The Power God, Volume 1 (Chapters 1-8) (1925) (Silent) (DVD)

The world is thrown into upheaval by Professor Daniel Sturgess's new invention. The Atomic Energy Engine harnesses the power of the very atoms in the air, making the need for fuel and electricity obsolete. Business moguls quickly convene in secret, fearing the catastrophic effect the device will have on their livelihoods. The consortium enlists racketeer Weston Dore to steal Sturgess's invention before it can be put to use. With the help of his strongwoman wife, Carrie, the gangster kills the elderly scientist and takes the engine for his own. Now only Sturgess's daughter Aileen and her fiance Jim, who know the secret of disabling the device, are all that stand between the power-mad criminal and total world domination...

This exciting silent serial is directed by Francis Ford, the older brother of Western legend John Ford. The filmmaker's connections to the railroad industry got him exclusive permission to film on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe lines. Leading man Ben F. Wilson's career went back to the days of Edison films, but he found his greatest success in the realm of movie serials. Some of his most notable chapter plays include The Brass Bullet (1918; he also directed) and The Trail of the Octopus (1919). His popularity was so great that he even received his own trading card as part of a promotion with Piedmont Cigarettes. After making one talkie, the Buck Jones western Shadow Ranch (1930), Wilson died of complications from heart disease at the age of 54.

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