A Bischoff Productions Release
October 1928 - 6 Reels
Directed by James P. Hogan

FEATURED CAST
Kenneth Harlan
June Marlowe (as Helen Carson)
Arthur Rankin
and
Silverstreak

June was loaned to Samuel Bischoff Productions to once again star opposite Silverstreak, the Rin-Tin-Tin wannabe.  And once again she played the familiar role of an innocent, this time as a secretary in her father's pharmaceutical business.  And once again a love interest develops.  And once again _______ (fill in dog's name here) saves the day by film's end. The plot involves an evil inventor who has developed a death ray.  He plans to aim it at a plane while the plane is transporting stocks and bonds.  The ray is supposed to cause the plane to burst into flames (hopefully not burning the stocks and bonds too!) and crash to the ground, allowing him to abscond with the securities.  He doesn't get away with it, of course. Critics from Film Daily to Variety faulted everything about the film, from the direction to the plot to the acting.  Variety in particular dismissed June's performance as "...not very stirring."  Oh, well.

June was about to make two more films for Universal.  They were made in Germany and they were of a different ilk indeed.  Some have suggested that Universal, having tested June for sound and finding her talents lacking, sent her to Germany, where the technology for "talkies" was yet to be established,  thus getting what use out of her talents that they could.  This is somewhat unlikely, as Universal was still making silent films well into 1929 and would simply have used her here in the U.S.  The actual reason may have been something much simpler.  Ernst Laemmle was production chief for Deutsche Universal, the German arm of the studio.  Laemmle had directed June in Grip Of The Yukon, and may well have been aware of her ability to speak the German language.  Perhaps he persuaded his uncle Carl, head of Universal, to loan June to him for some films to be produced in Germany.  No matter the real reason, the fact is that June was sent to Germany.  And she was welcomed with much fanfare.

Photograph from the collection of Don Spears.

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