The Witness for the Defense

The Witness for the Defense
period advertisement
Directed by	George Fitzmaurice
Produced by	Famous Players-Lasky
Written by	Ouida Bergere (scenario)
Based on	The Witness for the Defense by A. E. W. Mason
Starring	Elsie Ferguson Warner Oland Wyndham Standing
Cinematography	Arthur C. Miller and/or Hal Young
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release dates	September 14, 1919 (1919-09-14)
Running time	50 minutes
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

The Witness for the Defense is a 1919 American silent drama directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Elsie Ferguson, Warner Oland, and Wyndham Standing.

Production background

The film is based on the 1913 novel of the same title by A. E. W. Mason. Mason's story was performed as a play on Broadway in 1911 and starred Ethel Barrymore.^[1]

The film is the earliest of prolific director George Fitzmaurice's to survive and is likewise the only silent film of Elsie Ferguson that remains extant. The film is also the first feature length art direction credit for William Cameron Menzies.

Cast

Elsie Ferguson - Stella Derrick
Vernon Steele - Dick Hazelwood
Warner Oland - Captain Ballantyne
Wyndham Standing - Henry Thresk
George Fitzgerald - Wigney Derrick
J. H. Gilmour - Harold Hazelwood
Amelia Summerville - Margaret Pettifer
Cora Williams - Teresa Derrick
Blanche Standing - Mary Derrick
Leslie King - Baram Singh
Charles W. Charles - Gardner
Mrs. Bryant - Gardner's Wife
Etienne Girardot - Richard Pettifer
Henry Warwick - Lawyer

Preservation status

A print of this film was discovered in the Gosfilmofond Archive in Moscow.^[2]^[3]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Witness for the Defense.

Films directed by George Fitzmaurice

1910s	The Commuters (1915) The Test (1916) Arms and the Woman (1916) The Romantic Journey (1916) Kick In (1917) The Hunting of the Hawk (1917) The Recoil (1917) The Iron Heart (1917) Blind Man's Luck (1917) The On-the-Square Girl (1917) The Mark of Cain (1917) Sylvia of the Secret Service (1917) Innocent (1918) The Naulahka (1918) The Hillcrest Mystery (1918) A Japanese Nightingale (1918) The Narrow Path (1918) Common Clay (1919) The City of the Weak (1919) The Profiteers (1919) The Avalanche (1919) Our Better Selves (1919) A Society Exile (1919) The Witness for the Defense (1919) Counterfeit (1919)

1920s	On with the Dance (1920) The Right to Love (1920) Idols of Clay (1920) Forever (1921) Paying the Piper (1921) Experience (1921) Kick In (1922) To Have and to Hold (1922) Three Live Ghosts (1922) The Man from Home (1922) The Cheat (1923) Bella Donna (1923) The Eternal City (1923) Cytherea (1924) A Thief in Paradise (1925) His Supreme Moment (1925) The Dark Angel (1925) The Son of the Sheik (1926) The Night of Love (1927) Rose of the Golden West (1927) The Love Mart (1927) The Barker (1928) Lilac Time (1928) The Locked Door (1929) Tiger Rose (1929)

1930s	The Bad One (1930) Raffles (1930) The Devil to Pay! (1930) One Heavenly Night (1931) Strangers May Kiss (1931) The Unholy Garden (1931) Mata Hari (1931) As You Desire Me (1932) Rockabye uncredited Nana (1934) All Men are Enemies (1934) Petticoat Fever (1936) Suzy (1936) The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937 The Emperor's Candlesticks (1937) Live, Love and Learn (1937) Arsene Lupin Returns (1938) Vacation from Love (1938)

1940s	Adventure in Diamonds (1940)

Works by A. E. W. Mason

Inspector Hanaud series	At the Villa Rose (1910) The House of the Arrow (1924) The Prisoner in the Opal (1928) They Wouldn't Be Chessmen (1934) The House in Lordship Lane (1946)

Other novels	Man and His Kingdom (1899) The Four Feathers (1902) The Truants (1904) Running Water (1906) A Romance of Wastdale (1910) Miranda of the Balcony (1911) The Witness for the Defense (1913) Fire Over England (1936) The Drum (1937)

Characters	Inspector Hanaud