The Eagle's Eye


The Eagle's Eye is a 1918 American serial film consisting of 20 episodes that dramatizes German espionage in the United States during World War I. The stories are based on the experiences of William J. Flynn during his career as chief of the United States Secret Service from 1912–1917.
It features King Baggot as the president of the Criminology Club and Marguerite Snow as a Secret Service agent who investigate spies. Among the events depicted are the sending of the Zimmermann Telegram, Franz von Rintelen's attempts to sabotage cargo loading in San Francisco Harbor, and the capture of the German espionage plans. It was directed by George Lessey, Wellington A. Playter, Leopold Wharton, and Theodore Wharton, and produced by the Whartons Studio. The serial is now considered lost. Because this serial was a commercial failure, it was the last one made by Whartons due to the studio being forced to declare bankruptcy.

Background

After Flynn's retirement from the Secret Service his work investigating sabotage during the war were interwoven with fictitious characters and events by Courtney Ryley Cooper into a 20-part spy thriller. These were also published as weekly installments in The Atlanta Constitution's magazine section during 1918 under the title The Eagle's Eye: A True Story of the Imperial German Government's Spies and Intrigues in America. Fifteen of the episodes were republished as chapters in a book the following year.

Cast

  1. Hidden Death
  2. The Naval Ball Conspiracy
  3. The Plot Against the Fleet
  4. Von Rintelen, the Destroyer
  5. The Strike Breeders
  6. The Plot Against Organized Labor
  7. Brown Port Folio
  8. The Kaiser's Death Messenger
  9. The Munitions Campaign
  10. The Invasion of Canada
  11. The Burning of Hopewell
  12. The Canal Conspirators
  13. The Reign of Terror
  14. The Infantile Paralysis Epidemic
  15. The Campaign Against Cotton
  16. The Raid of the U-53
  17. Germany's U-Base in America
  18. The Great Hindu Conspiracy
  19. The Menace of the I.W.W.
  20. The Great Decision