The Reprieve (1913 film)

The Reprieve
Directed by	W. J. Lincoln
Produced by	W. J. Lincoln Godfrey Cass
Written by	W. J. Lincoln[1]
Starring	The Lincoln Cass Famous Picture Artists
Cinematography	Maurice Bertel
Production company	Lincoln-Cass Films
Release dates	3 November 1913 (Melbourne)[2][3]
Running time	2,500 feet[4] or 4,000 feet[5]
Country	Australia
Language	Silent film English intertitles

The Reprieve is a 1913 Australian melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln about a man on trial for killing his unfaithful wife. It is considered a lost film. Contemporary reviews were positive.^[6]

Plot

Richard Gannon discovers his wife Amy has been cheating on him with a man called Jim Williams and accidentally kills her in a fit of anger by pushing her over a cliff. He is arrested and sentenced to death but the judge recommends mercy and asks the Home Secretary for a reprieve.

The Home Secretary at first refuses, but when he mistakenly comes to believe that his own wife is unfaithful with a former lover, he realises how easy it would have been to kill her.

After this, he grants a reprieve for Gannon and resolves to show his wife more affection.^[7][8][9]

The chapter headings were:^[10]

• Condemned to Death.
• The Power of Love.
• Leave my House, you Scoundrel.
• Should a faithless woman be destroyed.
• I have killed Her.
• The Vigil of the Night.
• A story that will hold you spell-bound.
• You are no better than Richard Gannon, the man you refuse to reprieve.

Cast

• Roy Redgrave
• Beryl Bryant
• Godfrey Cass
• George Bryant
• Tom Cannam^[11]
• Violet Grey
• Ward Lyons
• Charles Wheeler
• John Brunton
• Jessie Brown

Production

The film was the fifth production from Lincoln Cass.^[12]

References

1. Copyright information for film at National Archives of Australia
2. Mary Bateman, 'Lincoln Cass Filmography', Cinema Papers, June–July 1980 p 175
3. "Advertising". The Age (18,291) (Victoria, Australia). 1 November 1913. p. 20. Retrieved 2 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
4. "Picture Pops.". Clarence and Richmond Examiner (Grafton, NSW: National Library of Australia). 13 January 1914. p. 5. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
5. "Advertising". The Maitland Daily Mercury (13,370) (New South Wales, Australia). 21 January 1914. p. 2. Retrieved 2 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
6. "SHAFTSBURY THEATRE.". The Daily News (Perth: National Library of Australia). 12 December 1914. p. 6 Edition: THIRD EDITION. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
7. Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, p45
8. "Advertising.". The Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld.: National Library of Australia). 15 July 1915. p. 2. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
9. "GARDEN PICTURE PALACE.". The Maitland Daily Mercury (13,372) (New South Wales, Australia). 23 January 1914. p. 6. Retrieved 2 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
10. "Advertising". The Tamworth Daily Observer IV, (20) (New South Wales, Australia). 24 January 1914. p. 8. Retrieved 2 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
11. "Advertising". Newcastle Morning Herald And Miners' Advocate (12,221) (New South Wales, Australia). 2 January 1914. p. 8. Retrieved 2 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
12. "MOVING PICTURES.". The Prahran Telegraph 51, (2709) (Victoria, Australia). 20 September 1913. p. 6. Retrieved 2 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.

External links

• The Reprieve at IMDB
• The Reprieve at AustLit
• The Reprieve at National Film and Sound Archive