Retribution (1921 film) explained

Retribution
Director:Armand Lionello
Starring:Thorene Adair
Studio:Astrolat Film Company
Runtime:seven reels
Country:Australia
Language:Silent film
English intertitles
Gross:£130

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.[1]

Plot

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

Production

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.[3]

Reception

The film was poorly reviewed and seems to have flopped at the box office.[1] The Astrolat Film Company announced plans to make another movie, Whose Baby? but it appears never to have been shot.[4]

Star Thora Galli later sued Astrolat for £200 in unpaid wages. Her husband Leo worked on the movie.[5]

Notes and References

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