Ahead of the Balkan Wars, Lecca was recalled into active service at Bucharest arsenal, then eventually under arms. He participated in the 1913 expedition to Bulgaria, and published a memoir of his experience—this was strange, according to Iorga: "few expected [Lecca] to be interested in such topics". Titled "Dincolo" ("Beyond"), it was dismissed with a pun by "Opinia": "Sure enough, talent is beyond the scope of Mr Lecca's work." By then, interested in the emerging Romanian school of cinema, had also been working on a screenplay the "peasant drama" "Răzbunarea" ("Revenge"). The eponymous film, produced by Leon Popescu and starring Voiculescu, premiered upon Lecca's return to Bucharest, in June 1913. A scandal ensued, when Mihail Sorbul of "Seara" noticed that Lecca had plagiarized from his recently deceased uncle, Caragiale, rehashing "Năpasta" with only minor changes of names and settings. Together, Lecca and Voiculescu wrote a film version of "Fédora", first shown in a private screening around the same time as "Răzbunarea"—postponed by Popescu's furious withdrawal from the project, its release came in 1915.