Intrigue, the Films of Julia Crawford Ivers (DVD)

Most commonly known as the principle screenwriter for ill-fated director William Desmond Taylor, publicity-shy Julia Crawford Ivers was a filmmaker of diverse talents, working as director, scenarist, production supervisor, and editor at Paramount. This collection showcases two of Ivers’s directorial efforts: A Son of Erin (1916) and The Majesty of the Law (1915, of which only a single reel survives). But the centerpiece is The Intrigue (1916, directed by Frank Lloyd) a sci-fi/espionage film in which world powers vie for control of a death ray during World War I. Through these meticulous restorations of films preserved by the Library of Congress, the woman once known as “Lady in the Shadows” can now finally receive the attention her work so richly deserves.