''Frozen Justice'' is a 1929 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by

Allan Dwan Allan Dwan (born Joseph Aloysius Dwan; April 3, 1885 – December 28, 1981) was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter. Early life Born Joseph Aloysius Dwan in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Dwan, wa ...

. The picture starred Lenore Ulric in her first sound film and is based on the 1920 novel, ''Norden For Lov og Ret'', by Ejnar Mikkelsen. A shorter, silent version of the film was also released.''Frozen Justice'' at silentera.com
/ref> The film was set in

Nome, Alaska Nome (; ik, Sitŋasuaq, ) is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of Alaska, United States. The city is located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. It had a population of 3,699 record ...

during the Klondike Gold Rush in 1898 and 1899.Lombardi 2013 p.174 Both versions are now presumed

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography * Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland *Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

. One reel of the film still exists and is preserved at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

Cast

* Lenore Ulric as Talu *

Robert Frazer Robert Frazer (born Robert William Browne, June 29, 1891August 17, 1944) was an American actor who appeared in some 224 shorts and films from the 1910s until his death. He began in films with the Eclair company which released through Universal ...

as Lanak *

Louis Wolheim Louis Robert Wolheim (March 28, 1880 – February 18, 1931) was an American actor, of both stage and screen, whose rough physical appearance relegated him to roles mostly of thugs or villains in the movies, but whose talent allowed him to fl ...

as Duke * Ullrich Haupt as Captain Jones *

Laska Winter Laska Winter (August 28, 1905 – August 8, 1980) was an American film actress active during the silent and early sound era. She was also known as Winter Blossom. Filmography * ''What Ho, the Cook'' (1921) * '' The Thief of Bagdad'' (1924) * ' ...

as Doulgamana *

El Brendel Elmer Goodfellow "El" Brendel (March 25, 1890 – April 9, 1964) was an American vaudeville comedian turned movie star, best remembered for his dialect routine as a Swedish immigrant. His biggest role was as "Single-0" in the sci-fi musical ' ...

as 'Swede' *Tom Patricola as 'Dancer' *

Alice Lake Alice Lake (September 12, 1895 – November 15, 1967) was an American film actress. She began her career during the silent film era and often appeared in comedy shorts opposite Roscoe Arbuckle. Career Born in Brooklyn, New York, Lake began he ...

as 'Little Casino' *

Gertrude Astor Gertrude Astor (born Gertrude Irene Eyster; November 9, 1887 – November 9, 1977) was an American motion picture character actress, who began her career playing trombone in a woman's band. Early years Gertrude Irene Eyster was born in Lakew ...

as 'Moosehide' Kate *Adele Windsor as Boston School ma'am *Neyneen Farrell as 'Yukon' Lucy *

Warren Hymer Edgar Warren Hymer (February 25, 1906 – March 25, 1948) was an American theatre and film actor. Early life He was born in New York City. His father, John Bard Hymer (1875/1876 – 1953) was a playwright (with nine Broadway plays to ...

as The Bartender *Lou Morrison as The Proprietor *

Charles Judels Charles Judels (August 17, 1882 - February 14, 1969) was a Dutch-born American actor. Early years Judels was born on August 17, 1882, in Amsterdam as a third generation in a family of actors. His grandfather owned several theatres throughout t ...

as The French Sailor *Joe Rochay as The Jewish Character *Meyers Sisters as The Harmony Duo * George MacFarlane as The Singer *

Landers Stevens John Landers Stevens (1877–1940) was an American stage and film actor. A character actor he appeared in prominent screen roles in the early 1920s before switching to smaller supporting parts, often authority figures, in the following decade. ...

as Mate Moore *James Spencer as The Medicine Man *

Arthur Stone The Artognou stone, sometimes erroneously referred to as the Arthur stone, is an archaeological artefact uncovered in Cornwall in the United Kingdom. It was discovered in 1998 in securely dated sixth-century contexts among the ruins at Tintage ...

as 'French' Pete *Jack Ackroyd as 'English' Eddie *

Gertrude Chorre Gertrude Chorre (April 30, 1885 – September 3, 1972) was an American film actress and talent scout based in southern California. Early life Gertrude Martinez was born in southern California, to Estefano Martinez (1824–1902) and Regina Gua ...

as Talu's Mother

Reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics. While critics praised the scenery and atmosphere, most felt the story was weak. The critic for the ''New York Herald Tribune'' felt the story was "chiefly deficient" while ''Variety'' called the film "moderately good". The film premiered at the Roxy Theatre in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on October 25, 1929. The film's star, Lenore Ulric, and director Allan Dwan made a personal appearance at the premiere. Four days later, the stock market crashed which affected audience turnout as celebratory films about the gold rush were less of a draw.

References

External links

*
Lobby poster #1

Lobby poster #2
1929 films 1929 drama films Fox Film films American drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films based on Danish novels Films directed by Allan Dwan Films set in 1898 Films set in 1899 Films set in Alaska Lost American films Transitional sound films Films with screenplays by Sonya Levien 1920s American films Silent American drama films {{1920s-US-film-stub