For the Defense (1916)
Drama | 13 March 1916
Cast:
Fannie Ward, Jack Dean, Paul Byron [ More ]Director:
Frank ReicherWriters:
Hector Turnbull, Margaret TurnbullProduction Company:
Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Co.The 11 Mar 1916 Motion Picture News announced that the recently completed film was scheduled to open two days later at the Strand Theatre in New York City, as well as other theaters across the U.S. That same day’s issue of Motography claimed that director Frank Reicher began his next picture within an hour of completing For the Defense. A review in The 25 Mar 1916 Moving Picture World stated that the original story was written specifically for lead actress Fannie Ward by Hector Turnbull, who wrote her previous hit film, The Cheat (1915, see entry).
For the Defense opened to mixed reviews. While it was well-received by some critics, the 25 Mar 1916 Motion Picture News found the plot to be ridiculous, and revealed that the so-called brutal murder at the center of the story was committed unintentionally in defense of a woman.
Various sources state the picture's working title as Fidele.
According to the Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database, this film is extant.
...
The 11 Mar 1916 Motion Picture News announced that the recently completed film was scheduled to open two days later at the Strand Theatre in New York City, as well as other theaters across the U.S. That same day’s issue of Motography claimed that director Frank Reicher began his next picture within an hour of completing For the Defense. A review in The 25 Mar 1916 Moving Picture World stated that the original story was written specifically for lead actress Fannie Ward by Hector Turnbull, who wrote her previous hit film, The Cheat (1915, see entry).
For the Defense opened to mixed reviews. While it was well-received by some critics, the 25 Mar 1916 Motion Picture News found the plot to be ridiculous, and revealed that the so-called brutal murder at the center of the story was committed unintentionally in defense of a woman.
Various sources state the picture's working title as Fidele.
According to the Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database, this film is extant.
In New York en route from a French convent to one in Montreal, novice Fidele Roget is captured by a white slaver. During her escape, she witnesses a murder and then meets Jim Webster, who is about to commit suicide. She dissuades him, and he decides to help her get to Canada. On the way, however, he is arrested and ordered to stand trial for murder. Jim tells Fidele that he is being framed by his butler, who killed a man and then made all the evidence point to his employer. Fidele realizes that this is the murder she witnessed and decides to catch the real killer. Posing as a maid in the Webster household, she manages to trick the butler into a confession and then trades in a life devoted to the church for one devoted to Jim, whom she ...
In New York en route from a French convent to one in Montreal, novice Fidele Roget is captured by a white slaver. During her escape, she witnesses a murder and then meets Jim Webster, who is about to commit suicide. She dissuades him, and he decides to help her get to Canada. On the way, however, he is arrested and ordered to stand trial for murder. Jim tells Fidele that he is being framed by his butler, who killed a man and then made all the evidence point to his employer. Fidele realizes that this is the murder she witnessed and decides to catch the real killer. Posing as a maid in the Webster household, she manages to trick the butler into a confession and then trades in a life devoted to the church for one devoted to Jim, whom she marries.
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