The Paliser Case

The Paliser Case
The Paliser Case
	Film poster
Directed by	William Parke
Written by	Edfrid A. Bingham
Based on	The Paliser Case; by Edgar Saltus
Produced by	Samuel Goldwyn; (executive producer)
Starring	Pauline Frederick
Cinematography	Edward Gheller
Production; company	Goldwyn Pictures Corp.
Distributed by	Goldwyn Distributing Corp.
Release date	February 15, 1920;
Running time	50 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

The Paliser Case is a 1920 American silent mystery drama film produced and distributed by Goldwyn Pictures. Directed by William Parke, the film stars Pauline Frederick, Albert Roscoe, and James Neil. The film was adapted for the screen by Edfrid Bingham based on a 1919 novel of the same name by Edgar Saltus.

Plot

As described in a film magazine, Cassy Cara, daughter of a Portuguese violinist whose talent has been obscured by a stroke following a holdup, attracts the attention of Monty Paliser, a man of wealth who, failing to win her by any other means, marries her. Three days after the wedding she learns that the ceremony was not genuine and returns home, telling her father her story. That night Paliser is murdered while in his box at the opera. A young man who Cassy has loved, who was seated in the next box, is accused of the murder and a chain of evidence is built up around him. To shield him, Cassy confesses to the crime. Then her father tells the truth that he is guilty. The film ends with the death of the father and the reuniting of Cassy and her young man.

Cast

Pauline Frederick as Cassy Cara
Albert Roscoe as Lennox (credited as Albert Roscoe)
James Neil as Cara
Hazel Brennon as Margaret Austen (credited as Hazel Brennan)
Kate Lester as Mrs. Austen
Carrie Clark Ward as Tambourina
Warburton Gamble as Monty Paliser
Alec Francis as Paliser Sr.
Eddie Sutherland as Jack Menzies
Tom Ricketts as Major Archie Phipps
Virginia Foltz as Mrs. Colquhuon

Preservation

The Paliser Case is currently presumed lost. In February of 2021, the film was cited by the National Film Preservation Board on their Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films list.

References

1 2 de Groat, Greta (March 15, 2009), The Pauline Frederick Website: The Paliser Case (1920), stanford.edu, retrieved May 23, 2026
↑ "AFI Catalog of Feature Films: The Paliser Case". afi.com. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
↑ "Reviews: The Paliser Case". Exhibitors Herald. 10 (7). New York City: Exhibitors Herald Company: 77. February 14, 1920.
↑ "The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: The Paliser Case". memory.loc.gov. January 5, 2017. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
↑ "7,200 Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films (1912-29)" (PDF). National Film Preservation Board. February 4, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2026.

External links

The Paliser Case at IMDb
The Paliser Case at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
Pauline Frederick - The Paliser Case (1920) - stanford.edu page with 6 stills
Saltus, Edgar (1919), The Paliser Case, New York: Boni and Liveright, on the Internet Archive

This article related to a lost American silent drama film of the 1920s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

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[deGroat-1] 1 2 de Groat, Greta (March 15, 2009), The Pauline Frederick Website: The Paliser Case (1920), stanford.edu, retrieved May 23, 2026

[afi-2] "AFI Catalog of Feature Films: The Paliser Case". afi.com. Retrieved May 23, 2026.

[3] "Reviews: The Paliser Case". Exhibitors Herald. 10 (7). New York City: Exhibitors Herald Company: 77. February 14, 1920.

[4] "The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: The Paliser Case". memory.loc.gov. January 5, 2017. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2026.

[Lost_U.S._Silent_Feature_Films-5] "7,200 Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films (1912-29)" (PDF). National Film Preservation Board. February 4, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2026.