Restored Silent

BEHIND THE DOOR-1919-Amid anti-German sentiment at the beginning of WWI, Capt. Krug (Hobart Bosworth) and his toughest rival Tavish (James Gordon) join the navy. Krug also marries Alice (Jane Novak} against her families wishes. Ostracized, she stows away on her husband's ship (Tavish is his first mate). Their ship is eventually torpedoed by a German sub which finds Krug and Alice in a lifeboat. Lt. Brandt (Wallace Beery), the sub commander has Alice taken aboard but abandons Krug to the open sea. He survives and vows revenge. Alice is gang raped by the crew, then killed and her body thrown overboard. Later both Krug and Brandt meet again and Krug gets his revenge big time. 

This rediscovered classic, which uses stills for some missing scenes, starts off like some typical “DW Griffith” drama and ends like a nightmare that may have influenced Edgar Ulmer. It kind of manages to say ethnic hatred is wrong but still shows the German as being very bad. It's based on a story by Gouverneur Morris.

Director Irvin Willat made THE GRIM GAME starring Harry Houdini the same year.
 https://moviemeltdown.blogspot.com/2017/10/houdini.html