The Trial of Mary Dugan (1929 film)

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The Trial of Mary Dugan
The-Trial-of-Mary-Dugan-1929-LC.jpg
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Directed by Bayard Veiller
Written byBayard Veiller (play)
Becky Gardiner (screenplay)
Based on The Trial of Mary Dugan
1927 play
by Bayard Veiller
Produced by Louis B. Mayer
Starring Norma Shearer
Cinematography William H. Daniels
Edited by Blanche Sewell
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • June 8, 1929 (1929-06-08)(U.S)
Running time
113 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Trial of Mary Dugan is a 1929 American pre-Code film produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring Norma Shearer. The film is based on the 1927 Broadway stage play The Trial of Mary Dugan by Bayard Veiller, who also directed the film. On stage the play had starred Ann Harding (in Shearer's role), who would come to Hollywood a few years later at the beginning of talkies. This was Veiller's only sound film directorial effort; he had directed several silent films before 1922. [1] [2] The play was also published as a novel authored by William Almon Wolff, published in 1928. [3] The 1941 film of the same name is an MGM remake.

Contents

Plot

The film

Mary Dugan, a Broadway showgirl, is charged with murder in the knifing death of her wealthy lover and goes on trial for her life. When her defense counsel appears to bungle his job, Mary's brother Jimmy, a newly licensed attorney, jumps into the case to defend his sister. Jimmy's courtroom style is unconventional, but he seems to be holding his own against the prosecuting attorney... until a surprise testimony changes the course of the trial.

Cast

Cast notes:

Censorship

When The Trial of Mary Dugan was released in the United States, many states and cities in the United States had censor boards that could require cuts or other eliminations before the film could be shown. In Pennsylvania, the film had silent sections where the dialog had been cut, and for longer deletions a photostatic copy of a newspaper providing news of the trial was added. At the Penn Theater in Pittsburgh, a trailer was shown before the film with the following statement:

The management wishes to beg the indulgence of the audience for what may seem to be mechanical defects in the feature picture about to be shown. They are not defects but cuts in dialog ordered by the Pennsylvania Board of Censors. [4]

The Chicago Board of Censors did not order any cuts but initially passed the film on a "pink" or "adults only" basis for showing at the Roosevelt Theatre. [5] However, after the showing of the film had been advertised, the board changed its mind and without comment banned the film. [6] The theater instead showed Careers (1929), which had been passed in Chicago as "adults only."

See also

References

  1. ↑ The Trial of Mary Dugan at silentera.com
  2. ↑ The Trial of Mary Dugan as produced on Broadway at the National Theatre, September 19, 1927 to October 1927, IBDb.com; accessed January 26, 2016.
  3. ↑ Wolff, W. Almon., Veiller, B. (1928). The trial of Mary Dugan: from the play by Bayard Veiller. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Doran & Co.
  4. ↑ "Trailer Tells of Talk Cuts by Censors". Variety . 95 (6). New York City: Variety, Inc.: 5 May 22, 1929. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Chi Censors "Pink" Three in Loop". Variety . 95 (10). New York City: Variety, Inc.: 6 June 19, 1929. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Chi Censors Domineering Tactics Bring Only Mild Producer Protest: Mary Dugan Pinked But Later Banned for Roosevelt". Variety . 95 (11). New York City: Variety, Inc.: 5 June 26, 1929. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
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