Counsel for the Defense

Counsel for the Defense
Counsel for the Defense
	Trade advertisement
Directed by	Burton L. King
Written by	Arthur Hoerl
Screenplay by	Arthur Hoerl
Based on	Counsel for the Defense; by Leroy Scott
Produced by	Edward S. Silton
Starring	Jay Hunt; House Peters; Betty Compson
Cinematography	Ned Van Buren; George Porter
Production; company	Burton King Productions
Distributed by	Associated Exhibitors
Release date	December 6, 1925;
Running time	7 reels
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

Counsel for the Defense is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Burton L. King and starring Jay Hunt, Betty Compson, and House Peters. It is based on the 1912 novel of the same name by Leroy Scott.^[1]^[2]

Plot

As described in a film magazine review,^[3] two men who wish to give the town's waterworks into the hands of a private company are opposed by Doc West, an old doctor. To clear the path for their scheme, they have the doctor arrested and charged with bribery. No local lawyer wishes to oppose the powerful schemers, so the doctor's daughter Katherine defends him. He loses his case, but the young woman unearths evidence against his enemies, clears his name, and has the others brought to justice.

Cast

Jay Hunt as Doc West
Betty Compson as Katherine West
House Peters as Arnold Bruce
Rockliffe Fellowes as Harrison Blake
Emmett King as Harvey Sherman
Bernard Randall as Stephen Marcy
George MacDonald as Hosea Hollingsworth
William Conklin as Thomas Burke
Joan Standing as Printer's Devil

Preservation

Counsel for the Defense is currently presumed lost.^[4] In February of 2021, the film was cited by the National Film Preservation Board on their Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films list.^[5]

References

^ Progressive Silent Film List: Counsel for the Defense at silentera.com
^ "AFI Catalog of Feature Films: Counsel for the Defense". afi.com. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
^ "New Pictures: Counsel for the Defense", Exhibitors Herald, 23 (12), Chicago, Illinois: Exhibitors Herald Company: 68, December 12, 1925, retrieved December 2, 2022 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ "The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: Counsel for the Defense". memory.loc.gov. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
^ "7,200 Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films (1912-29)" (PDF). National Film Preservation Board. Retrieved April 20, 2026.

External links

Counsel for the Defense at IMDb

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[1] Progressive Silent Film List: Counsel for the Defense at silentera.com

[afi-2] "AFI Catalog of Feature Films: Counsel for the Defense". afi.com. Retrieved April 20, 2026.

[3] "New Pictures: Counsel for the Defense", Exhibitors Herald, 23 (12), Chicago, Illinois: Exhibitors Herald Company: 68, December 12, 1925, retrieved December 2, 2022 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[4] "The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: Counsel for the Defense". memory.loc.gov. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2026.

[Lost_U.S._Silent_Feature_Films-5] "7,200 Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films (1912-29)" (PDF). National Film Preservation Board. Retrieved April 20, 2026.

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