It was adapted into a Silent Movie in 1919 by Hugh Ford starring Robert Harwick and Wanda Harley and again, with voice, in 1931 by J. Walter Reuben starring Richard Dix and Shirley Grey. It had several runs, most notably in 1977, which was televised on PBS as part of the Great Performances series, starring John Lithgow and Meryl Streep in one of her first on-screen roles.
It takes place in Confederate Richmond, Virginia during the height of The American Civil War. As the war rages on, much of the city has been converted into hospitals and, because of the chaos of war, members of the Union's Secret Service are able to infiltrate the Confederacy in disguise. Two of these men are Harry and Lewis Dumont, the latter of which made it into Richmond under the guise of one Captain Thorne, planning to infiltrate its telegraph office and send an order that can turn the tide of the war for the Union. However, in the process of this, he falls in love with Edith Varney, the older daughter of a Confederate General. However, hot on his tail is Confederate Secret Service agent Benton Arrelsford, who wants nothing but to stop Lewis/Thorne in his tracks. Will his relationship with Edith take priority, or his mission?
The 1898 edition of the script is available to read for free online courtesy of the University of Toronto through the Internet Archive
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Secret Service contains examples of:
- Bittersweet Ending: Thorne narrowly escapes execution as General Randolph says President Davis had shut the case since Thorne's refusal to give the dispatch allowed them to repulse the Union ambush. However, he is still imprisoned as a POW due to his suspicious behavior and won't be released until he agrees to switch sides for helping them. Nevertheless, this still gives Edith a chance to possibly reunite with Thorne.
- Beta Couple: Secondary to Edith and Thorne's relationship is her brother Wilfred's relationship with Caroline. They had previously been engaged, but differences between them caused them to break off. However, as he confides in her when he makes the decision to finally go off to the front, they rekindle their relationship.
- Better to Die than Be Killed: Harry Dumont tries to have Lewis (as Thorne) shoot him in the leg as Confederate soldiers are onto their movements. When Lewis refuses, he takes the gun and fires it upon himself, which kills him.
- Chekhov's Gun: The Presidential commission, which is first seen in Act I, is later used by Edith in Act III, giving General Randolph reason to believe that Thorne's purpose at the telegraph office is legitimate as he is about to be outed as a spy by Arrelsford.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Caroline Mitford, full stop. She is seen daydreaming and making outlandish comments in nearly every scene she's in, to the point where she almost ruins the uniform pants she was modifying for Wilfred because she she had her head in the clouds.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Arrelsford had been rejected by Edith in the past and he projects his frustrations on her as well as her current lover, Captain Thorne, referring to him as "the gentleman... whose attentions you have been pleased to accept in the place of mine!"
- Everyone Has Standards: Wilfred is ultimately the one to arrest Thorne. However, when Arrelsford insists that he be executed immediately, he protests, saying that he deserves a fair trial.
- Face Death with Dignity: When it becomes apparent that the Confederate army is onto him in Act IV, Thorne does little to resist and accepts his demise. He goes so far as to thwart Jonas' plan to remove the bullets from the soldiers' guns before they can execute him by warning the soldiers that the guns have been tampered with. This earns him the respect of Wilfred. Fortunately for him, his execution is stopped as General Randolph announces the President had set aside his execution.
- Hypocrite: Arrelsford is called out by several characters for being just as underhanded and suspicious as the man he is trying to apprehend. This is most evident as he investigates the Varney estate under vague notions of "department business" and ordering Thorne to be executed through an dubious Kangaroo Court.
- It Works Better with Bullets: As Thorne is given his poor excuse of a court martial, Jonas removes the bullets from the stacked muskets as the soldiers escorted him out and tells Edith to tell Thorne to play dead so they don't reload and finish him off. However, when Edith tells him this, he warns the soldiers that the guns have been tampered and they reload.
- Kangaroo Court: When Wilfred insists that Thorne be given a fair trial, Arrelsford says he will give him "the quickest drum-headnote on Earth" and he is back to be executed by the firing squad in a matter of minutes.
- Only a Flesh Wound: Subverted with Wilfred's injury. Even though he got clipped in the neck by a bullet during a Union ambush, he makes a brave attempt to walk it off and return to the front before he faints and, even after lying down for a while, still is unable to stand or walk well for much of the act.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Arrelsford calls the Varneys' black slave Jonas a "dog" as he adamantly tries to have him shot for colluding with Thorne/Lewis, and frequently refers to him by the n-word.
