The Woman on the Jury

The Woman on the Jury
A beautiful young woman in a ruffled dress and flowered headband holds a bouquet while gazing pensively to the side
Bessie Love as Grace Pierce
Directed byHarry O. Hoyt
Written byMary O'Hara (scenario)
Based on
The Woman on the Jury (play)
by Bernard K. Burns
Starring
CinematographyJames Van Trees
Edited byLeroy Stone
Production
company
Distributed byAssociated First National
Release date
  • April 20, 1924 (1924-04-20) (U.S.)
Running time
7 reels; 7,408 feet[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)

The Woman on the Jury is a lost 1924 American silent drama film produced and released by Associated First National and directed by Harry Hoyt. It is based on a Broadway stage play, The Woman on the Jury,[a][3][4] and stars Sylvia Breamer and Bessie Love. The story was refilmed in 1929 as an early talkie under the title The Love Racket starring Dorothy Mackaill.[5][6][7]

Plot

In the Adirondacks, notorious philanderer George Montgomery (Cody) is murdered, and his former sweetheart Grace (Love) is put on trial. Betty Brown (Breamer) and her husband Fred Masters (Mayo) both serve on the jury. When the defendant is nearly wrongfully convicted, Betty reveals her own history with the murder victim—that she once had been in love with him and tried to kill him—proves that the defendant is innocent.[1][8][9][10]

Cast

Production

The film was primarily shot at night so that the cast and crew could work on other films during the day.[11]

Censorship

The opening for The Woman on the Jury was scheduled for the Chicago Theatre in Chicago, Illinois on May 5, 1924. But, before the event, the Chicago Board of Censors called to limit entrance to those over 21 years of age. The exhibitors, Balaban & Katz, sought an injunction against the board and the judge ruled in their favor.[12]

Reception

The film received generally positive reviews,[10] and Breamer's performance was particularly well-reviewed.[1]

Preservation

The Woman on the Jury is currently presumed lost.[13] In February 2021, the film was cited by the National Film Preservation Board on their Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films list.[14]

References

Notes
  1. ↑ Also known as The Jury Woman.[2]
Citations
  1. 1 2 3 "The Woman on the Jury". The Film Daily. Vol. 28, no. 47. May 25, 1924. p. 10.
  2. ↑ Burns, Bernard K. (1923). The Jury Woman: A Play [in] 3 Acts. OCLC 877086376.
  3. ↑ Goble, Alan, ed. (September 8, 2011). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. p. 64. ISBN 978-3-11-095194-3.
  4. ↑ Thorold, W. J.; Hornblow Jr, Arthur; Maxwell, Perriton; Beach, Stewart (October 1923). "Mr. Hornblow Goes to the Play". Theatre Magazine. Vol. 38, no. 271. p. 16.
  5. ↑ Bennett, Carl (April 28, 2010). "Progressive Silent Film List: The Woman on the Jury". Silent Era.
  6. ↑ Munden, Kenneth W., ed. (1971). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films 1921–1930. New York: R.R. Bowker Company. p. 919. ISBN 978-0-520-21521-4. OCLC 664500075.
  7. ↑ "The Woman on the Jury, Eltinge 42nd Street Theatre (8/15/1923 – circa. 10/1923)". Internet Broadway Database.
  8. ↑ "The Shadow Stage". Photoplay. Vol. 26, no. 3. August 1924. p. 51.
  9. ↑ Motion Picture News Booking Guide. New York: Motion Picture News. October 1924. p. 59.
  10. 1 2 Pardy, George T. (May 24, 1924). "Box Office Reviews". Exhibitors Trade Review. p. 52.
  11. ↑ Love, Bessie (May 12, 1966). "Moonlighting for Sundown". The Christian Science Monitor. p. 8.
  12. ↑ "AFI Catalog of Feature Films: The Woman on the Jury". afi.com. Retrieved May 16, 2026.
  13. ↑ "The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: The Woman on the Jury". memory.loc.gov. January 5, 2017. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2026.
  14. ↑ "7,200 Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films (1912–29)" (PDF). National Film Preservation Board. February 4, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2026.
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