#the acquittal

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Terrence Parker - A Track For O.J. Simpson (The Acquittal) (!K7 Records [K7R007LP], 1996)

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THE ACQUITTAL

1919

The Acquittal is a play in three acts by Rita Weiman. The original production was produced by George M. Cohan and Sam Harris, staged by Sam Forrest. 

The cast featured William Harrigan, son of the late entertainer Ned Harrigan. Young Harrigan was recently returned from military service overseas. 

Kenneth Winthrop is tried for the murder of his foster-father, Andrew Prentice. His foster-brother, Robert Armstrong is his accuser. Both love Madeline, who has chosen Winthrop. Armstrong alleges that Edith Craig, secretly engaged to the dead man, and Winthrop were in love, but it is not believed. Circumstantial evidence is introduced offering the time as given by a certain clock. Madeline discovers that what they took for a clock in a butcher's store window was a circular meat scale, the hand of which stays at twelve, the top of the scale, when not in use. This discovery clears her husband. A postal inspector produces a letter written on the night of the murder by Prentice, which had been stolen in a mail holdup and recovered. This letter solves the whole mystery and puts the guilt on the shoulders of Prentice, who then confesses and commits suicide. Madeline finally finds happiness with Armstrong, who has always loved her.

The Acquittal premiered in Atlantic City NJ at Nixon’s Apollo Theatre on the Boardwalk on June 30, 1919. It then traveled to Asbury Park and Long Branch.

Instead of moving directly across the river to Broadway, the play decamped to Chicago beginning September 21st. This is likely to await the availability of Cohan and Harris’ flagship theatre on the Rialto. It stayed in the Windy City until December 27, 1919. It made a quick trip to Baltimore before Broadway. 

The Acquittal opened on Broadway at the Cohan and Harris Theatre (226 West 42nd Street) on January 5, 1920. 

About the Venue: The Cohan and Harris was in 1914 as the Candler, and leased to George M. Cohan and Sam H. Harris until 1920, when they ended their partnership. Harris kept the theatre, renaming it for himself. In 1926, he sold it to the Shuberts, who lost it in a 1933 bankruptcy. It was a movie house from 1933 to 1978 and demolished in 1996. It became part of Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum.

“Do any of you remember that jangly old song titled ‘Harrigan, That's Me'? If you do, you can testify that the gentleman of the piece was more than ordinarily boastful of his ability; that there was very little H A double R I G A N could not do. All of which is a prelude to our statement that ‘The Acquittal,’ Rita Weiman's new drama at the Cohan and Harris Theatre, is made by an unassuming young man of that name. William Harrigan's playing of the square, slangy, likable reporter of The Chronicle, Joe Conway, is one of the best bits of acting we have seen in some time.” ~ McELLIOTT, NY DAILY NEWS

The play closed on May 1, 1920, after 138 performances. After a short break, the play went out on tour again. Harrigan, and Chrystal Herne remained with the cast. 

During its post-Broadway tour, the play returned to Atlantic City and Nixon’s Apollo on October 4, 1920. 

In 1923, a film version was released by Universal. The film was directed by Clarence Brown starring Norman Kerry, Claire Windsor, Richard Travers, and Barbara Bedford. 

The film opened in Atlantic City at the Bijou Theatre on the Boardwalk on November 23, 1923. 

In 1953, the play was adapted for television as an installment of “Broadway Television Theatre” on WOR TV, syndicated from New York City. It starred John Baragrey and Judith Evelyn. 

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Claire Windsor and Barbara Bedford in The Acquittal (1923)

Direction: Clarence Brown

Costumes: Not credited

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1923 "The Acquittal" starring Claire Windsor and Norman Kerry, from Silent cinema.