Outside the Law

This silent film from 1920 was one of a series of melodramas (crafted by director Tod Browning) with strong female protagonists in mind. In this case the anti-heroine is hard-boiled jewel thief Molly Madden (played by Priscilla Dean) who, after her father is framed for murder by the one and only Lon Chaney (here taking on a dual role), finds herself on the wrong side of the law once again…

Set in San Francisco’s Chinatown we see Molly Madden (Priscilla Dean) and her father Silent Madden (Ralph Lewis) in conversation with Chang Lo (E. Alyn Warren) – a Confucianist philosopher who seems to have succeeded in steering the two former criminals onto the right path of honesty. Chang Lo’s servant/advisor Ah Wing (Lon Chaney) is always at hand to lend additional support. However, things take a turn in the wrong direction when dangerous gangster Black Mike Sylva (Lon Chaney again) – who hates Silent Madden and his daughter – decides to frame the old man for murder and hatches a particularly nasty plan leading to a shootout between various characters from Chinatown’s underworld and the law. Before the night is out a policeman lies dead on the ground and although Silent Madden wasn’t the killer he is arrested. Although judge and jury don’t have enough evidence to convict him for murder he still gets time in the slammer simply because he happened to be ‘at the scene of the crime’.

Angry and bitter, his daughter Molly reprimands Chang Lo, accusing him of teaching useless philosophies: “See what going straight has brought us?” before deciding to return to a life of crime. Next up she enjoys a drink with Black Mike and his accomplice Dapper Bill Ballard (Wheeler Oakman) as the three make plans for an elaborate jewellery theft. What she doesn’t know is that Black Mike intends on double-crossing her by using her as a patsy before making off with the stolen jewels himself and getting Miss Madden arrested. However, Dapper Bill (who was Priscilla Dean’s real-life husband at the time) takes a shine to Molly and arrives in her apartment to reveal Black Mike’s dastardly plan. Rather than abandoning the planned jewel theft (as suggested by Dapper Bill) Molly replies she still wants to go ahead with it, albeit with a slightly altered plan that sees her and Dapper Bill making off with the stolen bling while Black Mike is left empty-handed and humiliated. After the deed is done and the pair indeed succeed in stealing the jewels from a safe during a swell society party, both Molly and Dapper Bill decide to lay low for some time and hide away in a rented apartment. Frictions soon mount, however, as Bill begins to grow restless what with being a prisoner in his own ‘home’ – in order to combat boredom he befriends a little boy (Stanley Goethals) who lives across the hall and invites him into the room to play marbles or fix the kid’s kite. This angers Molly who doesn’t appear to display any motherly instincts, far from it, she scolds Bill for putting them both in danger by inviting the chirpy little chap into their apartment all the time – much to the chagrin of Molly it would appear that Bill really likes the kid and dreams of having children of his own (preferably with Molly). During one occasion the boy’s mother knocks on the door to get her son back for dinner and casually mentions her husband works for the local police department… now Molly and Bill get worried indeed that the kid might inadvertently begin to tell his Dad about the ‘friendly neighbours’ he goes to and plays with…

Just as the pair decide to switch camp and look for new premises there’s a knock on the door again, only this time it’s not the boy’s mother but Black Mike whose ‘spies’ located the hideout of the two jewel thieves. This sets in motion the action-packed climax taking place in the gritty streets of Chinatown, with servant Ah Wing emerging as the unlikely hero who saves the day and rids the district of one of its most notorious criminals. The way is freed for a happy ending and Molly’s father is freed from prison – perhaps there is truth in Chang Lo’s philosophies after all…

Part melodrama part crime thriller, this early vehicle sees Lon Chaney not only in dual roles and already his skill for make-up and heavy disguises shines trough, though nothing would ever top the transformation for his Phantom of the Opera (1925). In ‘Outside the Law’ his Black Mike Sylva appearance looks suitably mean and deranged but his make-up for Ah Wing (politically incorrect as it may seem today) is proof of his reputation as ‘the man of a thousand faces’ thanks to his pioneering and ground-breaking make-up techniques.
Of course, the film’s real star is Priscilla Dean who cuts a convincing figure as the crafty and hard-sodden ‘Silky Moll’ who won’t be pushed into any corner by her male rivals – her facial expressions go hand in hand with her tough-as-nails attitude. Wheeler Oakman, on the other hand, is almost too nice and conscientious and one finds it a little hard to believe that he used to be Black Mike’s accomplice before going rogue.
The film looks good as well, with great sets resembling a seedy quarter of Chinatown and an authentic atmosphere that suggests the exotic (we even have an un-credited appearance by Anna May Wong). By and large, this film depicts the Chinese in a positive light (in contrast to many other films of the time in which they Chinese were often depicted as the ‘yellow peril’).

Eureka presents OUTSIDE THE LAW in a brand-new 4K restoration on Blu-ray, however, despite these efforts it should be pointed out that the climax sequence (about 7 minutes or so) suffers from severe nitrate decomposition and once that happens even the best film preservation techniques are helpless. That said, the viewer can opt for the film’s ‘Alternate ending’ created in 1926 (to be found among the Extras) which doesn’t suffer from the aforementioned nitrate decomposition but has the entire climactic action sequence missing. Win some, lose some! Additional bonus material includes musical score by Anton Sanko; new video interview with film critic Kim Newman plus Collector’s booklet.