In the Name of the Law (1922 film)

In the Name of the Law
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Directed byEmory Johnson
Screenplay byEmilie Johnson
Story byEmilie Johnson
Produced byEmory Johnson Productions
Starring
CinematographyRoss Fisher
Color processBlack and White
Distributed byFilm Booking Offices of America
Release date
  • August 22, 1922 (1922-08-22)
Running time
6-7 reels (65 minutes)
CountryUnited States
Languages
Box office$600,000 (equivalent to $10,921,670 in 2023)[2]

In the Name of the Law is a 1922 American silent melodrama directed by Emory Johnson with Dick Posson acting as assistant director.[1] FBO released the film in August 1922. The film's "All-Star" cast included Ralph Lewis, Johnnie Walker, and Claire McDowell. The cast also included Johnson and his wife, Ella Hall. Emilie Johnson, Johnson's mother, wrote both the story and screenplay. In the Name of the Law was the first picture in Johnson's eight-picture contract with FBO.[3]

The police melodrama was about a San Francisco police officer. He was a dedicated community servant. The story depicts his struggles with the duality of dedication to duty versus devotion to family.[4] The film was a pioneering effort in other aspects. It was a serious film about law enforcement. Movies had cinematically maligned the profession in the past. The film is also an early example of an innovative exploitation strategy. The scheme involved getting the group featured on the screen aligned with their real-life counterparts and promoting the film.

  1. ^ a b American Film Institute (1997). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States. University of California Press. p. 378. ISBN 978-0-520-20969-5.
  2. ^ "Rubbing Shoulders". Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Florida). September 15, 1959. p. 13. Retrieved March 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. Emory Johnson's "In the Name of the Law," can gross $600,000 or more.
  3. ^ In the Name of the Law at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  4. ^ Fleming 2013, p. 269.