The Witness for the Defense (1919)
Drama | 14 September 1919
Cast:
Elsie Ferguson, Vernon Steel , Warner Oland [ More ]Director:
George FitzmauriceWriter:
Ouida BergèreProduction Company:
Famous Players-Lasky Corp.The scenario was based on the 1911 play, The Witness for the Defense by A. E. W. Mason and his 1913 novel of the same name. Motion picture rights for the play were purchased by the Famous Players-Lasky Corp. (FP-L) in November 1916, as stated in the 2 December 1916 Moving Picture World. More than two years later, the 10 January 1919 Variety announced the screen version as director George Fitzmaurice’s first assignment for FP-L.
News items in the 14 February 1919 Wid’s Daily and the 21 February 1919 Variety reported lead actress Elsie Ferguson’s recent departure from New York City to begin location work on the picture in Miami, FL, where scenes depicting India were to be filmed. The actress’s busy schedule prevented her from taking her usual two-week vacation between assignments.
Ferguson’s return to New York City was noted in the 22 March 1919 Motion Picture News and the 5 April 1919 Moving Picture World, which also stated that production was continuing at the FP-L studio on 56th Street. Sets included a large tent decorated with native Indian weaponry and surrounded by vegetation, an English garden, and a courtroom populated with nearly 1,000 background actors. Various sources have credited William Cameron Menzies was the art director.
The Witness for the Defense was released on 14 September 1919 and opened that same week at the Rialto Theatre in New York City.
According to the Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database, this film is extant.
...
The scenario was based on the 1911 play, The Witness for the Defense by A. E. W. Mason and his 1913 novel of the same name. Motion picture rights for the play were purchased by the Famous Players-Lasky Corp. (FP-L) in November 1916, as stated in the 2 December 1916 Moving Picture World. More than two years later, the 10 January 1919 Variety announced the screen version as director George Fitzmaurice’s first assignment for FP-L.
News items in the 14 February 1919 Wid’s Daily and the 21 February 1919 Variety reported lead actress Elsie Ferguson’s recent departure from New York City to begin location work on the picture in Miami, FL, where scenes depicting India were to be filmed. The actress’s busy schedule prevented her from taking her usual two-week vacation between assignments.
Ferguson’s return to New York City was noted in the 22 March 1919 Motion Picture News and the 5 April 1919 Moving Picture World, which also stated that production was continuing at the FP-L studio on 56th Street. Sets included a large tent decorated with native Indian weaponry and surrounded by vegetation, an English garden, and a courtroom populated with nearly 1,000 background actors. Various sources have credited William Cameron Menzies was the art director.
The Witness for the Defense was released on 14 September 1919 and opened that same week at the Rialto Theatre in New York City.
According to the Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database, this film is extant.
Stella Derrick and Dick Hazelwood love each other, but their families insist that they make better financial matches. Stella leaves England for India to care for her invalid father, who convinces her to marry wealthy Captain Ballantyne to satisfy his own monetary needs. Stella soon learns that Ballantyne is a brutal drunkard suffering from delirium tremens. Henry Thresk, a visiting big game hunter, witnesses Ballantyne's brutality, but fails to persuade Stella to leave with him. The Ballantynes embark on a safari, where in a drunken fit, the captain kills Stella's pet bird. Her threat of revenge is overheard by a servant, and after Ballantyne is found dead, Stella is arrested and tried. Henry testifies that Ballantyne was threatened by disgruntled natives on the safari, resulting in Stella's acquittal. Afterward, she refuses Henry's demand for "payment" and returns to England. Stella marries Dick, now a member of Parliament, after confessing that she killed Ballantyne in ...
Stella Derrick and Dick Hazelwood love each other, but their families insist that they make better financial matches. Stella leaves England for India to care for her invalid father, who convinces her to marry wealthy Captain Ballantyne to satisfy his own monetary needs. Stella soon learns that Ballantyne is a brutal drunkard suffering from delirium tremens. Henry Thresk, a visiting big game hunter, witnesses Ballantyne's brutality, but fails to persuade Stella to leave with him. The Ballantynes embark on a safari, where in a drunken fit, the captain kills Stella's pet bird. Her threat of revenge is overheard by a servant, and after Ballantyne is found dead, Stella is arrested and tried. Henry testifies that Ballantyne was threatened by disgruntled natives on the safari, resulting in Stella's acquittal. Afterward, she refuses Henry's demand for "payment" and returns to England. Stella marries Dick, now a member of Parliament, after confessing that she killed Ballantyne in self-defense.
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