Below the Deadline (DVD)

Claire Byron vows to get even with William Taggart, the hard-nosed police detective who arrested her brother for a high-profile gem robbery. At the urging of the thief who actually committed the robbery, Claire woos Donald Cornwall, Taggart's best friend and the general manager of a jewelry exchange. Claire frames him when the exchange is robbed -- and there's nothing Taggart can do about it.

When Cornwall is sentenced to prison, Taggart allows him to escape. Now a fugitive, Cornwall embarks on a daring plan to clear his name and bring the guilty to justice.

Australian born J.P. McGowan (1880-1952) does double-duty in this late-entry silent thriller from Chesterfield Pictures, co-starring as the no-nonsense William Taggart and directing the film in similarly trim, no-nonsense fashion. Throughout his career, McGowan alternated both duties, appearing in over 230 movies and directing almost 250 shorts and features, many of them Westerns and action films. He was also a writer and producer, and was an Honorary Life Member of the Director's Guild of America.

• silent