The Unwritten Law: A Thrilling Drama Based on the Thaw-White Tragedy (1907)
Dramatization of the real-life shooting of Stanford White by Harry K. Thaw.
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Stanford White was a leading New York City architect at the start of the 20th century. His firm, McKim, Mead & White designed many beautiful Beaux Arts building, some of which still survive. His occasional mistress, Evelyn Nesbitt, married a Pittsburgh millionaire named Harry Thaw, who shot and killed White in jealousy, kicking off a murder trial that the yellow press of the time dubbed "The Murder of the Century." Thaw's lawyer argued "the unwritten law" and temporary insanity. After one hung jury, the second jury acquitted Thaw.Meanwhile Miss Nesbitt became a celebrity, appearing on the stage and in this movie, which uses several props from what was alleged about her relationship with White. It's not a great movie -- Lubin's studio, while always first-rate in terms of photography, was very conservative in terms of film grammar and this salacious short offers little in the way of interesting smut. Its main interest lies in its air of tabloid sensationalism, and after more than a century, it's as obscure as current TV tabloid shows will be in a century. I hope.