The Dormant Power

Christine Brent, seeks refuge with her father in a western village because of an unjust law. Maurice Maxwell, a wealthy ammunition manufacturer, comes to the village and becomes infatuated with Christine, wanting to take her east.

Carl Randolph, drifts into the town saloon during a fourth of July celebration, and he shoots a Mexican man who disrespects an American flag. He flees and confesses to Catherine that he is a failure, and she gives him money to start his life anew.

After escaping, Randolph becomes a powerful attorney who is offered a position as General Counsel for the Maxwell Ammunition Company. He calls at Maxwell's house one night for business and sees Christine, who has become Maxwell's wife since Randolph fled, and has regretted her choice ever since.

The inventor, Brinkerhoff, delivers plans to Maxwell of a valuable invention. Maxwell is caught trying to plagiarize the documents and kills Brinkerhoff in the struggle, and tosses his body out of the window into the river.

Brinkerhoff's wife turns to Randolph for assistance. He sends her undercover as a maid in Maxwell's home, where she finds evidence of Brinkerhoff's murder. Mrs. Brinkerhoff, Maxwell's confession, shoots her husband's killer. At trial, the jury deliver a verdict of not guilty, and Christine and Randolph are happily reunited.

• Ethel Clayton as Christine Brent
• Joseph Herbert as James Brent
• Edward Langford as Carl Randolph
• Montagu Love as Maurice Maxwell
• Muriel Ostriche as Metta
• George Morgan as Brinkerhoff

Motography reviewer Helen Rockwell's review was positive, praising the story for being "handled with such finesse and care." Additional praise was given to Max Schneider's photography of the interiors, which were described as "showing all the gorgeous splendor of a wealthy eastern home."{{Cite book |last= |url=https://archive.org/details/motography18elec/page/888/mode/2up |title=Motography |date= |publisher=Electricity Magazine Corp. |others= |location=Chicago |publication-date=October 27, 1917 |pages=889 |language=en}}

Photoplay's short review was mostly negative, describing of the production "World has a wardrobe full of nice picture garments, but it insists upon draping them over the veriest old skeletons of past and gone melodramas that one can imagine."{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://archive.org/details/phooct1213chic/page/n555/mode/2up |title=Photoplay |date= |publisher=Photoplay Magazine Publishing Company |others= |location=Chicago |publication-date=January 1, 1918 |pages=127 |language=en}}

Variety's review was mostly positive, finding the story unoriginal but capably handled by the director and cast. The reviewer described the cinematography as "well selected" and Ethel Clayton and Montagu Love's acting as standing "head and shoulders above the rest."{{Cite book |last= |url=https://archive.org/details/variety48-1917-10/page/n105/mode/2up |title=Variety |date= |publisher=Variety Publishing Company |others= |location=New York |publication-date=October 12, 1917 |pages=39 |language=en}}

Wid's Films gave the film a negative review, calling the film's story "old stuff" and the photography "hazy." The only praise was saved for the acting of Ethel Clayton and Montagu Love, as the rest of the cast "failed to impress." The reviewer concluded their review by telling theater owners "I certainly would not book this if there was any chance of getting away from it."{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://archive.org/details/widsfilmsfilmfol03wids/page/n675/mode/2up |title=Wid's Films and Film Folk |date= |publisher=Wid's Films and Film Folks, Inc. |others= |location=New York |publication-date=October 25, 1917 |pages=685 |language=en}}

A complete print of The Dormant Power is held by the EYE Filmmuseum.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-27 |title=The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: The Dormant Power |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240327172440/https://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.mbrs.sfdb.979/ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=web.archive.org}}

{{reflist}}

• Langman, Larry. American Film Cycles: The Silent Era. Greenwood Publishing, 1998.

• {{IMDb title|0007869}}

{{Travers Vale}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dormant Power}}

Category:1917 films

Category:1917 drama films

Category:1910s English-language films

Category:American silent feature films

Category:Silent American drama films

Category:Films directed by Travers Vale

Category:American black-and-white films

Category:World Film Company films

Category:Films shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey

Category:1910s American films

Category:English-language drama films

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