''The Judgment House'' is a 1917 American 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 ...

directed by

J. Stuart Blackton James Stuart Blackton (January 5, 1875 – August 13, 1941) was a British-American film producer and director of the silent era. One of the pioneers of motion pictures, he founded Vitagraph Studios in 1897. He was one of the first filmmakers to ...

and written by J. Stuart Blackton based upon the novel by

Gilbert Parker Sir Horatio Gilbert George Parker, 1st Baronet (23 November 1862 – 6 September 1932), known as Gilbert Parker, Canadian novelist and British politician, was born at Camden East, Addington, Ontario, the son of Captain Joseph Parker, R.A. Ed ...

. The film stars

Violet Heming Violet Heming (27 January 1895 – 4 July 1981) was an English stage and screen actress. Her name sometimes appeared as Violet Hemming in newspapers. Biography Born Violet Hemming in Leeds, Yorkshire, she was the daughter of Alfred Hemming w ...

Wilfred Lucas Wilfred Van Norman Lucas (January 30, 1871 – December 13, 1940) was a Canadian American stage actor who found success in film as an actor, director, and screenwriter. Early life Lucas was born in Norfolk County, Ontario on January 30, 1871,US ...

Conway Tearle Conway Tearle (born Frederick Conway Levy, May 17, 1878 – October 1, 1938) was an American stage actor who went on to perform in silent and early sound films. Early life Tearle was born on May 17, 1878, in New York City, the son of the ...

, Paul Doucet,

Florence Deshon Florence Deshon (born Florence Danks; July 19, 1893February 4, 1922) was an American motion picture actress in silent films. Born in Tacoma, Washington, Deshon began her film career in 1915, appearing in '' The Beloved Vagabond'', and would la ...

, and Lucille Hammill. The film was released on November 19, 1917, 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

As described in a film magazine, Jasmine Grenfel (Heming) forsakes her suitor Ian Stafford (Tearle) and marries Rudyard Byng (Lucas), who has worked his way up to the top rungs of success in the African diamond mines of the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

. Stafford, saddened, goes to Africa. During the three years that follow Byng becomes dissipated. Adrian Fellowes (Doucet), his secretary, has intrigues with several women including the dancer Al'Mah (Deshon). He has also paid some attention to Jasmine, which has aroused the dancer's jealousy. Fellowes is found murdered and the husband and wife both suspect each other of the crime. At the outbreak of the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

Byng joins the army and Jasmine and Al'Mah join the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

. The battles that ensue bring out the manhood of Byng. Al'Mah is struck by a fragment of a shell and in a dying confession admits the murder of Fellow. Jasmine and Byng are later happily reunited.

Cast

as Jasmine Grenfel *

as Rudyard Byng *

as Ian Stafford *Paul Doucet as Adrian Fellowes *

as Al'Mah *Lucille Hammill as Lou *Crazy Thunder as Krool

Reception

Like many American films of the time, ''The Judgment House'' was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors cut the

intertitle In films, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e., ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dialo ...

"Did Fellowes lead you to believe that I am bad?"

References

External links

* * Parker, Gilbert (1913),
The Judgment House; a Novel
', Toronto: The Copp, Clark Co., on the Internet Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Judgment House, The 1917 films 1910s English-language films Silent American drama films 1917 drama films Paramount Pictures films Films based on works by Gilbert Parker Films directed by J. Stuart Blackton American black-and-white films American silent feature films Films based on Canadian novels 1910s American films