People vs. John Doe (1916)

Genres - Drama, Crime  |   Release Date - Dec 10, 1916 (USA - Unknown)  |   Run Time - 60 min.  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson

Any modern-day actor or director who complains about "the grind" of his or her job should be referred to the career of director Lois Weber, who in 1916 ground out no fewer than eleven feature films. The fifth picture on Weber's 1916 docket was The People vs. John Doe. A powerful indictment of Capital Punishment (to which the director was staunchly opposed), the film offered a "case study" of how circumstantial evidence and inadequate legal representation could very well result in the state-sanctioned murder of an innocent man. As was always the case in Weber's films, the acting was faultless, even down to the lowliest bit roles. Unfortunately, the original release version of the film contained no actor credits, so only those familiar with the previous work of stars Leah Baird, Harry DeMore et. al. would have recognized the performers.