A Daughter of 'The Law'

Absolutely gorgeous LOC restoration of the Grace Cunard directed "A Daughter of 'The Law'" (1921) is a real treat to watch. Cunard also stars in this moonshiner/revenuer-cop romance, along with Cole Hebert and Gordon Griffith. Unfortunately, the actress who plays the mother of Hebert, and who has a substantial part, is not listed in the IMDb credits, nor in the credits on the Kino release "Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers". Only 22 minutes long, and certainly not very plausible, nevertheless the action, intercutting, and situations that Cunard gets herself into keep the viewer glued to the screen. Beautifully tinted and toned, with additionally a lovely score by Amy Denio. The scene of Cunard tied to a log going down a stream near a falls is well done. Rather than shooting Cunard the internal revenue agent - The Law - they let the river do the job. I'll let you wonder if the river does the job or not... Really great mise-en-scene in this! Cole Hebert reminded me of Charles Hutchison - "Lightnin' Hutch" - with his use of the motorcycle. Although this is substantially dated, I have to guess that it played very well at its release in 1921. I recently watched "Tarzan of the Apes" (1918) and saw Gordon Griffith as Tarzan as a boy, and which made him the first person to play the part of Tarzan in the movies. He appeared there naked as a jay bird! The fact that he appeared that way in 1918 surprised me. He's three years older here, and I must confess he's a very fine young actor. Even in hillbilly clothes. He was only 13, possibly 14, when he made this. He ended up a production manager at Columbia.

Grace Cunard is an Internal Revenue agent. She wheedles her boss into letting her go down to the Tennessee mountains to deal with moonshiners. Posing as an artist, she noses around and makes friends with the women. Eventually, the men figure out what she is and consider shooting her, but eventually decide to make it look like she accidentally tied herself to a log on the wild river.

Grace Cunard entered the films in 1911 and, in partnership with Francis Ford, became a popular serial queen. By 1912, she was writing movies, and by 1913, directing. While her popularity peaked about 1916 and she moved solidly into features, her career was in decline by a decade later, and sound reduced her to an uncredited player after 1935. Her last known screen appearance was in 1946 and she died, age 73, in 1967, a half century after she was dubbed "the Serial Queen."

This one is a fast-paced two-reeler, well-shot and directed by Miss Cunard from a script by Marion H. Cohn. The print I saw was in beautiful shape and it's a good one for fans of "action girl" movies to take a look at.