Law of the Land, The

The Oxford Companion to American Theatre | 2004 | 700+ words | Copyright

Law of the Land, The (1914), a play by George Broadhurst. [48th Street Theatre, 221 perf.] Mrs. Harding ( Julia Dean) puts up with her savagely sadistic husband ( Charles Lane) for the sake of her young son, Bennie ( Master Macomber), but when Harding slashes at Bennie with a bullwhip, Mrs. Harding grabs a gun and shoots. The understanding family doctor is willing to declare the death accidental, Mrs. Harding's friends are prepared to tamper with the evidence to exonerate her, and her most ardent admirer, Geoffrey Morton ( Milton Sills), stands ready to claim he shot Harding. For a time Mrs. Harding seems willing to let Morton take the blame, only finally to blurt out a confession. However, the kindly Inspector Cochrane ( George Fawcett), seeing the whip marks on the young boy, writes a report that assures no jury would convict the woman. While not as successful as Broadhurst's earlier and not dissimilar Bought and Paid For, the play was sufficiently taut and thrilling to find a wide audience.

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Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Law of the Land, The." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Law of the Land, The." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-LawoftheLandThe.html

Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Law of the Land, The." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-LawoftheLandThe.html

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