Human Wreckage (1923)

An attorney's wife is determined to fight the evils of addictive substances.

Directors:

John Griffith Wray, Dorothy Davenport (uncredited)

Writers:

Will Lambert (story "Dope"), C. Gardner Sullivan

Stars:

Dorothy Davenport, James Kirkwood, Bessie Love

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dorothy Davenport	...	Ethel MacFarland (as Mrs. Wallace Reid)
James Kirkwood	...	Alan MacFarland
Bessie Love	...	Mary Finnegan
George Hackathorne	...	Jimmy Brown
Claire McDowell	...	Mrs. Brown
Robert McKim	...	Dr. Hillman
Harry Northrup	...	Steve Stone
Victory Bateman	...	Mother Finnegan
Eric Mayne	...	Dr. Blake
Otto Hoffman	...	Harris
Philip Sleeman	...	Dunn
George Clark	...	The Baby
Lucille Ricksen	...	Ginger
George E. Cryer	...	Self - Mayor of Los Angeles
R.B. von Kleinsmid	...	Self - President - University of Southern California

Storyline

Ethel McFarland presents her attorney husband, Alan, with the case of a dope addict named Jimmy Brown. With the help of Alan's impassioned defense, Jimmy gets aquitted. Alan feels the pressures of his job and is introduced to a doctor at his club. When he becomes addicted, he is blackmailed by his peddlers to represent their friends in court. Jimmy, now off the smack and a taxi driver, hears of these goings on. When he discovers that his passenger is the leader of the dope ring, he resolvs to aide the war on narcotics by crashing the vehicle head-on into an oncoming train, killing them both. Alan gets treated for his addiction and begins to fight the pushers in court, all the while, pushing for stronger laws against addictive substances. At the film's close, the film's producer, Dorothy Davenport, who also plays Ethel, and who's husband Wallace Reid died of a drug overdose, adresses the audience, imploring them to support her in her crusade to wipe out the narcotic menace in the ...

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Plot Keywords:

drugs | f rated | drug addict | drug addiction | road accident | 

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Taglines:

MRS. WALLACE REID SUPPORTED BY James Kirkwood Bessie Love Robert McKim Claire McDowell AND AN ALL-STAR CAST In the Soul-stirring, Entertaining Photo Dramatic Sensation, Dedicated to Men, Women and Children of the World "HUMAN WRECKAGE" (Print Ad- Bakersfield Californian, ((Bakersfield Calif.)) 8 September 1923)

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller | Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

First movie of Dorothy Davenport as a director, she also produced, wrote and act on it.

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Connections

Edited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Fatale beauté (1994)

User Reviews

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

None English

Release Date:

17 June 1923 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kokain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Los Angeles Bureau of Drug Addiction, Thomas H. Ince Corporation

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1