The Law of the Land

• Director: Maurice Tourneur
• AMG Rating:
• Genre: Crime
• Release Year: 1917
• Run Time: 5rl minutes

Plot

Law of the Land was a showcase for Olga Petrova, who did some of her best screen work under the guidance of director Maurice Tourneur. Cursed with a sadistic brute of a husband, Margaret Harding (Petrova) is driven to murder the man. Police inspector Brockland (J. D. Haragan) suspects that Margaret is guilty and prepares to exercise the letter of the law and bring her to justice. But when Brockland is apprised of the reasons for Margaret's rash act, he relents and allows her to slip through his fingers. In an ending that wouldn't have been at all acceptable a few years hence, Margaret not only escapes prosecution but also finds happiness with her true love Geoffrey Morton (Mahlon Hamilton). Law of the Land was based on a play by George Broadhurst, a past master at complex crime melodramas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast

William Conklin; Mahlon Hamilton - Geoffrey Morton; Wyndham Standing - Richard Harding; Robert Vivian - Chetwood; Riley Hatch - Inspector Cochrane; Olga Petrova - Margaret Harding

Credit

Maurice Tourneur - Director, Maurice Tourneur - Screenwriter, Charles E. Whittaker - Screenwriter