The Purple Cipher

The Purple Cipher
Directed by	Chester Bennett
Written by	J. Grubb Alexander
Based on	The Purple Hieroglyph by Murray Leinster
Produced by	Albert E. Smith
Starring	Earle Williams Vola Vale Ernest Shields
Cinematography	Jack MacKenzie
Production company	Vitagraph Company of America
Distributed by	Vitagraph Company of America
Release date	October 11, 1920 (1920-10-11)
Running time	50 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	Silent English intertitles

The Purple Cipher is a 1920 American silent mystery film directed by Chester Bennett and starring Earle Williams, Vola Vale and Ernest Shields. Shot by Vitagraph at the company's Brooklyn studios, it was based on the short story The Purple Hieroglyph by Murray Leinster.^[1] The story was adapted twice more in the sound era as Murder Will Out (1930) and Torchy Blane in Chinatown (1939).

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• Earle Williams as Leonard Staunton
• Vola Vale as Jeanne Baldwin
• Ernest Shields as Jack Baldwin
• Allan Forrest as Alan Fitzhugh
• Henry A. Barrows as Frank Condon
• Goro Kino as Hop Lee
• Frank M. Seki as Wong Foo

• Billee J. Stallings & Jo-an J. Evans. Murray Leinster: The Life and Works. McFarland, 2011.

• The Purple Cipher at IMDb