A DA's son commits murder, his jilted ex-lover saves the day, and justice gets messy.
Young Herbert Thompson, wanting to attain wealth and social status, marries Ann Morton, who comes from a rich and prominent family, throwing over pretty young Angelina Kilboure, who really loves him. Years later Herbert has become the local District Attorney and has two children, Bert and Virginia. One night Bert, a patron at a seedy roadhouse, defends his sister's honor from a ruffian and winds up killing the man. Angelina persuades Herbert to leave his post as D.A. to defend his son in his murder trial. Herbert wins the case, but it turns out to have unexpected consequences.
Acting
Marguerite Snow's wordless suffering as sacrificed Angelina.
Direction
Adolfi's ironic final courtroom tableau.
Writing
The devastating twist on 'winning' the case.
Director
John G. Adolfi
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This 1924 film exemplifies early Hollywood's obsession with 'ruined women' narratives — Angelina's sacrifice mirrors the era's punitive attitude toward female agency.
Director John G. Adolfi later became Bette Davis's early career shepherd at Warner Bros., making this courtroom drama an unlikely ancestor to her later legal melodramas.
US
