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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 732

An Unseen Enemy

191216 minUnited States

Thriller Adventure

Video edition: Wikimedia Commons
Original language: No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: English.
This copy runs: 15:17
Subtitles: English

Languages and subtitles

Subtitles off by default

Wikimedia Commons · D. W. Griffith · Public domain

Subtitles: Wikimedia Commons · Open Classic Cinema

Synopsis

After their father's death, two sisters are left in a house where money has been placed in the safe for the night. A dishonest housekeeper brings in an accomplice and locks the girls in another room. Threatened through an opening in the wall, they use the telephone to alert their brother, setting a rescue in motion while the robbery continues.

Cast

Lillian Gish

Dorothy Gish

Harry Carey

Elmer Booth

Robert Harron

DirectorsD. W. Griffith

Behind the scenes

Lillian and Dorothy Gish made their film debuts in this Biograph short. The telephone connects the trapped sisters with the action elsewhere, allowing suspense to develop through alternating scenes.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film reference Wikidata — film identity and credits

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 12, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

Lillian Gish — Bain News Service; Uploaded by Calliopejen ; Edited by jjron . · Public domain
Dorothy Gish — Bain News Service, publisher.; This image is available from the United States Library of Congress 's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID ggbain.32540 . This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing . · Public domain
Harry Carey — film screenshot · Public domain
Elmer Booth — LinnaSileny; Own work · CC BY-SA 4.0
Robert Harron — Fred Hartsook (1876–1930). · Public domain

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