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Ransom
Ransom
Directed by	George B. Seitz
Written by	Elmer Blaney Harris; Dorothy Howell; George B. Seitz
Produced by	Harry Cohn
Starring	Lois Wilson
Cinematography	Joseph Walker
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	June 30, 1928;
Running time	58 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Silent

Ransom is a 1928 American silent drama film directed by George B. Seitz and is considered to be lost.^[1]^[2]^[3] This is one of the many films of this period that sought to cash in on the fame of the then-popular Sax Rohmer Fu Manchu novels. Surprisingly, Columbia resorted to aping the character instead of attempting to secure the rights legally from the author. The following year, Paramount released the first of a Fu Manchu trilogy of films that were very successful.^[4]

Plot

An Asian mastermind named Wu Fang, who controls the Chinese underground in San Francisco, learns of the recent invention of a poisonous gas which can be used as a biological weapon, invented by a Dr. Burton Meredith. Wu Fang kidnaps Bobby, the young brother of Dr. Meredith's fiancee Lois, and offers to trade the boy's life for the secret formula. Lois goes to Wu Fang's secret hideout to rescue her brother but winds up being captured herself. Just as Wu Fang prepares to torture her, Dr. Meredith bursts in with the police and saves both captives in the nick of time.

Cast

William V. Mong as Wu Fang
Edmund Burns as Burton Meredith, scientist
Lois Wilson as Lois Brewster, fiancee
Jackie Combs as Bobby Brewster, the kid brother
Blue Washington as Oliver
James B. Leong as Scarface

References

^ "NY Times: Ransom". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2012. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
^ "Silent Era: Ransom". Silent Era. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
^ Ransom at Arne Andersen's Lost Film Files: Columbia Pictures
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p.329. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.