''For the Defense'' is a surviving 1916 American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

directed by

Frank Reicher Frank Reicher (born Franz Reicher; December 2, 1875 – January 19, 1965) was a German-born American actor, director and producer. He is best known for playing Captain Englehorn in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Early life Reicher was born in Mu ...

and written by

Hector Turnbull Hector Turnbull (September 11, 1884 – April 8, 1934) was an American screenwriter and film producer. He wrote for 25 films between 1915 and 1937. He was born in Arlington, New Jersey and died in New Hope, Pennsylvania from a heart attack. ...

and

Margaret Turnbull Margaret Carol "Maggie" Turnbull (born 1975) is an American astronomer and astrobiologist. She received her PhD in Astronomy from the University of Arizona in 2004. Turnbull is an authority on star systems which may have habitable planets, sol ...

. The film stars

Fannie Ward Fannie Ward (born Fannie Buchanan; February 22, 1872 – January 27, 1952), also credited as Fanny Ward, was an American actress of stage and screen. Known for performing in both comedic and dramatic roles, she was cast in '' The Cheat'', a sexu ...

, Jack Dean, Paul Byron,

Horace B. Carpenter Horace B. Carpenter (January 31, 1875 – May 21, 1945) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. He appeared in more than 330 films between 1914 and 1946. He also directed 15 films between 1925 and 1934. Born in Grand Rapids, ...

, Camille Astor and James Neill. The film was released on March 12, 1916, by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

Plot

In New York, traveling from a French convent to one in Montreal, the novice Fidele Roget is captured by a slaver. Running away, the young woman witnesses a murder. He then meets Jim Webster who is about to commit suicide. She dissuades him and he decides to help her get to Canada. On the way, Jim is arrested for murder and tried. The man confides to Fidele that he was framed by his butler, who killed a man and then built the evidence to accuse him. Fidele realizes that it is the same crime he witnessed and decides to unmask the real murderer. Posing as a servant in Webster's house, she manages to trick the butler and make him confess. Jim is cleared and she gives up life in a convent to become his wife.

Cast

as Fidele Roget *Jack Dean as Jim Webster *Paul Byron as Richard Madison *

as Henri *Camille Astor as Ninette * James Neill as Mr. Webster *Gertrude Kellar as Mrs. Webster

Preservation

*The film is preserved in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

collection.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: ''For the Defense''
/ref>

References

External links

* * 1916 films 1910s English-language films Silent American drama films 1916 drama films Paramount Pictures films American black-and-white films American silent feature films Films directed by Frank Reicher 1910s American films English-language drama films {{1910s-drama-film-stub