By the Law

By the Law
Directed by	Lev Kuleshov
Screenplay by	Viktor Shklovsky Lev Kuleshov
Based on	"The Unexpected" by Jack London
Starring	Aleksandra Khokhlova Sergey Komarov Vladimir Fogel
Cinematography	Konstantin Kuznetsov
Production company	Goskino
Release date	1926 (1926)
Country	Soviet Union
Language	Silent film

By the Law (Russian: По закону, romanized: Po Zakonu) is a 1926 silent drama film. The film was directed by Lev Kuleshov and produced by the Soviet production company Goskino.

The narrative is based on the Jack London short story "The Unexpected". The plot concerns a group of gold prospectors in the Yukon region of Canada during the Klondike Gold Rush.

Plot

A group of five gold miners originally from Western Europe find a large deposit in the Yukon. One, after being made to act as a servant, having his food stolen and ridiculed, enters the cabin with a rifle for hunting or protection and, in a moment of madness, shoots dead two of his comrades. The remaining two, a married couple, disarm him but have the dilemma of whether to administer justice themselves or risk waiting for the thaw and then trying to return to civilization to render the offender to the public court.

Cast

• Alexandra Khokhlova as Edith Nelson
• Szergei Komarov as Hans Nelson
• Vladimir Fogel as Michael Dennin
• Pyotr Galadzhev as Harkey
• Porfiri Podobed
• Fred Forell as Jack

Production

After trying his filmmaking skills in different genres, Lev Kuleshov decided to make a film using minimal resources and a strictly limited number of actors. After reading the Jack London short story "The Unexpected", he with Viktor Shklovsky wrote a script based on the narrative.

Kuleshov and co-screenwriter Shklovsky initially thought that the studio would be interested in a low-budget feature with three actors in one setting but the script was rejected and only after an article appeared in support of the picture in the magazine "Soviet Screen" was the film greenlit.

For the role of Edith Nelson Lev Kuleshov cast his wife, actress Aleksandra Khokhlova.

The filming was done in the Moscow Oblast, not far from the Tsaritsynsky ponds. The shore of the Moscow River and two trees near the water created the illusion of the wild northern Yukon. On the riverside, a house of prospectors was placed in which the interior scenes were shot.

Shooting conditions were extremely difficult; cold winter scenes were shot in April and inundation occurred. The decoration of the house was flooded, the crew was knee-deep in water and actors often faced electric shocks because of the damaged insulation of the wires.

Reception

The film was received positively abroad in non English speaking countries; in Anglo-regions it was released only in 1939.

Interesting facts

• Original script of the picture was called "Three."
• For the shooting of the film high and warm "American" boots were sewn for Alexandra Khokhlova which the actress enjoyed so much that after she finished working on the film she ended up keeping them for herself.
• In the course of working on the film various alternative endings were examined, but eventually it was decided to leave Dennin alive.

External links

• Po zakonu at IMDb
• Watch the movie (with embedded subtitles)