text: it is the law it is the law is a 1924 american silent mystery film directed by j. gordon edwards and starring arthur hohl , herbert hayes , and mona palma . it is a film adaptation of the eponymous 1922 broadway play by elmer rice , itself based on a novel by hayden talbot . the film depicts the story of ruth allen ( palma ) , who marries justin victor ( heyes ) over competing suitor albert woodruff ( hohl ) . seeking revenge for this slight , woodruff fakes his death by killing a drifter who resembles him , and frames victor for the murder . when woodruff returns to court allen under a new identity , she sees through his disguise . once victor is freed from prison , he kills woodruff , and goes free because a conviction would constitute double jeopardy . this was the final film for director edwards , who died the following year , and was one of the last produced at fox film 's new york studio . contemporary reviews were generally positive . like many of fox 's early works , it was likely lost in the 1937 fox vault fire . plot albert woodruff and justin victor are friends who are both in love with the same woman , ruth allen . allen chooses to wed victor , and woodruff storms off in a jealous rage . woodruff locates his look - alike , " sniffer " evans , a drifter and drug addict . on the evening following allen and victor 's wedding , woodruff calls allen and threatens to blackmail her . he also convinces evans to come to his apartment . victor also travels to woodruff 's apartment , intending to confront his former friend about the threatening phone call . when woodruff sees victor outside the apartment building , he feigns a cry for help and shoots evans to death . victor is blamed for the murder of the man presumed to be woodruff , and is sentenced to life imprisonment . five years later , woodruff disguises himself with a beard and monocle and assumes a new identity in an attempt to court allen . she is able to recognize him as woodruff because of his fear of fire tongs . because she is friends with the governor , she is able to arrange her husband 's release from prison . victor locates woodruff in a casino and kills him . at trial , he declares that the prohibition against double jeopardy prevents his prosecution for the murder ; he is set free to live happily with his wife . cast arthur hohl as albert woodruff and " sniffer " evans herbert heyes as justin victor mona palma as ruth allen ( credited as mimi palmeri ) arthur hohl reprised the role of woodruff from broadway ; in addition to woodruff and evans , he played a third role as the casino 's proprietor . the cast also includes dorothy kingdon , helena d , patricia o 'connor , and nancy newman as casino regulars . this was herbert heyes final silent film ; he returned to acting in the 1940s . production in 1922 , theatrical agent walter jordan encouraged elmer rice to dramatize an unpublished novel by hayden talbot . at the time , rice was best known for his 1914 broadway play on trial , which featured the first use of flashback , a narrative technique he adapted from film , in a broadway production . rice 's adaptation of talbot 's work , it is the law , again featured a story told in flashback . it ran for 125 performances at the ritz theatre , and was a modest success . curtis benson wrote the film adaptation for it is the law ; unlike the theatrical version , his screenplay presents the story entirely in chronological order . j. gordon edwards directed , the only time he did so in 1924 , as he was primarily serving as fox film 's director - general at the time . it was also his last time to direct ; he retired from fox after the film 's completion , and although he expressed an interest to returning to the role , he died of pneumonia the following year . filming took place at fox 's new york studio , although most production had by then moved to hollywood . it is the law was one of only four films fox made at its east coast facility in 1924 . except for four allan dwan films in 1926 , they were the last fox produced in new york . the film daily reported that a trailer was produced to advertise the film . the copyright registration for it is the law stated its length as eight reels , but the released version was a shorter , seven - reel film . when twentieth century - fox film renewed the copyright in 1951 , they again referred to the longer run time ; the title was also restyled with an exclamation point , as it is the law ! reception and legacy it is the law received generally positive reviews . george t. pardy , writing for exhibitors trade review , noted that the audience was aware of the nature of the mystery while the characters were not , a welcome departure from the conventions of most melodramas . motion picture magazine called the film " tense , , ... and new in its idea . " the film daily 's reviewer believed it would appeal to fans of the genre despite " some hokum and implausible twists " . edwards 's direction was praised , including his pacing of the story , although the reviewer for variety felt the film was unnecessarily long . hohl , in his dual role performance , was considered the strongest of the cast , despite some exaggerated expressions . it is the law is believed to be lost . the 1937 fox vault fire destroyed most of fox 's silent films , and the library of congress is not aware of any extant copies . because little of edwards 's work survives , few of his films have drawn attention from modern authors , but film historian larry langman included it is the law as an example of the evolution of avenging - spouse films to " emphasize the inner strengths of their women " in the 1920s .