The Leopard Woman (1920)

After an unsuccessful attempt on his life, John Culbertson, a British secret agent, leads a safari from Bajuma, on the edge of the African desert, to the kingdom of M'tela. Also on route to that savage kingdom and bound by oath to prevent Culbertson from reaching it, is Madame, a secret agent of a rival government. Madame and her safari meet up with the Englishman's party in the desert where she is forced to accept his aid because her men are exhausted and dehydrated. Although she fulfills her promise to delay Culbertson by feigning illness, "the Leopard Woman," as she is called, unwittingly falls in love with him. After they make love, Culbertson scorns her and she orders Chaké, her servant, to kill him, but when the attempt fails, she is relieved. Culbertson's progress is delayed further when he loses his sight because of overexposure to the sun. Madame smashes his bottle of medicine in the hope of forcing his return to Bajuma, but determined to complete his mission, Culbertson forges ahead, blind, and with the help of a record player, forms an alliance between the primitive M'tela tribe and Britain. Finally choosing love over duty, Madame sends Chaké to find the British military surgeon, who restores Culbertson's vision. Thus foreign rivalry is swept aside for love.