Outside the Law

Outside the Law (1920) starring Priscilla Dean, Lon Chaney Sr., by Tod Browning
While under contract at Universal Studios, Tod Browning crafted a series of melodramas with strong female protagonists, women on the wrong side of the law, who stood defiantly against the men who tried to control them. No actress better personified this tough, glamorous anti-hero than Priscilla Dean (Drifting, White Tiger). In Outside the Law, Dean plays hard-boiled jewel thief Molly Madden. When her father is framed for murder by Black Mike Sylva (Lon Chaney), Molly partners with safecracker Dapper Bill (Wheeler Oakman) to stage a double-cross of their own.