The Enemy is a 1927 drama film

Drama film

A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...

 directed by Fred Niblo

Fred Niblo

Fred Niblo was an American pioneer film actor, director and producer.-Biography:He was born Frederick Liedtke in York, Nebraska, to a French mother and a father who had served as a captain in the American Civil War and was wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg...

, and starring Lillian Gish

Lillian Gish

Lillian Diana Gish was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987....

. The film has been thought to be lost

Lost film

A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...

. The MGM library, now controlled by Turner Classic Movies

Turner Classic Movies

Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...

, has a print which is missing the final reel. Actor Joel McCrea

Joel McCrea

Joel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...

 makes an early appearance as an extra.

Plot

Newlywed Carl (Ralph Forbes) goes to war where he endures major suffering; back home, wife Pauli (Lillian Gish) starves, becomes a prostitute to survive and their baby dies.

Cast

• Lillian Gish
  Lillian Gish
  Lillian Diana Gish was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987....
  
   - Pauli Arndt
• Ralph Forbes
  Ralph Forbes
  rightRalph Forbes was an English actor in the American cinema. He was also a noted stage actor....
  
   - Carl Behrend
• Ralph Emerson - Bruce Gordon
• Frank Currier
  Frank Currier
  Frank Currier was an American actor and director of the silent era. He appeared in 133 films between 1912 and 1928. He also directed 19 films in 1916...
  
   - Professor Arndt
• George Fawcett
  George Fawcett
  George Fawcett was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. On stage he appeared in such plays as Ghosts with the controversial Mary Shaw, The Squaw Man with William Faversham, The Great John Ganton with an up-and-coming actress Laurette Taylor in the cast and Getting A Polish with...
  
   - August Bejremd
• Fritzi Ridgeway
  Fritzi Ridgeway
  Fritzi Ridgeway was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 63 films between 1916 and 1934...
  
   - Mitzi Winkelmann
• Hans Joby
  Hans Joby
  Hans Joby was a German film actor. He appeared in 63 films between 1920 and 1944. He was also billed as "Captain John Peters", and often played aristocratic Prussian-types, memorably in Laurel and Hardy's silent short Double Whoopee.He was born in Kronstadt, Austria-Hungary and died in Los...
  
   - Fritz Winkelmann (as John S. Peters)
• Karl Dane
  Karl Dane
  Karl Dane was a Danish comedian and actor known for his work in American films, mainly of the silent film era. He worked alongside Rudolph Valentino, John Gilbert, and King Vidor. In 1926, he teamed up with George K. Arthur to form the successful comedy duo Dane & Arthur...
  
   - Jan
• Polly Moran
  Polly Moran
  Polly Moran was an American actress and comedian.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Moran started out in vaudeville, and widely toured North America, as well as various other locations that included Europe and South Africa...
  
   - Baruska
• Billy Kent Schaefer - Kurt
• Louise Emmons - (uncredited)
• Betty Jane Graham - Little girl (uncredited)
• Joel McCrea
  Joel McCrea
  Joel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...
  
  - Extra (uncredited)