Summary
There Are No Villains (1919) unfolds as a taut psychological thriller draped in chiaroscuro silents, where deception and moral ambiguity intertwine like the tendrils of opium smoke. Viola Dana’s Rosa Moreland, a Secret Service operative cloaked in calculated vulnerability, navigates the labyrinth of San Francisco’s underworld by entangling herself with John King (Fred Kelsey), a war-scarred recluse whose enigmatic patronage hints at deeper allegiances. As Rosa’s mission blurs with genuine affection, the film interrogates the porous boundaries between duty and desire, exposing how love becomes both weapon and casualty in a war against corruption. The narrative pivots on a masterstroke of narrative symmetry: John’s clandestine role as an undercover agent mirrors Rosa’s own subterfuge, creating a tragicomedy of mutual manipulation. Mary O’Hara’s script, sharp as a dagger’s edge, dissects the performative nature of identity, while Frank R. Adams’ direction lingers on the charged silences between lines, rendering the unspoken as resonant as the spoken.
Synopsis
In San Francisco, California, Rosa Moreland of the Secret Service is unable to obtain evidence against suspected opium smuggler George Sala. She then advises Detective Flint of her plan to develop a relationship with John King, an impoverished, disabled ex-soldier who Rosa met in George's office. After claiming to have lost her home in a fire, Rosa is invited to stay in John's modest flat. He receives money from a mysterious source, enabling them to afford a more expensive apartment, and they soon fall in love. Although Rosa secretly witnesses John receiving a package from George, she tells the skeptical Flint that her lover is above suspicion. John agrees to end his association with George if Rosa will marry him, and, realizing that a wife cannot legally testify against her husband, she agrees. Flint anticipates the wedding and sends a squad of police officers to interrupt. George, who has learned Rosa's true identity, is another unwelcomed intruder. She discovers that John is also a Secret Service agent, and that he has obtained enough evidence to convict George.
