In the Name of the Law is a 1922 American silent melodrama directed by Emory Johnson with Dick Posson acting as assistant director. FBO released the film in August 1922. The film's "All-Star" cast included Ralph Lewis, Johnnie Walker, and Claire McDowell. The cast also included Johnson and his wife, Ella Hall. Emilie Johnson, Johnson's mother, wrote both the story and screenplay. In the Name of the Law was the first picture in Johnson's eight-picture contract with FBO.
The police melodrama was about a San Francisco police officer. He was a dedicated community servant. The story depicts his struggles with the duality of dedication to duty versus devotion to family. The film was a pioneering effort in other aspects. It was a serious film about law enforcement. Movies had cinematically maligned the profession in the past. The film is also an early example of an innovative exploitation strategy. The scheme involved getting the group featured on the screen aligned with their real-life counterparts and promoting the film.
Plot Prologue The story's prologue opens when policeman Patrick O'Hara discovers a lost child. She has stolen some milk. Rather than disciplining her, he takes her home instead. The following morning, he finds the girl has run away from an orphanage. Since their baby daughter had died, the O'Haras made plans to adopt the child. The prologue then moves on and features the O'Haras' sons. Ben Alexander plays a young Harry O'Hara at age 10. Harry's younger brother, portrayed by Johnny Thompson, plays Johnnie O'Hara at 9. Josephine Adair plays their recently adopted six-year-old daughter Mary.
12 years later After a single subtitle, the story jumps 12 years into the future. Harry is now age 22. He attends college, studying Law hoping to become a lawyer. His lofty goals run contrary to his father's wishes. His father has told his son he has "wasted his time getting an education". Johnnie is age 20 and works at the local bank. Mary, age 18, is also employed at the same bank as a stenographer. Johnnie and Mary have fallen in love and planned their wedding. We also discover that O'Haras have always wanted to own a cottage. The family's frugality has finally come to fruition. They are only one payment away from paying off the mortgage.
While attending law school, Harry earns pocket money by pressing clothes. He also washes dishes. One day, while Harry is at work, somebody leaves a sizable sum of money in a pair of pants needing pressing. The money goes missing, and the owner accuses Harry of the theft. The owner reports the thief to the police—the police file charges. Upon hearing of the accusation, Harry's mother becomes distraught. She had been secretly funding Harry while he attended law school. In her heart, she knew he couldn't have committed this crime. Mother O'Hare hatches a plan to keep her eldest out of jail. She will take the money they had saved for their final payment on the cottage and pass it to Harry. Harry will "find" the missing money and return it to the owner.
While the family is at home, sans Harry, Pat discovers what his wife has done with their cottage money to save Harry. A massive argument breaks out. When things settle down, everyone goes their separate ways. While Officer O'Hare goes to work, Mary goes to the bank and approaches the bank president. Mr. Lucus, to ask for a loan. Mr. Lucus agrees to give her the money. But as she finds out, he expects special favors besides the regular repayment. Johnnie takes another tact to help his brother. He decides to tap into a stash of funds stored in his safety deposit box. After securing the funds, Johnnie heads home to find the house empty.
Where is everybody? Officer O'Hara is at work, Mother O'Hara is with Harry, and Mary is begging for a loan. He heads back to the bank. Johnnie finds out Mary is flush with cash. He believes she has stolen the money from the bank to save Harry. A quarrel breaks out. Now, Johnnie decides to use the funds from his safety deposit box to cover his girlfriend's theft. How could wholesome Mary steal this money? He starts investigating this supposed theft by looking around the bank. Johnnie then heads to the back of the bank, further investigating.
The scene switches. The bank is being robbed! Mary's screams alert the bank officials a crime is being committed. Somebody calls the cops. Police rush to the bank. Leading the police continent is Officer Pat O'Hare. After the police arrive, a policeman gets killed in a shoot-out with the robbers. The holdup is thwarted, and all action stops. Twenty-five years on the force have taught Officer O'Hara to examine all crime scenes. He performs his due diligence at the crime scene. Officer O'Hare checks the entire bank and then walks around to the back of the bank. In the heat of the moment, he believes he has found another one of the robbers. Officer O'Hare fires a single shot. Then to his absolute horror, he realizes he has wounded his son - Johnnie.
The story switches to the trial of Johnnie O'Hara for robbery and murder. The prosecutor's case depends only on circumstantial evidence. Be that as it may, Johnnie is still on the verge of conviction on all counts. A new lawyer for the defense appears. The new counselor is Johnnie's brother Harry, a full-fledged lawyer. Harry immediately makes a passionate plea for his brother. Harry's eloquence strikes everyone in the courtroom. Then, Harry finds new direct evidence. The latest proof exonerates his brother completely - thank you, Mary!
Then, as a precursor to similar scenes from the TV series Perry Mason, the Bank President, Mr. Lucus, stands up. Overcome with guilt after hearing Harry's appeals, he confesses to the robbery. Then he confesses to killing the policeman. Even after his confession, Mr. Lucus is still unable to control his emotions of guilt. He approaches the bench. While facing the judge, Mr. Lucus pulls a gat and shoots himself.
When the trial concludes, the court dismisses Johnnie's charges. As a side note, the criminal charges filed against Harry are tossed. When the movie closes, the family believes their luck has improved. They are convinced misfortune will no longer deal with bad cards.
The storyline construction used several sources.
Cast ActorRole Ben AlexanderHarry O'Hara age 10Johnny ThompsonJohnnie O'Hara age 8Josephine AdairMary age 6 Ralph LewisPatrick O'HaraClaire McDowellMrs. O'HaraEmory JohnsonHarry O'Hara age 22Johnnie WalkerJohnnie O'Hara age 20Ella HallMary age 18Richard MorrisMr. Lucus
Production
Film Booking Offices of America (FBO) was an energetic, independent American silent era film studio. The company released around 110 features and shorts a year. The company focused on producing low-budget films emphasizing first-class westerns, action films, romantic melodramas, and comedy shorts. The company mainly distributed its pictures to small-town venues and independent theater chains, which changed their pictures three times a week. FBO would make their pictures appeal to every member of the American family.Film Booking Offices of America
The average cost per production was $50,000 to $75,000 equivalent to $ to $ in 2021 compared to the Major film studios which could spend five times as much to produce a movie.
also produced and distributed a limited number of big-budget features labeled "Gold Bond" or "Special" productions.
Pre production Development Emory Johnson, at the time one of the silver screen's leading men, had recently returned to the San Francisco Bay area to make another movie based on a story by his mother, Emilie Johnson. He decided to visit his mother, who lived in the general vicinity. While driving down San Francisco's Market Street en route, he failed to stop at an intersection. A police officer pulled him to the side. Emory immediately noticed the policeman's cheerful demeanor. He wondered about the officer's home life and how it affected his work. He discussed the idea with his mother, an experienced scenarist, and soon after that, she started to write "The Midnight Call."
Casting Ralph Lewis (1872–1931) was born on October 8, 1872, in Englewood, Illinois. The year-old actor landed the leading man role in this production. He played a rugged middle-aged Police Officer, Patrick O'Hara. He would have future starring roles in Johnson vehicles, including The Third Alarm, The Mailman, and The Last Edition. The Last Edition was Lewis's fifth and final film in a Johnson production.Ralph Lewis American Film Institute Retrieved April 21, 2023 Lewis's film debut came in 1911. Lewis appeared in 160 films between 1912 and 1938. Lewis will always be remembered for his role as abolitionist U.S. Representative Austin Stoneman in D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915) and the governor in Intolerance (1916). The June 5, 1923, edition of the Poughkeepsie Eagle-News observed, "Ralph Lewis, is especially good in parts built upon strength of character ..." In a newspaper interview, Ralph Lewis said - "I lived the life of a cop for three months and from now on I'm through roasting them." He also added "I directed traffic on a main corner in San Francisco for only one hour and I went home and slept for the rest of the day. Johnnie Walker (1894–1949) was born on January 7, 1894, in New York City, New York. He was an upcoming star when the year-old actor was awarded the supporting role of Johnnie O'Hara, age 20, Patrick O'Hara's son. Walker appeared in five Johnson FBO productions. In every production, he played the son of the working-class father. Walker would be featured in Johnson's sixth film for FBO – Life's Greatest Game, released in October 1924. Life's Greatest Game was Walker's fifth and final role in an Emory Johnson production. Walker is five feet eleven inches tall, with black hair and blue eyes. AFI credits the actor with 48 Titles in his Filmography. Claire McDowell (1877–1966) was born on November 2, 1877, in New York City. The year-old actress was an established star when she assumed the role of Mrs. Patrick O'Hara, the mother of Harry O'Hara and Johnnie O'Hara. She would also play another mother figure in Johnson's third film, the 1923 production for FBO – The West~Bound Limited. She would make appearances in a total of four Emory Johnson productions.Claire McDowell American Film Institute Retrieved April 21, 2023] Ella Hall (1896–1981) was born on March 17, 1896, in Hoboken, New Jersey. Johnson chose Ella Hall to play the female lead in this movie. She was . Josephine Adair played 6-year-old Mary in the Prologue. Hall acted as the adult Mary, now 18. Hall's last film was the 15-part serial production of The Great Reward, released on May 9, 1921. Her husband, Emory Johnson, coaxed her out of domestic life to take the feminine leads in this film and his following two FBO productions – The Third Alarm and The West~Bound Limited. After wrapping The West~Bound Limited, she landed a role in the 1923 production of Lloyd B. Carleton's The Flying Dutchman. It would become one of her best-known performances. After filming The Dutchman, Hall retired from silent movies to focus on her two boys and her rocky marriage to Emory Johnson. She came out of retirement to accept uncredited roles in the films Madam Satan, released in 1930, and The Bitter Tea of General Yen, released in 1932.Ella Hall American Film Institute Retrieved April 21, 2023 Richard (Dick) Morris (1862–1924) was born on January 30, 1862, in Charlestown, Massachusetts. The year-old actor played Mr. Lucus. Morris usually played character roles and heavies. His early education included spending three years overseas studying grand opera. His first professional work was touring America for two seasons as an opera singer. He then spent three years in London singing opera. In September 1909, he joined the Lubin organization and made his first movie appearance in 1912 when he was 50.