A print of this film survives in the UCLA Film and Television Archives.
In 1964 Blackhawk Films started distributing and selling 16mm prints of this. According to their titles the film edits kept changing and segments totally re-filmed. Filming dates are given as 1914, 1915, 1916, 1919; intermixed together in the same scene. Blackhawk's version removed the 1919 ending and went back to one of the earlier endings.
Originally produced as a short right after "Birth Of A Nation" but after the big success of "Birth" D.W.G. decided to make another multi-story epic film called "Intolerance" which would include "The Mother and the Law" short, with new filming and modifications. When "Intolerance" failed to gain the same popularity as "Birth" D.W.G. decided to re-visit the short, expand on it with even more additional filming and changing the ending. It was released in 1919 as a 90 minute feature. It didn't do well so D.W.G. continued to alter the film for later re-releases.