The First Degree

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Sam Purdy, a banker-turned-politician-turned-sheep farmer is repeatedly blackmailed by his half-brother because of their love for a woman named Mary.Sam Purdy, a banker-turned-politician-turned-sheep farmer is repeatedly blackmailed by his half-brother because of their love for a woman named Mary.Sam Purdy, a banker-turned-politician-turned-sheep farmer is repeatedly blackmailed by his half-brother because of their love for a woman named Mary.

Director
- Edward Sedgwick
Writers
- George Randolph Chester
- George Pattullo
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

100

YOUR RATING

Director
- Edward Sedgwick
Writers
- George Randolph Chester
- George Pattullo
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos5

Sylvia Breamer and Frank Mayo in The First Degree (1923)

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
In July 2020 it was announced by the Chicago Film Archive that they have a complete (5 reels) nitrate print of this film in their collection. It is part of a collection of films originally owned by a Caterpillar Inc. marketing executive named Charles E. Krosse. (It consists mainly of agricultural films from C.L. Venard Productions made for Caterpillar.) This collection had been in the possession of the CFA for quite some time, but the reels of this film were only recently properly examined. The film has now been digitally scanned and preserved.

Quotes
Opening Title Card: The Grand Jury of Lincoln County was concerned with only minor matters... . sheep-stealing and the like... . on this crisp autumn day.

User reviews5

Review

Featured review

7/10

First rate entertainment

Thank goodness for private film collections.

This is a film long thought lost. Anybody interested in its discovery is encouraged to read about it on the Chicago Film Archive site, dated August 3, 2020, so I won't repeat the details.

The movie concerns two brothers, one good-for-nothing blackmailing the virtuous one, because they both love the same gorgeous dame.

Sylvia Beamer is the love interest and she's definitely worth dying for.

Frank Mayo effectively portrays psychological torment so he had me along for the entire ride.

CFA not only brought this film back from the dead, they commissioned a score by Quasar Wut-Wut. They contributed a fresh, contemporary soundtrack that add a kinetic propulsion to the images.

All in all, a rousing film.

Thank you, TCM, for showing it.

helpful•10