The Mother and the Law (1919)

A re-edited version of the 'modern' story from Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages.

Director:

D.W. Griffith

Writers:

D.W. Griffith (screenplay), D.W. Griffith (story)

Stars:

Mae Marsh, Robert Harron, Miriam Cooper

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mae Marsh	...	The Little Dear One
Robert Harron	...	The Boy
Miriam Cooper	...	The Friendly One
Vera Lewis	...	Miss Mary Jenkins
Sam De Grasse	...	Arthur Jenkins
Clyde E. Hopkins	...	Jenkin's Secretary
F.A. Turner	...	The Girl's Father
Walter Long	...	The Musketeer of the Town
Ralph Lewis	...	The Governor
Edward Dillon	...	Chief Detective
A.W. McClure	...	The Priest
Lloyd Ingraham	...	The Judge
William Brown	...	The Warder
Max Davidson	...	The Kindly Neighbor
Alberta Lee	...	The Wife

Storyline

Two young people are made homeless by a strike. They struggle valiantly to survive their desolate situation, which grows worse as reform-minded citizens remove the couple's child from their care and the young father is falsely accused and convicted of murder.

---

Plot Keywords:

murder | strike | melodrama | foster care | greed | 

---

Taglines:

A drama of human hearts

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Details

Country:

USA

Release Date:

18 August 1919 (USA)

Also Known As:

Anya és törvény

Company Credits

Production Co:

D.W. Griffith Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A print of this film survives in the UCLA Film and Television Archives.

---

Connections

Edited from Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages (1916)

User Reviews

Mae Marsh Gives a Bravura Performance

THE MOTHER AND THE LAW was a re-released version of the modern arc from Griffith's 1916 INTOLERANCE.

The film does very well as a standalone film with only a few glitches where something seems left out (odd references to things we have not seen) or where blanks were left in as the episodes were stitched together from the original film.

In any case the performances remain quite strong with Mae Marsh scoring well as "the Dear One." Even the staccato ending from the original still works as one consecutive piece with Robert Harron going to the gallows. Miriam Cooper, as "the Friendless One" has a much bigger role than I remembered and was quite beautiful. I also had forgotten the incredible closeups Griffith gives the three stars.

Oddly, one "flashback" scene remains from INTOLERANCE. In the middle of the story we get a short scene from the Nazarene arc with the adulterous woman about to be stoned (shades of Iran!).

Strong story and very well done. Quite an indictment of "uplifting" societies as well as the sociology of slums.

Co-stars include Vera Lewis, Ralph Lewis, Sam DeGrasse, Walter Long, Mary Aldon, Marguerite Marsh, Max Davidson, and Kate Bruce.