The Eagle

(1925)

80 minutes

Adventure / Drama / Romance / Silent film with music track

Directed by Clarence Brown

Cast: 

Rudolph Valentino as Lt. Vladimir Dubrovsky
Vilma Banky as Miss Mascha Troekouroff
Louise Dresser as The Czarina, Catherine 2nd
Albert Conti as Captain Kuschka
James A. Marcus as Kyrilla Troekouroff
George Nichols as Judge
Carrie Clark Ward as Aunt Aurelia
Gary Cooper as Masked Cossack

Rudolph Valentino stars as Vladimir Dubrovsky, a young Russian Cossack officer who rejects the czarina’s (Louise Dresser) amorous attention and is promptly branded a deserter in this silent tale of love and revenge.  On the eve of his dismissal he learns of his father’s ruin; his father had sent a letter pleading for the czarina’s aid against Kyrilla (James Marcus), a gluttonous and treacherous neighbor who has stolen the family’s estate.  Sentenced to death with a reward on his head for shunning the lusty czarina, Vladimir escapes into the countryside and becomes the Black Eagle, a dashing masked vigilante who seeks to avenge the death of his father.  As he nears his goal, his mission is complicated when he falls in love with Mascha Troekouroff (Vilma Banky), Kyrilla’s daughter.