Broken Laws
| Broken Laws | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Roy William Neill |
| Written by | Marion Jackson Bradley King |
| Based on | the short story, Broken Laws by Adela Rogers St. Johns |
| Produced by | Dorothy Davenport Thomas H. Ince |
Production company | Thomas Ince Corporation |
| Distributed by | Film Booking Office of America |
Release date |
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Running time | 70 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Broken Laws (1924) is an American silent dramatic film directed by Roy William Neill, remarkable for the appearance of Dorothy Davenport, who is billed as "Mrs. Wallace Reid".
Plot
Joan Allen (Davenport) is a loving mother who can't help indulging her son Bobby, spoiling him to the point where he is an irresponsible "jazz-mad" teenager on trial for vehicular manslaughter. She wakes up with a start at the end of the trial, with new resolve to provide the right amount of parental discipline.
Production background
Davenport's husband was the star Wallace Reid, who died of morphine addiction in January 1923. By June 1923, Davenport had co-produced, starred in and toured the country with Human Wreckage, a moralistic warning about the terrors of drug addiction. The film's sensational tone, and the roadshow engagement with her personal appearances, were a direct precursor to the later 1930s exploitation films of Kroger Babb and others.
Broken Laws on the topic of parental overindulgence is the second of Davenport's "social conscience" releases, followed by The Red Kimona (1925), based on a true-life story of white slavery.[1]
Cast
- Dorothy Davenport as Joan Allen (credited as "Mrs. Wallace Reid")
- Percy Marmont as Richard Heath
- Ramsey Wallace as Ralph Allen
- Jackie Saunders as Muriel Heath (as Jacqueline Saunders)
- Arthur Rankin as Bobby Allen at 16
- Virginia Lee Corbin as Patsy Heath at age 16
- Tommy Hicks as Fat kid
- Henry Neill as Himself
Preservation status
According to the SilentEra website, a print exists in the Cinematheque Royale de Belgique.
See also
- The Silver Cord (1933)
References
- ^ Guide to the silent years of American cinema, by Donald W. McCaffrey, Christopher P. Jacobs, page 101
External links
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