''By the Law'' (russian: По закону, Po Zakonu, link=no) is an 83-minute silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

released on 3 December 1926. The film was directed by

Lev Kuleshov Lev Vladimirovich Kuleshov (russian: Лев Владимирович Кулешов; – 29 March 1970) was a Russian and Soviet filmmaker and film theorist, one of the founders of the world's first film school, the Moscow Film School. He ...

and produced by the Soviet production company

Goskino Goskino USSR (russian: link=Yes, Госкино СССР) is the abbreviated name for the USSR State Committee for Cinematography (Государственный комитет по кинематографии СССР) in the Soviet Union. It w ...

. The narrative is based on the

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

short story "The Unexpected" (1905) and "Just Meat" (1906). The plot concerns a group of gold prospectors in the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

region of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

during the Klondike Gold Rush.

Plot

A group of five gold miners originally from Western Europe find a large deposit in the

during the Klondike Gold Rush. The group is composed of Michael (Irish), Hans Nelson (Swede and leader of the expedition) and his wife Edith (English), Dutchy (Dutch) and Harky. Michael, the one who handles all the manual work and found gold for the group, gets frustrated as the other members still treat him as a subaltern. One day, Michael enters the cabin with a rifle for hunting or protection and, in a moment of madness, shoots dead two of his comrades, Dutchy and Harky. The remaining two, Hans Nelson and his wife Edith, disarm him. Hans Nelson wants to kill Michael, but his wife Edith opposes the idea, arguing, "You can't kill him – only the law can punish him." They face the dilemma of whether to administer justice themselves or risk waiting for the thaw and then trying to return to civilization to render the offender to the public court.

Cast

*Alexandra Khokhlova as Edith Nelson *Sergei Komarov as Hans Nelson *Vladimir Fogel as Michael Dennin *Pyotr Galadzhev as Harkey *Porfiri Podobed *Fred Forell as Jack

Production

After trying his filmmaking skills in different genres, Lev Kuleshov decided to make a film using minimal resources and a strictly limited number of actors (" chamber film"). After reading the Jack London short story "''The Unexpected''" and "''The Meat''", he wrote a script with Viktor Shklovsky based on the narrative. Kuleshov and co-screenwriter Shklovsky initially thought that the studio would be interested in a low-budget feature with three actors in one setting but the script was rejected and only after an article appeared in support of the picture in the magazine "Soviet Screen" was the film greenlit. For the role of Edith Nelson Lev Kuleshov cast his wife, actress

Aleksandra Khokhlova Aleksandra Sergeyevna Khokhlova (born Alexandra Sergeyevna Botkina, russian: Александра Сергеевна Хохлова, 4 October 1897 – 22 August 1985) was a Soviet actress, theatre director, writer, and educator. Biography ...

. The filming was done in the

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast ( rus, Моско́вская о́бласть, r=Moskovskaya oblast', p=mɐˈskofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ), or Podmoskovye ( rus, Подмоско́вье, p=pədmɐˈskovʲjə, literally "under Moscow"), is a federal subject of Rus ...

, not far from the Tsaritsynsky ponds. The shore of the

Moscow River The Moskva (russian: река Москва, Москва-река, ''Moskva-reka'') is a river running through western Russia. It rises about west of Moscow and flows roughly east through the Smolensk and Moscow Oblasts, passing through centra ...

and two trees near the water created the illusion of the wild northern

. On the riverside, a house of prospectors was placed in which the interior scenes were shot. Shooting conditions were extremely difficult; cold winter scenes were shot in April and inundation occurred. The decoration of the house was flooded, the crew was knee-deep in water and actors often faced electric shocks because of the damaged insulation of the wires.

Reception

The film was received positively abroad in non-English speaking countries; in Anglo regions it was released only in 1939. In Paris, the film was well-received by critics.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0017271, title=By the Law Films set in Yukon Films about the Klondike Gold Rush Soviet silent feature films Soviet drama films Films based on works by Jack London Films directed by Lev Kuleshov Soviet black-and-white films 1926 drama films 1926 films Silent drama films