The Net | |
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![]() Film stills from The Net | |
Directed by | J. Gordon Edwards |
Screenplay by | |
Based on | The Woman's Law by Maravene Thompson |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Bennie Miggins |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Fox Film |
Release date |
|
Running time | 7 reels |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
The Net is a 1923 American silent melodrama film directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starring Barbara Castleton, Raymond Bloomer, and Albert Roscoe. It is a film adaptation of the 1919 Broadway play of the same name, itself based on the novel The Woman's Law by Maravene Thompson. The film depicts the story of Allayne Norman (Castleton) and her husband Bruce (Bloomer). Bruce commits murder and convinces Allayne to help him blame the crime on a man suffering from amnesia (Roscoe). After Bruce dies and the man recovers, he marries Allayne.
The film's release was delayed almost a year from its originally announced date. Contemporary reviews were mixed to negative. Like many of Fox Film's early works, it was likely lost in the 1937 Fox vault fire.
Allayne Norman's husband Bruce is a drunkard and gambler. Finally unable to tolerate his behavior, she goes to her artist cousin for assistance. Her husband follows her to demand more money. The resulting argument and fight ends with Bruce killing his wife's cousin. Shortly thereafter, an amnesiac man enters the studio. In an effort to avoid the consequences of his actions, Bruce places his identifying documents in the man's pockets, then flees the studio with Allayne and their son.
The police are unable to determine what has occurred, but identify the man as Bruce Norman based on the planted papers, and send him to what they presume to be his home, in the hope that the presence of family will aid the return of his memory. Fearing the truth would result in her son being known as the child of a murderer, Allayne identifies the man as her husband while Bruce remains in hiding.
When Bruce returns, he attempts to kill the man who has taken his place. He fails and is shot instead. The man regains his memory, allowing him to be cleared of wrongdoing. Having fallen in love during their time together, Allayne and the man marry. [1] [2] [3]
Alma Bennett was initially reported as a member of the cast, [4] but the American Film Institute believes she did not appear in the finished film. [2] This was Castleton's final film appearance. [5]
Maravene Thompson's The Woman's Law was originally serialized in The American Magazine between November 1913 and April 1914 [6] before being published as a novel in 1914. [7] The first film version was produced Arrow Film and distributed by Pathé in 1916. [6] [7] Thompson adapted her novel into a play, titled The Net, [8] which was performed at Broadway's 48th Street Theatre. [9] Channing Pollock praised the quality of the production and cast, which included Claire Whitney, but found elements of the story unconvincing. [8] [10] It ran for eight showings [10] and was considered a success. [11]
In December 1922, Fox Film announced the addition of six films to its schedule for planned release in January 1923, including an adaptation of The Net. [upper-alpha 1] [12] However, filming had not begun on The Net at that time [2] and its release was repeatedly delayed. In January, the studio claimed that director J. Gordon Edwards was "screening the final scenes" and set a February 25 release date. [13] In April, it was still advertised for the "coming season", [14] but by October it was described as a "1924 drama". [11] The Net was finally screened on December 2, 1923. [1] [2]
It was also released internationally: in France in February 1924, [15] Argentina in March, [16] and Brazil in August. [3]
The Net was not well-received by critics. The Film Daily was scathing, calling the film a "feeble attempt at entertainment" with a "terrible story" and inadequate cast. [17] They also reported the opinions of local critics. Despite issues with the plot, the Rochester, New York reviewer was generally positive; [18] however, the Cleveland review opined that the "acting doesn't warrant complimentary adjectives". [19] Photoplay 's was also mostly negative, but thought the film might appeal to fans of Bertha M. Clay. [20]
The Net is believed to be lost. The 1937 Fox vault fire destroyed most of Fox's silent films, [21] and the Library of Congress is not aware of any extant copies. [22] Because little of Edwards's work survives, few of his films have drawn attention from modern authors, [23] [24] but film historian Larry Langman described The Net as an example of the 1920s trend to use amnesia as a plot element in crime films. [25]
Richard Semler Barthelmess was an American film actor, principally of the Hollywood silent era. He starred opposite Lillian Gish in D. W. Griffith's Broken Blossoms (1919) and Way Down East (1920) and was among the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1927. The following year, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for two films: The Patent Leather Kid and The Noose.
Huntley Ashworth Gordon was a Canadian actor who began his career in the Silent Film era.
Ida Estelle Taylor was an American actress, singer, model, and animal rights activist who was the second of world heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey's four wives. With "dark-brown, almost black hair and brown eyes," she was regarded as one of the most beautiful silent film stars of the 1920s.
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The Silent Command is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by J. Gordon Edwards featuring Bela Lugosi as a foreign saboteur in his American film debut. The film, written by Anthony Paul Kelly and Rufus King, also stars Edmund Lowe, Alma Tell, and Martha Mansfield. The film depicts the story of Benedict Hisston (Lugosi), who is part of a plot to destroy the Panama Canal. Initially unable to obtain necessarily intelligence from Richard Decatur (Lowe), a captain in the United States Navy, he enlists the aid of femme fatale Peg Williams (Mansfield). Decatur pretends to be seduced into the conspiracy, costing him his career and estranging him from his wife (Tell), but he ultimately betrays the saboteurs in Panama and stops their plan. He returns home to the Navy and his wife, and to popular acclaim for his heroics.
Frederick J. Jackson, also known professionally as Fred Jackson and Frederick Jackson and under the pseudonym Victor Thorne, was an American author, playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and producer for both stage and film. A prolific writer of short stories and serialized novels, most of his non-theatre works were published in pulp magazines such as Detective Story Magazine and Argosy. Many of these stories were adapted into films by other writers.
Gladys Leslie Moore was an American actress in silent film, active in the 1910s and 1920s. Though less-remembered than superstars like Mary Pickford, she had a number of starring roles from 1917 to the early 1920s and was one of the young female stars of her day.
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The Woman on the Jury is a lost 1924 American silent drama film produced and released by Associated First National and directed by Harry Hoyt. It is based on a Broadway stage play, The Woman on the Jury, and stars Sylvia Breamer and Bessie Love. The story was refilmed in 1929 as an early talkie under the title The Love Racket starring Dorothy Mackaill.
The Siren's Song is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starring Theda Bara. It is not known whether the film currently survives, and it may be a lost film.
Between Friends is a 1924 American silent melodrama film based on the eponymous 1914 novel by Robert W. Chambers. The film was directed by J. Stuart Blackton and produced by Albert E. Smith. It stars Lou Tellegen, Anna Q. Nilsson, and Norman Kerry. The feature was distributed by Vitagraph Studios, which was founded by Blackton and Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York. The film is lost.
It Is the Law is a 1924 American silent mystery film directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starring Arthur Hohl, Herbert Heyes, and Mona Palma. It is a film adaptation of the 1922 Broadway play of the same name by Elmer Rice, itself based on a novel by Hayden Talbot. The film depicts the story of Ruth Allen (Palma), who marries Justin Victor (Heyes) over competing suitor Albert Woodruff (Hohl). Seeking revenge for this slight, Woodruff fakes his own death by killing a drifter who resembles him, and frames Victor for the murder. Woodruff attempts to renew his courtship of Allen by using an assumed identity, but she sees through his disguise. Once Victor is freed from prison, he kills Woodruff and goes free because a conviction would constitute double jeopardy.
Doris May, was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 29 films between 1917 and 1927, generally as a leading lady. Most of her roles were in westerns and comedies, although she also starred in some melodramas.
Gypsy O'Brien (1889–1975) was a theater and film actress. Her theater performances included a role in Cheating Cheaters. She also appeared in Bunny at the Hudson Theatre. Her performance as the persecuted heroine was described as pretty and spirited. According to marketing materials she had titian hair. Her film debut was in The Soul Market in 1916. She portrayed an investigative reporter in Nothing But Lies.
Mary Mersch, sometimes credited as May Mersch, was an American actress active from the silent era up to 1938. She was under contract with Fox, and often worked with directors like William Farnum and Frank Lloyd.
Lucille Carlisle, born Ida Lucile White, was an American actress.