It Is the Law (1924)

Interesting facts

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.

Production

In 1922, theatrical agent Walter Jordan encouraged successful playwright Elmer Rice to dramatize It Is the Law, an unpublished novel written by Hayden Talbot. At the time, Rice was best known for his 1914 Broadway play On Trial, which featured the first use of flashback, a narrative technique he adapted from film, in a Broadway production.

Fox Film announced the production of a film adaptation of It Is the Law early in 1924, with J. Gordon Edwards set to direct. This was the only film he directed that year, as he was primarily serving as Fox Film's director-general at the time. Curtis Benton wrote the screenplay for Fox; unlike the theatrical version, Benton's work presents the story entirely in chronological order.

The copyright registration for It Is the Law stated its length as eight reels, but the released version was a shorter, seven-reel film. When Twentieth Century-Fox Film renewed the copyright in 1951, they again referred to the longer run time; the title was also restyled with an exclamation point, as It Is the Law! Fox's advertising for the film included a trailer, as well as novelty items to be given away by exhibitors, such as a small key descri…

This was Edwards' final work. He retired from Fox after the film's completion, and although he expressed an interest to returning to the role, he died of pneumonia the following year.

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