The Acquittal (1923)

When a wealthy man is found murdered in his bedroom, one of his two adopted sons is arrested and charged with the killing. However, the verdict at his trial is an acquittal. Since the ... See full summary »

Director:

Clarence Brown

Writers:

Jules Furthman, Raymond L. Schrock,

Stars:

Claire Windsor, Norman Kerry, Richard Travers

Cast

Cast overview:
Claire Windsor	...	Madeline Ames
Norman Kerry	...	Robert Armstrong
Richard Travers	...	Kenneth Winthrop (as Richard C. Travers)
Barbara Bedford	...	Edith Craig
Charles Wellesley	...	Andrew Prentice
Frederick Vroom	...	Carter Ames
Ben Deeley	...	Butler
Harry Mestayer	...	District Attorney
Emmett King	...	Minister
Dot Farley	...	Maid
Hayden Stevenson	...	Taxi Driver
Mildred Manning	...	Mrs. Crown
Anton Vaverka	...	Russian

Storyline

When a wealthy man is found murdered in his bedroom, one of his two adopted sons is arrested and charged with the killing. However, the verdict at his trial is an acquittal. Since the police don't seem to be particularly interested in finding the real killer, the dead man's daughter-in-law--the wife of the adopted son who wasn't charged--takes it upon herself to solve the crime.

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Plot Keywords:

melodrama | based on play

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Genres:

Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 November 1923 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Absolvição

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A Jewel Production. Universal, unlike many of its peers, did not own a theater chain. In order to distinguish its feature releases to independent theater owners, it created a 3-tiered branding system: Red Feather (low-budget programmers), Bluebird (mainstream releases) and Jewel (prestige productions). Jewels were often given special promotion as limited engagements, commanding higher roadshow ticket prices. Universal would cease to brand its feature films after 1929.

User Reviews

Nice fragments made me want to see the rest.

I viewed a nitrate print of 'The Acquittal' that had a couple of reels missing, including the final reel. This story is a whodunnit, and it seems to be a pretty good one. Unfortunately, I don't know how it ends, nor do I know the identity of the culprit.

Wealthy Andrew Prentice has two adopted sons, who are not related to each other: Kenneth Winthrop and Robert Armstrong. (Shouldn't he be chasing King Kong?) The foster sons have grown to adulthood, and Kenneth is married to Madeline Ames. I think that's correct, although I don't know why the wife and husband have different surnames. Some of the intertitles in this print were very difficult to read, due to the deterioration of the nitrate film stock.

One day the butler and maid discover Prentice murdered in his bedroom. Winthrop is charged with the crime, brought to trial and acquitted. But then who did it? For some reason, it falls to Madeline (rather than the police) to find the killer.

There's some interesting camera work here. In several shots, a fairly ordinary object -- a butcher's scale, an open window -- is given just a bit too much emphasis, in a manner which makes it clear that these are visual clues to the solution of the murder. Due to portions of this movie being missing or too far deteriorated to view, I couldn't follow the story ... but what I did see was gripping enough to make me feel that this *was* a very well-told and interesting story in the film's original state. Barbara Bedford is attractive in a supporting role. I shan't rate this film, as I've only seen pieces of it.