MOVIE OF THE DAY: "HIGH TREASON" (1929)

There are certain things early futuristic  sci-fi movies agree upon: zeppelins and gyrocopters becoming as ubiquitous as Ubers; one-piece jumpsuits as normal dresswear; televisions and video phones in all homes; and another world war breaking out. That's two out of four they always get right, as does the 1929 British production High Treason.

The year is 1940.  A series of terrorist incidents are inching the two superpowers, the Federation of European States and the Empire of the Atlantic States, closer to war. Stuck in the middle of this crisis in London are military official Michael Deane and his girlfriend Evelyn Seymour, who, along with her father, runs the World League of Peace. You see the problem already, right?

Dr. Seymour and the President of Europe
get ready to rumble.

Just before the President of Europe declares war, Evelyn's dad Dr. Seymour assassinates him on live television. At Seymour's murder trial, the judge instructs the jury to ignore the fact that the crime saved millions of lives by preventing a second world war. To me, that sounds like tipping the scales against the peacemonger, but I haven't got a law degree hanging on my wall. 

Go ahead and laugh, but I challenge you to
create this in your basement.

High Treason is one of the few formerly "lost" movies that lives up to its legend. While the similar 1936 UK release Things to Come has a better script (thanks to screenwriter H.G. Wells) and boasts better production values, High Treason can easily be enjoyed as the little railway that could. 

The miniatures standing in for skyscrapers, airplanes, and land vehicles aren't what you'd call convincing, but the amount of skill that went into creating them is impressive, bettered only by Fritz Lang's Metropolis. 

Nine paid agitators walk into a black room...

The story confirms every conspiracy nut's nightmare that somewhere a mysterious group is pulling the strings in order to cause worldwide misery. In High Treason, that would be a cadre of "paid agitators" who are creating havoc. You can tell it's an international movement -- one guy has a Trotsky beard, another a French beret, and, just so they're inclusive, there's an Asian. 

As usual, Russia is left out in the cold. 

Whether starting border conflicts or bombing the English Channel train (hey, the movie got the Chunnel right, too!), the terrorists always make sure the Atlantic States appear responsible. Because Europeans never start wars. Judging by High Treason's map, the Atlantic States consist of the USA, South America, China, and Japan. The European Federation appears to be what we would call the European Allies, plus Australia, Canada, Iceland, New Foundland, Greenland, Africa and whatever British territories were left over. We Yanks are clearly outnumbered.

"Hello, darling. We're going to war no matter
what you pacifists think!"

But what of High Treason's star-crossed lovers, Michael and Evelyn? Well, after starting off all lovey-dovey, that darned threat of war takes precedence over their relationship. While the men await orders to go bombs away over New York and Washington, women are conscripted to work in the airplane factories. The women, however, are members of the World League of Peace. Led by Evelyn, they refuse to let the planes leave. 

The women don't take no shit no how.

Their standoff threatens to turn violent, when Michael orders his troops to turn their weapons on the women, including Evelyn, who orders her "troops" to stand their ground, convinced that the men would never kill them. It's an impressive moment unlike any other I've seen in a movie of High Treason's era. It's matched only by the climax, when pacifist Dr. Seymour is portrayed at his sentencing as the second coming of You Know Who. When the closing credits roll, you wonder which side was committing high treason after all. 

In case you couldn't tell by the silence.

As with many movies made in the late '20s, High Treason was also released as a silent, which is several minutes longer, mostly due to subtitles. But some scenes are shorter, while others are unique to the silent or use different angles. And it's only in the talkie you hear the several uses of "hell" and "damn", usually spoken by us ugly Americans. Both versions have Evelyn's sexy shower scene behind a semi-opaque door. (Sound isn't necessary for such things.) Oddly, the silent subtitles inform us the story takes place in 1950 rather than a decade earlier in the sound version. There's another prediction it got right: nobody can agree on anything.

One thing neither version of High Treason explains is who exactly is paying the agitators. If other movies of the time are any guide (such as The Man Who Reclaimed His Head and Transatlantic Tunnel), it's either arms manufacturers or press barons eager to sell newspapers. Hey, maybe those conspiracy nuts are on to something after all.

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