The Trial of Mary Dugan is a play

Play (theatre)

A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...

 written by Bayard Veiller

Bayard Veiller

Bayard Veiller was an American screenwriter, producer and film director. He wrote for 32 films between 1915 and 1941...

.

The melodrama

Melodrama

The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...

 concerns a sensational courtroom trial of a showgirl

Showgirl

A showgirl is a dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show. Showgirl is also often used as a term for a promotional model in trade fairs and car shows, etc...

 accused of killing of her millionaire lover. Her defense attorney is her brother, Jimmy Dugan. It was first presented on Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 in 1927, with Ann Harding

Ann Harding

Ann Harding was an American theatre, motion picture, radio, and television actress.-Early years:Born Dorothy Walton Gatley at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, to George G. Gatley and Elizabeth "Bessie" Crabb. The daughter of a career army officer, she traveled often during her early life...

 in the title role, and in London

West End theatre

West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

 in 1928 with Genevieve Tobin

Genevieve Tobin

Genevieve Tobin was an American actress.The daughter of a vaudeville performer, Tobin made her film debut in 1910 in Uncle Tom's Cabin as Eva. She appeared in a few films as child, and formed a double act with her sister Vivian. Their brother, George, also had a brief acting career...

. Two American films were based on the play, one in 1929

The Trial of Mary Dugan (film)

The Trial of Mary Dugan is a 1929 talking film produced and distributed by MGM and starring Norma Shearer. The film is based on the 1927 Broadway stage play, The Trial of Mary Dugan, by Bayard Veiller who also directed this film. On stage the play had starred Ann Harding , who would come to...

 directed by Bayard Veiller and starring Norma Shearer

Norma Shearer

Edith Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in North America from the mid-1920s through the 1930s...

, and one in 1941 directed by Norman Z. McLeod

Norman Z. McLeod

Norman Zenos McLeod was an American film director, cartoonist and writer...

 and starring Laraine Day

Laraine Day

Laraine Day was an American actress and a former MGM contract star.-Career:Born La Raine Johnson in Roosevelt, Utah, to an affluent Mormon family, she later moved to California where she began her acting career with the Long Beach Players...

.

During the play, the audience was addressed as if it were the jury.

A novelization of the play, by William Wolff, was published in 1929.

Ayn Rand's Night of January 16th

Night of January 16th

Night of January 16th is a play written by Ayn Rand, inspired by the death of the "Match King", Ivar Kreuger. First produced under a different name in 1934, it takes place entirely in a court room and is centered on a murder trial. It was a hit of the 1935-36 Broadway season...

is reported to have been modeled on this play.