In the Name of the Law is a 1922 American silent melodrama directed by Emory Johnson with Dick Posson acting as assistant director. 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.
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. 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.
Contents
Plot
Prologue
The story's prologue opens when policeman Patrick O'Hara discovers a lost child. She has stolen some milk. Rather than disciplining her, he takes her home instead. The following morning, he finds the girl has run away from an orphanage. Since their baby daughter had died, the O'Haras made plans to adopt the child. The prologue then moves on and features the O'Haras' sons. Ben Alexander plays a young Harry O'Hara at age 10. Harry's younger brother, portrayed by Johnny Thompson, plays Johnnie O'Hara at 9. Josephine Adair plays their recently adopted six-year-old daughter Mary.
12 years later
After a single subtitle, the story jumps 12 years into the future. Harry is now age 22. He attends college, studying Law hoping to become a lawyer. His lofty goals run contrary to his father's wishes. His father has told his son he has "wasted his time getting an education". Johnnie is age 20 and works at the local bank. Mary, age 18, is also employed at the same bank as a stenographer. Johnnie and Mary have fallen in love and planned their wedding. We also discover that O'Haras have always wanted to own a cottage. The family's frugality has finally come to fruition. They are only one payment away from paying off the mortgage.
While attending law school, Harry earns pocket money by pressing clothes. He also washes dishes. One day, while Harry is at work, somebody leaves a sizable sum of money in a pair of pants needing pressing. The money goes missing, and the owner accuses Harry of the theft. The owner reports the thief to the police—the police file charges. Upon hearing of the accusation, Harry's mother becomes distraught. She had been secretly funding Harry while he attended law school. In her heart, she knew he couldn't have committed this crime. Mother O'Hare hatches a plan to keep her eldest out of jail. She will take the money they had saved for their final payment on the cottage and pass it to Harry. Harry will "find" the missing money and return it to the owner.
While the family is at home, sans Harry, Pat discovers what his wife has done with their cottage money to save Harry. A massive argument breaks out. When things settle down, everyone goes their separate ways. While Officer O'Hare goes to work, Mary goes to the bank and approaches the bank president. Mr. Lucus, to ask for a loan. Mr. Lucus agrees to give her the money. But as she finds out, he expects special favors besides the regular repayment. Johnnie takes another tact to help his brother. He decides to tap into a stash of funds stored in his safety deposit box. After securing the funds, Johnnie heads home to find the house empty.
Where is everybody? Officer O'Hara is at work, Mother O'Hara is with Harry, and Mary is begging for a loan. He heads back to the bank. Johnnie finds out Mary is flush with cash. He believes she has stolen the money from the bank to save Harry. A quarrel breaks out. Now, Johnnie decides to use the funds from his safety deposit box to cover his girlfriend's theft. How could wholesome Mary steal this money? He starts investigating this supposed theft by looking around the bank. Johnnie then heads to the back of the bank, further investigating.
Production
Film Booking Offices of America (FBO) was an energetic, independent American silent era film studio. The company released around 110 features and shorts a year. The company focused on producing low-budget films emphasizing first-class westerns, action films, romantic melodramas, and comedy shorts. The company mainly distributed its pictures to small-town venues and independent theater chains, which changed their pictures three times a week. FBO would make their pictures appeal to every member of the American family.
The average cost per FBO production was $50,000 to $75,000 equivalent to $961,730 to $1,442,594 in 2021 compared to the Major film studios which could spend five times as much to produce a movie.
FBO also produced and distributed a limited number of big-budget features labeled "Gold Bond" or "Special" productions.
Pre production
Emory Johnson, at the time one of the silver screen's leading men, had recently returned to the San Francisco Bay area to make another movie based on a story by his mother, Emilie Johnson. He decided to visit his mother, who lived in the general vicinity. While driving down San Francisco's Market Street en route, he failed to stop at an intersection. A police officer pulled him to the side. Emory immediately noticed the policeman's cheerful demeanor. He wondered about the officer's home life and how it affected his work. He discussed the idea with his mother, an experienced scenarist, and soon after that, she started to write "The Midnight Call."
Ralph Lewis (1872–1931) was born on October 8, 1872, in Englewood, Illinois. The 49 year-old actor landed the leading man role in this production. He played a rugged middle-aged Police Officer, Patrick O'Hara. He would have future starring roles in Johnson vehicles, including The Third Alarm, The Mailman, and The Last Edition. The Last Edition was Lewis's fifth and final film in a Johnson production.
Lewis's film debut came in 1911. Lewis appeared in 160 films between 1912 and 1938. Lewis will always be remembered for his role as abolitionist U.S. Representative Austin Stoneman in D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915) and the governor in Intolerance (1916). The June 5, 1923, edition of the Poughkeepsie Eagle-News observed, "Ralph Lewis, is especially good in parts built upon strength of character ..."
In a newspaper interview, Ralph Lewis said - "I lived the life of a cop for three months and from now on I'm through roasting them." He also added "I directed traffic on a main corner in San Francisco for only one hour and I went home and slept for the rest of the day.
Johnnie Walker (1894–1949) was born on January 7, 1894, in New York City, New York. He was an upcoming star when the 28 year-old actor was awarded the supporting role of Johnnie O'Hara, age 20, Patrick O'Hara's son. Walker appeared in five Johnson FBO productions. In every production, he played the son of the working-class father. Walker would be featured in Johnson's sixth film for FBO – Life's Greatest Game, released in October 1924. Life's Greatest Game was Walker's fifth and final role in an Emory Johnson production. Walker is five feet eleven inches tall, with black hair and blue eyes. AFI credits the actor with 48 Titles in his Filmography.
Filming
This movie was filmed entirely in San Francisco, California. Some sources indicate both Ross Fisher ASC and Henry Sharp ASC handled the cinematography. Camera!'s "Pulse of the Studios" credits the cameraman as "Fisher-Mickle". The cameraman was Ross Fisher.
The film schedule according to Camera! "Pulse of the Studios". This schedule traces a film's evolution from Cradle-to-grave. This film started shooting in late November 1921 and was "in the can" April 1922. The timetable gives the studio and location as United Studios located at 53441 Melrose.
The section also displayed the column headers and entries for this film:
The film was produced under the working title The Midnight Call. The article in Motion Picture News suggests that the title was changed to In the Name of the Law sometime in June 1922. This new title was used for the film's premiere in New York on July 9, 1922.
Another alternate title for this movie is incorrectly listed as The Discard or Discard. The mix-up probably occurred because filming started on The Discard (name later changed to The Third Alarm) in July 1922. This date would coincide with the July 9 premiere of In the Name of the Law.
Post-production
The film's controlling studio is listed as "United Studios", not "R-C Studio". The United Studios advertisement states - "... the unlimited facilities, equipment, and highly specialized staff have made the United Studios the most economically operated motion picture plant available to independent producers." The explanation for this is R-C would not have its filming facilities until 1922.
Release and reception
New York premiere
In the Name of the Law premiered in New York City on July 9, 1922. It was shown to movie patrons at the George M. Cohan Theater, converted to show movies. Instead of the standard booking for a week, they booked the film for a month.
Film Booking Offices of America (FBO) claimed they extended the movie to a month, whereas "Variety" claimed it had booked a month in advance of the showing. FBO and the movie rags wrote about the sizable crowds viewing the movie. "Variety" magazine gave a less glowing but probably more realistic crowd-size report. This information is vital because future bookings always reference sell-out crowds in New York to prove its attraction power.
The New York premiere was the first example of the exploitation potential of the movie. New York had 12,000 police officers on the force at the time. Getting them involved in the advertising this movie proved to be a great success. Also, as part of an agreement to share some of the movie revenues with police causes, Emory Johnson presented each widow of seven police officers that had been killed in the line on duty individual checks for $170 (equivalent to $3,270 in 2025).
Official release
On July 6, 1922, the film was copyrighted to R-C (Robertson-Cole) Pictures Corp with registration number LP18034. The registered copyrights for FBO Films were with their original British owners. FBO was the official name of the film distributing operation for Robertson-Cole Pictures Corp. Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. would clear this up later The film was officially released for bookings on August 22, 1922.
Advertising
The film's producers, however, had a grander scheme to generate even more revenue. They implemented a promotional strategy that teamed city police departments with local theater owners to promote the film. Most police departments were knowingly on board with the exploitation aspect of the movie. Many local police departments gave the movie free advertising by staging stunts, regional police-in-action scenarios, appreciation parades, and other activities drawing attention to the local police force's work.
In many cases, even the local merchants jumped on the promotional bandwagon. The producers also encouraged local merchants to use the officer's graphic holding his hand up to sell their products.
A major part of this exploitation plan was to have movie booking agents get the local police department's cooperation and endorsement before showing the movie in their town. Before this film was released, FBO stated it had 100 letters from police chiefs around the country. The chiefs stated they would fully support the showing of this film in their cities. If the theater had questions about exploiting this movie, FBO would provide a 22-page newspaper-size campaign book.
Thus, this film had an organized and clear strategy for exploitation. Though the word exploitation has a nefarious overtone, it was thought to be mutually self-serving in this case. The police hoped the film would increase their image from bad-tempered dour automatons to ordinary family men but committed to maintaining the Law. This movie also gave police a chance to show off what they did and the services they provided. Often, these police demonstrations were filmed and shown as a prologue to the movie.
There was another critical piece of the exploitation pie. The New York exploitation included donating a percentage of the movie proceeds to police pension funds, police orphans, police widows, and other police causes. Lastly, as seen in the full-page newspaper ad, the local merchants often took advantage of promoting their products.
Reviews
Movie reviews were essential perspectives for theater owners and fans. Reviews of movies printed in various trade magazines were indispensable in deciding whether to book or watch the film. When critics had contrasting reviews, choosing whether to see or book the movie can be challenging, especially since discordant reviews do not mean it is necessarily a bad movie. Ultimately, it boiled down to personal choices and how much value you place on the movie review and the reviewer. Movie critics' evaluations of this film were mixed. Most small-town venues embraced the movie, while the story or sentimentality did not take in larger cities.
Melodrama films have plots appealing to the raised passions of the audience. They concentrate on family issues, direct their attention to a victim's character, and develop the themes of duty and love. The melodramatic format shows the characters working through their struggles with persistence, sacrificial deeds, and courage. Movie critics and theater owners often use the following expressions to describe the movies they are reviewing or showing.Terms used in reviewing silent movie melodrama
In the July 22, 1922, issue of the Moving Picture World, Mary Kelly states:"At least one feature about the production is strikingly different. Burlesque is absent, which has long been considered indispensable in connection with the American policeman's screen. Here is a sincere human treatment of the side of the life of which the public usually hears nothing. This should mean very definite success for the picture with the brass-buttoned tribe, as well as the not inconsiderable number of those who have always been in close sympathy with the policeman and his troubles.Picture of family's life with strong dramatic touches should have broad appeal."
In the July 22, 1922, issue of the Motion Picture News, Laurence Reid observes:"They have tacked a magnetic, seat-selling title to this picture. With proper exploitation certain to be given by those exhibitors who believe in advertising, there is no reason FBO would feel worried over the returns. The only fault which we found with it is the rather arbitrary leaning of the director in shaping a melodramatic finish - a result that reveals the characters as not over-blessed with imagination."
In the July 29, 1922, issue of the Exhibitors Herald, the reviewer points out:"This is a real old fashioned melodramatic picture, full of thrills, home life stuff, mother love, and exploitation angles sufficient to permit of its being put over in a big way. Lovers of thrills as dealt out in rapid-fire melodramatic picturization of home life stories, will find plenty to satisfy them."
Film labels
Since the film is lost, it has been labeled as a police drama, sports film, and police drama featuring baseball legend Honus Wagner. Even today, various online platforms refer to In the Name of the Law, as a film featuring Honus Wagner catching baseballs thrown from a building roof. Since the publication of this page, many movie databases have adjusted the description and corrected this error.
Honus Wagner connection
Several websites claim Honus Wagner had a role in this film. Pittsburgh Pirates retired baseball superstar Honus Wagner did not take part in the writing, production, or direction, nor did he have any major or minor roles in the film's production. The confusion occurred when Honus Wagner participated in the movie exploitation campaign staged in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The campaign aimed to get the local police departments involved in promoting this police film. Thus, Wagner did assist in promoting this film along with the Pittsburgh Police Department.
Many police departments participated in promoting this film when it landed in their jurisdictions. As stated above, the movie first premiered in New York and became the first practice run at exploiting this movie. This first exploitation included the participation of two New York baseball superstars. This promotion has a direct tie-in to the Honus Wagner stunt. The following is a quote from an article published in the July issue of the "Moving Picture World":
The attention of all Broadway was focused on the picture during the noon hour on Monday, July 17th, when "Babe" Ruth and Bob Meusel performed a ball-throwing act in the center of Times Square, to aid the run of the picture, a part of the receipts of which will be given to police widows and orphans.
This film was released in August 1922, and Pittsburgh scheduled its first showing in September. FBO coordinated with the Pittsburgh police department to promote the film and launched an exploitation campaign. The promotion started on Monday, September 11, 1922. "Hollywood cameramen" filmed the Superintendent of Police, his staff, and other policemen in action. Shown below is the schedule for the Pittsburgh promotion.
Thus, on a September afternoon in 1922, a retired baseball superstar caught baseballs tossed from a city building roof. This attraction, along with "thousands" of spectators watching the event, was captured on film, photographed by local newspapers, and shown as a prologue to this attraction. Somehow, Honus Wagner's stunt became inextricably intertwined with this movie.
Displayed below are three newspaper clippings from the Pittsburgh event.
Preservation status
The majority of silent films did not survive.
According to the Library of Congress website, this film has a status of "No holdings located in archives"; thus, it is presumed all copies of this film are lost.