Movie of the month: The Signal Tower (dir. Clarence Brown, 1924)

Image source: Wikipedia Long thought lost like so much of the silent era, a copy of the 1924 thriller-melodrama The Signal Tower was eventually discovered in 16mm. Directed by Clarence Brown before he became famous for his handling of several women’s melodramas in the 1930s, The Signal Tower is a simple, brisk, and effective piece of work. You can watch it in rather muddy quality on YouTube, but since it’s made the rounds at a few film festivals, I’m hoping it will be available in a nicer home media edition soon enough. The plot is quintessential home invasion material. In need of some extra income, railroad worker Dave (Rockliffe Fellows) gives new co-worker Joe (Wallace Beery) a room in his own home. Dave’s wife Sally (Virginia Valli, whose greatest claim to fame now is playing the lead in Alfred Hitchcock’s first feature, The Pleasure Garden) isn’t too happy about Joe’s presence. He’s a shameless playboy for one thing, flirting with Sally’s visiting cousin and hitting on Sally…