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The Governor’s Clemency
(1912) United States of America
B&W : One reel
Directed by [?] Robert Goodman?
Cast: Francis Ford
G. Méliès production; distributed by The General Film Company, Incorporated. / Produced by Gaston Méliès. / Released 21 November 1912. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Drama: Western.
Synopsis: [From Méliès promotional materials] Jim owns an apricot orchard in California, and his letters to his brother Tom extolling the West and its opportunities allure the latter from the East. A frost ruins the orchard and Tom is forced to lok for work. Failing to obtain it, and his wife in need of money back East, he decides to hold up the stage-coach. By mistake he misses the coach and attacks the Governor. It proves to be a fortunate hold-up, because of the “Governor’s Clemency.” // [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? Jim lives in the Golden West. He owns a young apricot orchard and is engaged to marry Mary. His brother, Tom, is a blacksmith back east, but as business is bad, decides to join his brother. He sells out his shop and bids farewell to his wife, promising to be back soon with a fortune. While on his way out his brother’s orchard is ruined by frost. Tom arrives unexpected, full of hope, only to find out Jim’s misfortune. Both are disheartened, but Jim cheers him up optimistically, and says they will pull together and make their pile. Several weeks pass. Tom is unable to secure a position, and to cap the climax his wife writes that she is in need of money. In desperation, Tom decides to hold up the stagecoach. He takes a large handkerchief bearing Jim’s name to use as a mask and stealthily leaves the house. Mary detects him and informs Jim. Tom lays in ambush for the coach, but not knowing the roads well, has selected the wrong one. Nevertheless, he rushes out at the sound of approaching hoof-beats and is dumbfounded when he finds but a single rider. It is the governor. Tom orders his hands up at gun’s point. We leave them thus and next see Jim riding desperately to prevent his brother from holding up the stage. He comes upon Tom riding easily home, who assures him that he did not rob the coach. But Jim’s suspicions are aroused when he discovers Tom counting a roll of bills. He tells his sweetheart, and they decide to go to town to learn if there was a hold-up. From a distance they see Tom in the company of two sheriffs, and conclude that he has been arrested. Jim decides to shoulder his brother’s guilt, and making a dash to the group, cries, “I am the guilty man; he is innocent.” The sheriffs smile and Tom tells his brother the story of mistakenly holding up the governor, of how the benevolence of the old man aroused his conscience, of giving back the stolen articles and how the governor, upon learning his story, gave him money, and an official card to the sheriff, giving instructions to make Tom a game warden.
Reviews: [The Moving Picture World, 7 December 1912, page ?] There is more freshness and humanity in the idea set forth by this picture than we expected when the situation was first stated. It interested us not a little. It’s a story of the West and concerns a man out of work and desperate because his family is in want. He determines to hold up the stage; but misses it and comes on the Governor who is driving alone. This official hears his story and makes him a game warden. The picture suffers from the artificial way the man’s brother is warned of his intention of robbing the stage; but it suffers most from the fact that we are left in the dark about what happened when he held up the Governor until we know that he has been appointed to some office. We are left to guess what happened and we are led to guess right. Then the whole is shown to us. We should have been led to guess wrong, then the showing of it wouldn’t have seemed like repetition.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 26 May 2024.
References: Thompson-Star p. 232 : ClasIm-226 p. 55 : Website-IMDb.
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