The Broken Silence (DVD)

Beautiful young Jeanne Marat, "a wild flower of the North", lives alone in the Canadian wilderness. Her only visitor is Bruce Cameron of the Royal Mounted Police, who harbors strong feelings for the girl. Their blossoming romance is hindered by the sudden arrival of Pierre, Jeanne's long-lost brother. Pierre has discovered the identity of the man who killed his and Jeanne's parents many years ago -- Inspector Brandt, now Bruce's superior officer. Learning of Pierre's plans for revenge, Jeanne is torn between loyalty to her brother and the man she loves.

This previously lost feature film is one of many movies from the silent era based on the work of James Oliver Curwood. A writer and environmentalist, Curwood's thrilling adventure novels set in the Canadian North proved to be surprisingly fertile ground for movie producers during the 1920s. The first of these adaptations was Back to God's Country (1919) starring Nell Shipman, followed by Nomads of the North (1920) with Lon Chaney and The Golden Snare (1921) with Lewis Stone and Wallace Beery. Other titles include The Girl from God's Country (1921), God's Country and the Law (1921) and Jan of the Big Snows (1922). As recently as 1989, Curwood's work inspired the award-winning film The Bear, directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud. Leading lady Zena Keefe is an almost entirely forgotten star of the Teens and Twenties; she made a total of 28 films between 1911 and 1924, retiring shortly thereafter.

BONUS: Ridin' Through (1923): Dick Hatton plays a traveling hobo who sobers up and rescues Alma Bennett from kidnappers in this rarely seen two-reeler. Hatton was a minor-league Western star during the silent era, only making films for small, relatively obscure companies, meaning that very little of his work survives today. He was tragically killed in a car accident on July 9, 1931, shortly after the arrival of sound.

• silent