The Woman on the Jury (1924)

Melodrama | 20 April 1924

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HISTORY

Shortly after the Broadway debut of Bernard K. Burns’s 1923 play, The Woman on the Jury, Associated First National Pictures acquired film rights. An item in the 17 October 1923 Film Daily, which announced the acquisition, noted that the play had just completed its run at the Eltinge Theatre in New York City.
       Principal photography was initially scheduled to begin on 15 October 1923 at the United Artists studio lot in Hollywood, CA, according to items in the 27 October 1923 issues of Exhibitors Trade Review and 4 November 1923 Film Daily. However, production did not begin until 14 January 1924, and was concluded by 12 Mar 1924, as noted in the 26 January 1924 Moving Picture World and 12 March 1924 Film Daily, respectively. Theatrical release followed on 20 April 1924.
       In Chicago, IL, where the film was scheduled to open at the Chicago Theatre on 5 May 1924, an attempt was made by the Chicago Censor Board to restrict the film’s audience to those twenty-one years of age and older. Exhibitors Balaban & Katz joined with Associated First National Pictures to obtain an injunction against the censor board. The 17 May 1924 Exhibitors Herald stated that the “censors contended the picture portrayed a love affair between a woman on a jury and one of the principals in a murder and that it was therefore unfit to be shown to minors.” The judge found in favor of the movie exhibitors, accusing the censors of “overstepping their authority.”
       Grace Gordon was named as a cast member in the 5 April ...

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Shortly after the Broadway debut of Bernard K. Burns’s 1923 play, The Woman on the Jury, Associated First National Pictures acquired film rights. An item in the 17 October 1923 Film Daily, which announced the acquisition, noted that the play had just completed its run at the Eltinge Theatre in New York City.
       Principal photography was initially scheduled to begin on 15 October 1923 at the United Artists studio lot in Hollywood, CA, according to items in the 27 October 1923 issues of Exhibitors Trade Review and 4 November 1923 Film Daily. However, production did not begin until 14 January 1924, and was concluded by 12 Mar 1924, as noted in the 26 January 1924 Moving Picture World and 12 March 1924 Film Daily, respectively. Theatrical release followed on 20 April 1924.
       In Chicago, IL, where the film was scheduled to open at the Chicago Theatre on 5 May 1924, an attempt was made by the Chicago Censor Board to restrict the film’s audience to those twenty-one years of age and older. Exhibitors Balaban & Katz joined with Associated First National Pictures to obtain an injunction against the censor board. The 17 May 1924 Exhibitors Herald stated that the “censors contended the picture portrayed a love affair between a woman on a jury and one of the principals in a murder and that it was therefore unfit to be shown to minors.” The judge found in favor of the movie exhibitors, accusing the censors of “overstepping their authority.”
       Grace Gordon was named as a cast member in the 5 April 1924 Motion Picture News. A length of 7,408 feet was cited in the 24 May 1924 Exhibitors Trade Review and 25 May 1924 Film Daily, while the 31 May 1924 Moving Picture World gave a length of 7,331 feet.
       The National Film Preservation Board (NFPB) included this film on its list of Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films as of October 2019.

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GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS
SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Exhibitors Herald
1 Mar 1924
p. 52
Exhibitors Herald
3 May 1924
p. 61
Exhibitors Herald
17 May 1924
p. 80
Exhibitors Trade Review
27 Oct 1923
p. 999
Exhibitors Trade Review
2 Feb 1924
p. 21
Exhibitors Trade Review
16 Feb 1924
p. 11
Exhibitors Trade Review
24 May 1924
p. 52
Film Daily
17 Oct 1923
p. 1
Film Daily
4 Nov 1923
p. 11
Film Daily
13 Feb 1924
p. 7
Film Daily
3 Mar 1924
p. 2
Film Daily
12 Mar 1924
p. 5
Film Daily
16 May 1924
p. 6
Film Daily
18 May 1924
p. 6
Film Daily
19 May 1924
p. 8
Film Daily
21 May 1924
p. 6
Film Daily
25 May 1924
p. 10
Film Daily
26 May 1924
p. 7
Motion Picture News
27 Oct 1923
p. 1985
Motion Picture News
5 Apr 1924
p. 1527
Moving Picture World
26 Jan 1924
p. 286
Moving Picture World
9 Feb 1924
p. 453
Moving Picture World
31 May 1924
pp. 493-494
Moving Picture World
7 Jun 1924
p. 543, 568
Variety
14 May 1924
p. 21
CAST
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTOR
PRODUCER
Pers supv
WRITERS
Editorial dir
PHOTOGRAPHY
James C. Van Trees
Dir of photog
ART DIRECTOR
Architecture
FILM EDITOR
Film ed
SOURCES
LITERARY
Based on the play The Woman on the Jury by Bernard K. Burns (New York, 15 Aug 1923).
LITERARY SOURCE AUTHOR
DETAILS
Release Date:
20 April 1924
Production Date:
14 Jan 1924--late Feb or early Mar 1924
Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
Associated First National Pictures
24 April 1924
LP20117
Physical Properties:
Silent
Black and White
Length(in feet):
7,408
Length(in reels):
7
Country:
United States
Language:
English
SYNOPSIS

Betty and her husband, Fred, are called to serve on a jury to try Grace Pierce for the murder of George Montgomery. Finding that Grace's case parallels her own, that they have been both betrayed by the same man, Betty finally confesses her own similar experiences, changing the jury's verdict to acquittal. Realizing her sacrifice, her husband forgives her for the ...

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Betty and her husband, Fred, are called to serve on a jury to try Grace Pierce for the murder of George Montgomery. Finding that Grace's case parallels her own, that they have been both betrayed by the same man, Betty finally confesses her own similar experiences, changing the jury's verdict to acquittal. Realizing her sacrifice, her husband forgives her for the past.

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GENRE
Genre:


Subject
Subject (Major):

Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

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Juries, Murder, Trials
The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.