The Unwritten Law (1916)
Drama | 28 February 1916
Director:
George E. MiddletonWriter:
Capt. Leslie T. PeacockeEditor:
Ruby GasbergProduction Company:
California Motion Picture Corp.The film was shot at the California Motion Picture Corp. studio in San Rafael, CA. Alex E. Beyfuss, the studio and general manager., was credited with directing this film by some sources, but California's studio records list George E. Middleton as the director. According to Capt. Leslie T. Peacocke's contract, he was to act as an assistant to Middleton, play bit roles, and help in the assembly of the film.
According to the 19 February 1916 Motography, actor Andrew Robson was badly burned in a scene in which his character was supposed to rescue a woman and her daughter from a burning building. As it turned out, "the flames got beyond control and the rescue was a real one." Both Beatriz Michelena and Baby Rix were also burned, but Robson's injuries required him to be taken to St. Luke's Hospital in San Francisco.
The Unwritten Law was originally planned for a January 1916 release and reviewed then in five reel form by several trade journals, but it is unlikely that it was released at that time. The producers subsequently added footage and released the film, now seven reels long, in the spring of 1916. Exclusive Features, Inc., acquired the rights to the film in late 1916.
The National Film Preservation Board (NFPB) included this film on its list of Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films as of February 2021.
...
The film was shot at the California Motion Picture Corp. studio in San Rafael, CA. Alex E. Beyfuss, the studio and general manager., was credited with directing this film by some sources, but California's studio records list George E. Middleton as the director. According to Capt. Leslie T. Peacocke's contract, he was to act as an assistant to Middleton, play bit roles, and help in the assembly of the film.
According to the 19 February 1916 Motography, actor Andrew Robson was badly burned in a scene in which his character was supposed to rescue a woman and her daughter from a burning building. As it turned out, "the flames got beyond control and the rescue was a real one." Both Beatriz Michelena and Baby Rix were also burned, but Robson's injuries required him to be taken to St. Luke's Hospital in San Francisco.
The Unwritten Law was originally planned for a January 1916 release and reviewed then in five reel form by several trade journals, but it is unlikely that it was released at that time. The producers subsequently added footage and released the film, now seven reels long, in the spring of 1916. Exclusive Features, Inc., acquired the rights to the film in late 1916.
The National Film Preservation Board (NFPB) included this film on its list of Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films as of February 2021.
John Wilson, a successful attorney with a wife and baby daughter, runs for political office. His opposition to drinking makes an enemy out of political boss Larry McCarthy, a successful saloon operator, who decides to destroy Wilson's campaign. Wilson is so confident of winning that, when he loses because of McCarthy's influence, he becomes a confirmed alcoholic. McCarthy encourages Wilson's drinking because he is really infatuated with Wilson's wife, Kate. She is reduced to operating a millinery store, which is destroyed by fire. Baby Sue, their daughter, is seriously burned and must be sent to a sanitarium, and Kate takes McCarthy in as a boarder. John has become a bum and leaves Kate, who has a nervous breakdown. McCarthy convinces Kate to marry him but, at the last minute, resumes his affair with a former paramour. Eventually Kate shoots McCarthy, although John, who has returned, is accused of the crime. Kate confesses but is not prosecuted and the family is reunited in the ...
John Wilson, a successful attorney with a wife and baby daughter, runs for political office. His opposition to drinking makes an enemy out of political boss Larry McCarthy, a successful saloon operator, who decides to destroy Wilson's campaign. Wilson is so confident of winning that, when he loses because of McCarthy's influence, he becomes a confirmed alcoholic. McCarthy encourages Wilson's drinking because he is really infatuated with Wilson's wife, Kate. She is reduced to operating a millinery store, which is destroyed by fire. Baby Sue, their daughter, is seriously burned and must be sent to a sanitarium, and Kate takes McCarthy in as a boarder. John has become a bum and leaves Kate, who has a nervous breakdown. McCarthy convinces Kate to marry him but, at the last minute, resumes his affair with a former paramour. Eventually Kate shoots McCarthy, although John, who has returned, is accused of the crime. Kate confesses but is not prosecuted and the family is reunited in the end.
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