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High Treason (silent version)

A terrorist plot plays out on a backdrop of towering skyscrapers, bullet-railways and silver lamé in this vintage vision of London's future.

Science Fiction 1929 75 mins Silent

Overview

In a future London (well, 1950), evil arms dealers plot to blow up the Channel Tunnel and fly planes into tall buildings, driving two super-powers to the brink of war. Can London's Peace League save the world? The city's skyline of skyscrapers and bullet-shaped railways may recall Metropolis, but the similarities end there in this very British vision of the future.

It being the future, everyone wears glittering silver lame, dance music is produced by automaton, people communicate by video phone and showers both wash and dry. It’s impressive to see that gender equality is taken for granted and delightful to note that combat gear includes high heels! Based on a play by maverick MP, Noel Pemberton-Billing, the film's futuristic setting allows for playful debate on the war versus peace issues of the inter-war years. Digitisation supported by The Mohamed S. Farsi Foundation