Within the Law

Within the Law is a play by American playwright, screenwriter, producer and film director Bayard Veiller (1869-1943) [1].

The original text

A play about a woman who is wrongly accused of stealing, is sent to prison and is eventually able to clear her name. It was premiered in 1912 and eventually became a huge commercial success.

Translations and adaptations

Translated into Afrikaans giving the play a Cape Town setting, entitled Onskuldig Veroordeel, by Ignatius Mocke.

There were at least four film versions, with Alice Joyce (1917), Norma Talmadge (1923), Joan Crawford (1930) and Ruth Hussey (1939).

Performance history in South Africa

1914: First performed in South Africa by the J.C. Williamson Theatre Company on 30 June, with Madge Fabian, Stephen Ewart, George R. Montford and others.

1918 Performed by the Leonard Rayne company, with Madge Fabian.

1925: Performed by the Leonard Rayne company, with Freda Godfrey.

1929: Performed in Afrikaans as Onskuldig Veroordeel, by the Hanekom Company and was enormously popular as it toured throughout the country. The lead role was played by Wena Naudé and Siegfried Mynhardt started his career as actor in this production.

1943: Adapted and translated by Ignatius Mocke and staged in Afrikaans by Anton Ackermann on 8 November 1943 at the Library Theatre. The cast consisted of Anton Ackermann, Pikkie Uys, Marie Herselman, Johan Brewis, Lill de Waal and Francois Faure.