The Captive

Cecil B. DeMille’s thought-to-be-lost 1915 silent film The Captive, is a found treasure. Set during the Balkan Wars, The Captive tells the story of Sonia (Blanche Sweet, The Woman in White), a young woman living in Montenegro and left to care for her younger brother Milos (Gerald Ward, The Warrens of Virginia) and the family farm when older brother Marko (Page Peters, Davy Crockett) goes off to battle. Unable to handle the day-to-day tasks following her brother’s tragic death, help comes in the form of Mahmud Hassan (House Peters, Prisoners of the Storm) a captured Turk nobleman now a prisoner of war. Tasked with helping Sonia, their initial frosty relationship soon melts into love. As the war rages on Sonia, Mahmud and Milos will face near-insurmountable obstacles in their quest for a better life amidst the hell of war.

Directed by Cecil B. DeMille (The Ten Commandments, The Buccaneer) from a screenplay written by DeMille and Jeanie Macpherson (based on her play), the wartime romantic drama The Captive features supporting performances by Jeanie Macpherson (The Girl of the Golden West), Theodore Roberts (The Ten Commandments), William Elmer (The Devil and Miss Jones) and features a musical score newly composed by Lucy Duke.