The Silent Command

The Silent Command is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by J. Gordon Edwards and features Bela Lugosi as a foreign saboteur in his American film debut. The film, written by Anthony Paul Kelly and Rufus King, also stars Edmund Lowe. The film depicts the story of Benedict Hisston Lugosi, who is part of a plot to destroy the Panama Canal. Initially unable to obtain necessarily intelligence from Richard Decatur Lowe, a captain in the United States Navy, he enlists the aid of femme fatale Peg Williams Martha Mansfield. Decatur pretends to be seduced into the conspiracy, costing him his career and marriage, but ultimately betrays the saboteurs in Panama and stops their plan. He returns home to the Navy and his wife, and to popular acclaim for his heroics.

Benadict Hisston is a foreign agent, part of a conspiracy to destroy the Panama Canal and the United States Navys Atlantic Fleet. He attempts to acquire information about mine placement in the Canal Zone from Captain Richard Decatur, but fails. With that information essential to the conspiracys success, he then hires vamp Peg Williams to obtain the intelligence through seduction.Decatur is not fooled, and obeys the silent command of the Chief of Naval Intelligence to play along with the spies without revealing his purpose to friends or family. He is courtmartialed, stripped of rank, and dismissed from the Navy after he strikes an admiral. His association with Williams estranges him from his wife, but earns him the trust of Hisston and the other spies. When the conspirators are ready to enact their plan, he travels to Panama with them. He thwarts their attempt at sabotage, saving the canal and the fleet. He is reinstated into the Navy, reunited with his wife, and honored by the nation for his heroism. ........

Source: Wikipedia