Held by the Law

Last updated

Held by the Law
Held by the Law (1927) - 1.jpg
Advertisement
Directed by Edward Laemmle
Screenplay byCharles Logue
Story by Bayard Veiller
Starring Ralph Lewis
Johnnie Walker
Marguerite De La Motte
Cinematography Jackson Rose
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • April 10, 1927 (1927-04-10)
Running time
76 minutes
CountryUnited States
Language Silent (English intertitles)

Held by the Law is a 1927 American silent crime film directed by Edward Laemmle and written by Charles Logue. The film stars Ralph Lewis, Johnnie Walker, Marguerite De La Motte, Robert Ober, Fred Kelsey, and Maude Wayne. The film was released on April 10, 1927, by Universal Pictures. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Plot

As described in a film magazine, [4] tragedy replaces gaiety at the engagement party of Mary Travis and Tom Sinclair when his cousin, Boris Morton, a gentleman black sheep, facing exposure for the theft of a necklace from a member of the guests, shoots Sinclair’s father in the back while the two fathers are drinking a toast in the library. Morton, with the cunning of desperation, casts the gun from his gloved hand into the room and joins the horrified guests as one of them. Tom Sinclair, stunned by the tragedy, unconsciously casts suspicion on Mary’s father.

The only evidence against Morton, the real killer, is the glove with which he handled the gun. The detectives examine all the gloves of the guests, hoping to find one bearing the oily imprint of the gun handle, but Boris has dropped his gloves into a vase. As a result, Travis is tried, convicted of the murder, and sentenced to die.

Although Mary has broken the engagement, she turns to Tom in the last moments to save her father. She meets the young woman from whom Boris stole the necklace and learns that Tom’s father was aware of the theft. She suspects the truth and enlists the aid of the detective who arrested her father. They lay a trap for Morton, who is induced to accompany Mary to the scene of the crime, ostensibly in the flimsy hope of unearthing new evidence that will free Travis. When Morton is left alone, he attempts to retrieve the tell-tale gloves and is arrested in the act by the detectives, who are waiting. Travis is saved from the electric chair and Mary and Tom are reconciled.

Cast

Preservation

With no prints of Held by the Law located in any film archives, [5] it is a lost film.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal Pictures</span> American film studio

Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures, is an American film production and distribution company that is a division of Universal Studios, Inc., which is owned by NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Owen Moore</span> American actor

Owen Moore was an Irish-born American actor, appearing in more than 279 movies spanning from 1908 to 1937.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Maynard</span> American actor (1895–1973)

Kenneth Olin Maynard was an American actor and producer. He was mostly active from the 1920s to the 1940s and considered one of the biggest Western stars in Hollywood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noah Beery</span> American actor (1882–1946)

Noah Nicholas Beery was an American actor who appeared in films from 1913 until his death in 1946. He was the older brother of Academy Award-winning actor Wallace Beery as well as the father of prominent character actor Noah Beery Jr. He was billed as either Noah Beery or Noah Beery Sr. depending upon the film.

<i>Draculas Daughter</i> 1936 film by Lambert Hillyer

Dracula's Daughter is a 1936 American vampire horror film produced by Universal Pictures as a sequel to the 1931 film Dracula. Directed by Lambert Hillyer from a screenplay by Garrett Fort, the film stars Otto Kruger, Gloria Holden in the title role, and Marguerite Churchill, and features, as the only cast member to return from the original, Edward Van Sloan – although his character's name was altered from "Van Helsing" to "Von Helsing".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Tyler</span> American actor (1903–1954)

Tom Tyler was an American actor known for his leading roles in low-budget Western films in the silent and sound eras, and for his portrayal of superhero Captain Marvel in the 1941 serial film The Adventures of Captain Marvel. Tyler also played Kharis in 1940's The Mummy's Hand, a popular Universal Studios monster film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivan Mosjoukine</span> Russian actor (1889–1939)

Ivan Ilyich Mozzhukhin, usually billed using the French transliteration Ivan Mosjoukine, was a Russian silent film actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Nolan</span> American actress (1902–1948)

Mary Nolan was an American stage and film actress, singer and dancer. She began her career as a Ziegfeld girl in the 1920s performing under the stage name Imogene "Bubbles" Wilson. She was fired from the Ziegfeld Follies in 1924 for her involvement in a tumultuous, highly publicized affair with comedian Frank Tinney. She left the United States shortly thereafter and began making films in Germany. She appeared in 17 German films from 1925 to 1927, using the stage name Imogene Robertson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Cruze</span> American actor and director (1884–1942)

James Cruze was a silent film actor and film director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Hoxie</span> American actor (1885–1965)

John Hartford Hoxie was an American rodeo performer and motion-picture actor whose career was most prominent in the silent film era of the 1910s through the 1930s. Hoxie is best recalled for his roles in Westerns and rarely strayed from the genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marin Sais</span> American actress (1890–1971)

Marin Sais was an American actress whose career was most prolific during the silent film era of the 1910s and 1920s. Sais' acting career spanned over four decades and she is possibly best recalled for appearing in Western themed films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Hurst (actor)</span> American actor (1888–1953)

Paul Causey Hurst was an American actor and film director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murdock MacQuarrie</span> American actor (1878–1942)

Murdock MacQuarrie was an American silent film actor and director. His name was also seen as Murdock McQuarrie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Brough</span> English actress (1863–1934)

Mary Bessie Brough was an English actress in theatre, silent films and early talkies, including eleven of the twelve Aldwych farces of the 1920s and early 1930s.

<i>Street Justice</i> American television series

Street Justice is a Canadian-American action crime drama series starring Carl Weathers and Bryan Genesse. The series began airing in syndication in 1991, and was canceled in 1993 after two seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Quigley</span> American actor

Charles Quigley was an American actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnnie Walker (actor)</span> American actor and film producer

Johnnie Walker, sometimes credited as Johnny Walker, was an American actor and producer popular from the silent era to the late 1930s. He appeared in a variety of short and feature films, including the highly successful features Captain Fly-by-Night, Over the Hill to the Poorhouse, Broken Hearts of Broadway and Old Ironsides. He began his film career in 1915.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emory Johnson</span> American actor, director, producer, and writer

Alfred Emory Johnson was an American actor, director, producer, and writer. As a teenager, he started acting in silent films. Early in his career, Carl Laemmle chose Emory to become a Universal Studio leading man. He also became part of one of the early Hollywood celebrity marriages when he wed Ella Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom O'Brien (actor, born 1890)</span> American actor (1890–1947)

Tom O'Brien was an American silent and sound character actor known for his burly serio-comic roles.

<i>Prowlers of the Night</i> 1926 film

Prowlers of the Night is a 1926 American silent Western film directed by Ernst Laemmle and starring Fred Humes, Barbara Kent, and Slim Cole.

References

  1. "Held by the Law (1927) - Overview". TCM.com. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  2. Hal Erickson. "Held by the Law (1927) - Edward Laemmle, Ernest Laemmle". AllMovie. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  3. "Held by the Law". Catalog.afi.com. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  4. "Universal Synopses: Held by the Law". Universal Weekly. 26 (6). New York City: Motion Picture Weekly Publishing Company: 38. September 17, 1927. Retrieved January 5, 2024.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  5. Library of Congress / FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: Held by the Law