ace of Hearts determines who is to be the assassin. Forrest receives the card and is proud of it, one reason is that it impresses Lilith, a fellow member of the group to the point of the two marrying to test their bravery. The marriage saddens Farallone who was hoping to draw the ace to impress Lillith. After the first night of marriage (and the eve of Forrest carrying out his assignment), Lilith fears that their love will give Forrest a change of heart, but he says he will fulfill his duty. The next day while Forrest is in preparation of his duty, Lilith runs to Farallone to plead to save Forrest if anything happens to him, even though he tries to force his love upon her in case of Forrest's death. An OK film that just can't seem to escape the melodrama stigma that prevails throughout which sometimes smothers the suspense that the film should be portraying. The acting is somewhat bland, even by Chaney who just does not seem to be wanting to give his all. Worsley's directing seems to be going in all different directions of melodrama, romance, and suspense (which does look good at times), but can't maintain stability. The restored version by TCM has a very good score by Madala. Rating, 4.