The Moving Picture Weekly (1916-1917)

26 -THE MOVING PICTURE WEEKLY By the ruse of engaging him for another similar case the lawyers force an admission from the detective. N deference to compelling arguments by self-sacrificing humanitarians who are at this moment engaged in a movement to secure executive clemency for an unfortunate man standing in the shadow of the electric chair, Argosy Films, Inc., has voluntarily decided to change the name of its tremendously vital and human photoplay that was inspired by a number of celebrated murder cases where innocent men were made to pay the death penalty. Henceforth this thrilling and timely drama will bear the name of "The People Vs. John Doe." The absorbing story of this picture is more vital than any other before the American people today. It is more potent than any white slave picture and more interesting than any war drama because it carries an appeal directly to the heart and mind of every citizen. In New York State alone it has the indorsement of The Humanitarian Cult with its more than 100,000 members and it has a nation-wide appeal because the attention of the public has recently been directed to the possibility of inflicting capital punishment upon innocent human beings. What greater motive could be selected for a thrilling photo-drama? Miss Lois Weber who filmed "Where Are My Children?" felt the appeal at once and surpassed all her previous triumphs in the effective and sympathetic manner of treatment in this six-reel sensational achievement. Her purpose was to avoid any direct attack on methods employed in any particular case while at the same time selecting typical characters and telling a story of possible episodes which have been actual happenings in a number of celebrated cases. The story fairly chills the blood of the audience with an actual picture of an innocent man's narrow escape from the electric chair. It is more than a dramatic dream for the sake of a thrilling "movie." Innocent men have been executed for crimes never committed. The recent Bambrick case in New York State, when a mere boy paid the death penalty for a crime which many believed he never committed is still remembered. There is an historic case in Rhode Island where a man was hung on circumstantial evidence and a few minutes later the real criminal broke down and confessed. Five months later by legislative enactment there was no more capital punishment in Rhode Island. At this very moment there is a possibility that this tragic story will be repeated. A poor clod of a human being with the mind of a child, stands in the shadow of the electric chair for the fifth time in eighteen months. Although much evidence has been discovered to throw doubt on his guilt, it is not sufficient under^ present laws to secure a new trial and nothing but executive clemency can save him. He has already escaped the chair so frequently as to make his case one of the thrilling murder mysteries in the annals of jurisprudence of New York State. Yet this is only one of the cases which has inspired the humanitarian movement against capital punishment and ''The People vs. John Doe ' Title of Lois Weber's Masterpiece is Changed to Permit Greater Scope Than the One Immediate Murder Mystery Which Inspired it. which has resulted in the filming of "The People vs. John Doe." This picture is not only a protest against capital punishment itself, but against the abhorent "third degree" methods which are known to have brought innocent men within the shadow of the gallows. At the last anniversary meeting of The Humanitarian Cult in Carnegie Hall, the founder and leader of the Cult posted conspicuously the following slogan : "the taking of life is murder, whether by individuals, states or nations." On this occasion 4,000 people packed Carnegie Hall and 12,000 were tmable to gain admission to listen to Judge Wadhams, George Foster Peabody, Misha Appelbaum, Dr. Frank Crane and others who spoke against ill-advised capital punishme^^t. They were applauded by the sympathetic multitude. Each day the movement is growing and spreading to other states. This burning question is interesting humanitarians everywhere and this startling film, which is now about to be exhibited for the first time, has excited a nation-wide sympathy because of its effective argument against capital punishment. "The People vs. John Doe" is* a picture which tells the story of a doomed man who was convicted partly on the alleged confession of his not more than half-witted brother, who himself received a life-sentence. After relating the thriUing preliminary episodes in the crime for which John Doe was convicted, the picture brings us to the eve of his execution. His mentality is foimd to be that of a child. It is discovered that although charged with committing the crime for robbery, there has been no evidence to show he has in his possession any of the fimds taken