Retribution (1921 film)

Retribution is a 1921 Australian silent film directed by Armand Lionello, who ran a Brisbane acting school. The film was shot in Brisbane and is considered a lost film.[4]

Retribution
Directed byArmand Lionello
Written byThorene Adair
StarringThorene Adair
Production
company
Astrolat Film Company
Release date
  • 22 October 1921 (1921-10-22)[1]
Running time
seven reels[2]
CountryAustralia
LanguagesSilent film
English intertitles
Box office£130[3]

Plot

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A female detective tries to bust a crime ring operating in the city and in the sapphire mines of Anakie. The gang kill old man "Dawn", the sapphire king, and steal his gems. The detective's sister, a young nurse, is accused of the crime and imprisoned. The detective tries to clear her sister's name. There are two romantic subplots.[2]

Cast

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  • Thorene Adair as Arabelle Redmond
  • Thora Galli

Production

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It was the first entirely locally made Brisbane film. Local buildings featured heavily, including Boggo Road Gaol. It was shot over three months, in between June and August 1921.[2]

Scenes from the movie were enacted at a recital.[5]

Reception

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The film was poorly reviewed and seems to have flopped at the box office.[4] The Astrolat Film Company announced plans to make another movie, Whose Baby? but it appears never to have been shot.[6]

Star Thora Galli later sued Astrolat for £200 in unpaid wages. Her husband Leo worked on the movie.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Advertising". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 20 October 1921. p. 2. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "Town Topics". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 22 October 1921. p. 13. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  3. ^ a b "A "MOVIE" CASE". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 2 September 1922. p. 15. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  4. ^ a b Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 109.
  5. ^ "Advertising". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 26 July 1921. p. 2. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  6. ^ "Advertising". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 2 December 1921. p. 2. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
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