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L’avocate
Also known as A Modern Portia in the USA
(1913) France
B&W : Two reels
Directed by (unknown)
Cast: Romuald Joubé, Sarah Davids, Eugénie Bade, Mademoiselle Valmont (Marguerite Valmont)
Distributed by Compagnie Genérale des Établissements Pathé Frères Phonographes & Cinématographes. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format. / The film was released in the USA through The General Film Company, Incorporated, as A Modern Portia on 11 December 1913.
Drama.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? Isabel Vincent, a successful and charming woman lawyer, is called by her client, Mrs. Norman, to draw up a will, leaving her fortune to her niece, Helen. That there may be no question about Mrs. Norman’s soundness of mind at the time of the drawing of the will. Dr. Carpel is called to testify to her mental fitness. After the document has been duly signed, Isabel starts for her home in a motor car and is injured in an accident. When taken to the hospital she is attended by Dr. Carpel, who soon falls in love with her. Not long after her recovery they are engaged to be married. But Isabel sees only one side of the doctor’s character. He is a gambler and so heavily in debt that he is threatened with disgrace at his club. At this critical time he receives an urgent message, calling him to the home of Mrs. Norman, who is dying. He goes to a desk to write a prescription and his eye falls on the box in which valuable papers and money are kept. Unable to resist the temptation, he steals the contents of the box, but in so doing his actions are reflected in a mirror and Mrs. Norman sees the theft. The last moments of her life are spent in writing a note declaring that she saw Dr. Carpel appropriate the money. In searching for the money Helen finds a flower in the desk similar to the one worn by the doctor on the day of his last visit. She hurries to Isabel for advice; an investigation is commenced and the young woman lawyer is forced to recognize the guilt of the man she has intended to marry within a few weeks. Bravely sinking personal feeling in a larger sense of duty to her client, Isabel presses the case in court and suffers the agony of being the means of securing her lover’s conviction.
Reviews: [The Moving Picture World, 27 December 1913, page ?] A two-part picture made in France with a charming young woman lawyer for its heroine. She has fallen in love with a doctor who is gambling beyond his means and who steals from one of her clients. She defends the property of this client against him and sends him to prison, though she still loves him. It makes a good serviceable release with carefully made, interesting sets, but lacks the touch of finality that might have made it a work of art.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: (unknown) [France]; Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 10 June 2024.
References: Ball-Shakespeare p. 388 : Website-IMDb.
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