The Unknown Purple is a 1923

1923 in film

-Events:*April 15 - Lee De Forest demonstrates the Phonofilm sound-on-film system at the Rivoli Theater in New York with a series of short musical films featuring vaudeville performers.-Top grossing films :-Films released in 1923:U.S.A...

 stage-play-based, science-fiction genre, silent film

Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

, written and directed by Roland West

Roland West

For the basketball player, see Roland West Roland West was a Hollywood director known for his innovative film noir movies of the 1920s and early 1930s.-Biography:...

. The film could probably be the first dealing with the subject of invisibility

Invisibility

Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be invisible . The term is usually used as a fantasy/science fiction term, where objects are literally made unseeable by magical or technological means; however, its effects can also be seen in the real...

 and might have been based upon the novel The Invisible Man

The Invisible Man

The Invisible Man is a science fiction novella by H.G. Wells published in 1897. Wells' novel was originally serialised in Pearson's Weekly in 1897, and published as a novel the same year...

by H.G. Wells.

Plot

After his release from prison, an inventor develops an eerie purple light that renders him invisible, enabling him to seek revenge on his unfaithful wife and his crooked partner.

Cast

• Henry B. Walthall
  Henry B. Walthall
  Henry Brazeale Walthall was an American film actor.-Career:Walthall began his career as a stage actor, appearing on Broadway in a supporting role in William Vaughn Moody's The Great Divide in 1906–1908. His career in movies began in 1908, in the film Rescued from an Eagle's Nest, which also...
  
  
• Alice Lake
  Alice Lake
  Alice Lake was an American film actress. She began her career during the silent film era and often appeared in comedy shorts opposite Roscoe Arbuckle.-Career:...
  
  
• Stuart Holmes
• Helen Ferguson
  Helen Ferguson
  Helen Ferguson was an American actress later turned publicist.Born in Decatur, Illinois in 1901, she graduated from Nicholas High School of Chicago and the Academy of Fine Arts. Ferguson was a newspaper reporter before entering the motion picture field.It is thought she made her debut in films in...
  
  
• Frankie Lee
  Frankie Lee
  Frankie Lee , was an American child actor. He appeared in 56 films between 1916 and 1925.He was born in Utah, USA and died in Los Angeles, California.-External links:...
  
  
• Dorothy Phillips
  Dorothy Phillips
  Dorothy Phillips was an American stage and film actress.-Career:Born Dorothy Gwendolyn Strible in Baltimore, Maryland, Phillips began her career as a stage actress. She made her film debut in 1911, and appeared in over 150 films during her career...
  
  
• Ethel Grey Terry
  Ethel Grey Terry
  Ethel Grey Terry was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 52 films between 1914 and 1928...
  
  
• James Morrison
• Johnny Arthur
  Johnny Arthur
  Johnny Arthur was an American stage and motion picture actor.-Early years:Born John Lennox Arthur Williams in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, Arthur was a veteran of twenty-five years on stage before he made his screen debut in 1923's The Unknown Purple...
  
  
• Richard Wayne
• Brinsley Shaw
• Mike Donlin
  Mike Donlin
  Michael Joseph Donlin was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Perfectos/Cardinals , Baltimore Orioles , Cincinnati Reds , New York Giants , Boston Rustlers , and Pittsburgh Pirates...