Assigned to his Wife

Assigned to his Wife is a 1911 Australian silent film from director John Gavin.[5] It is a convict-era "military romantic melodrama".[6]

Assigned to his Wife
Directed byJohn Gavin
Produced byJohn Gavin
Written byAgnes Gavin
StarringJohn Gavin
Agnes Gavin
CinematographyA.J. Moulton[1]
Production
company
John F. Gavin Productions
Distributed byJohn Gavin
Release date
22 September 1911[2]
Running time
over 4,000 feet[3]
CountryAustralia
LanguageSilent
Budget£500[4]

Plot

The film is set in the early 1840s in England and Van Diemen's Land and concerns Jack Throsbie (John Gavin), an English soldier who is falsely accused of a crime and sentenced to Australia, where he befriends an aboriginal boy.

The chapter headings were:

  1. Colonel McGregor's quarters at Aldershot. Capt. Danvers, the Colonel's secretary, proposes marriage to Miss Bess Wilmot and is refused. Bess confesses her love for Jack Throsbie to whom she is secretly married.
  2. Husband and wife.
  3. A dastardly reminder. Falsely accused. Court martial held. Condemned to death. A brother's remorse.
  4. Transported to Van Diemen's Land.
  5. Eight months later. Captain Danvers arrives in Hobart as relieving officer In charge of the settlement. Mrs. Throsbie follow her unhappy husband to Van Diemen's Land. Jack is assigned to his wife.
  6. A wolf in sheep's clothing. Jack Throsbie's home. Dennie's happiness.
  7. Captain Danvers shows his true colours.
  8. A cry for help. Jack Throsbie defends his wife against Captain Danvers. In the Grip of the Law. A Wife's Despair.
  9. The deserted hut. Yacka (A. Delaware) and the troopers.
  10. To the Bush. The trooper's Discomfiture. The biter bitten. The bush camp. Yacka falls into the hands of the troopers. #Jack Throsbie to the rescue. A dying man's confession. The sensational swim across the river. The escape of the black boy Yacka. The Governor of the settlement (H. Benson) brings Tess news of Jack Throsbie's innocence.
  11. Down the rapids.
  12. Sensational dive by "the black boy" Yacka.
  13. Bess Throsbie's home. Jacks brings news of Jack Throsbie's capture. Husband and wife meet again. Yacka is pardoned.
  14. Death of Captain Danvers.
  15. Good-bye Van Diemen's Land. England Once more. Honour to whom honour is due. Under the old flag. Yacka the black boy in England.
  16. Happiness at last.[7]

The main situations in the film were advertised as being:

  • about to be shot for treachery;
  • the fight with the guards;
  • the blackboy's wonderful escape;
  • swimming the river on horseback;
  • the fight on the river;
  • the flogging.[6]

Cast
  • John Gavin as Jack Throsbie
  • Agnes Gavin as Bess Wilmot
  • H Harding as Captain Denvers
  • Carr Austin as Colonel McGregor
  • W Power as Harry Wilmot
  • J Harris as Sandy McDougall
  • H Benson as Governor of the Settlement
  • F Henderson as Trooper McGuire
  • A. Delaware as Yacko, the Black Boy
  • Miss Daphne as Bertha McGregor

Production

The film was shot on location in bush near Sydney and at Gavin's improvised studio in Waverly.[4][8] A highlight was a dive of 250 feet by Yacka off a cliff into a river.[9]

Reception

The film was reportedly successful at the box office.[10]

It was meant to be followed by another from Gavin The White Hope but it does not appear this was made.[11]

gollark: But if you get rid of one group of friends that wouldn't be a problem.
gollark: Maybe you have too many friends and should lose some.
gollark: Yes. Most things could.
gollark: "Ubuntu is stable" - someone somewhere who was WRONG.
gollark: Unicode seems to mostly work, apart from the mess of ways to represent some characters.

References
  1. "The Theatrical Gazette". The Referee. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 20 September 1911. p. 16. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  2. "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 22 September 1911. p. 2. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  3. "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 22 September 1911. p. 2. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  4. Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 26.
  5. Everyones, Everyones Ltd, 1920, retrieved 30 May 2018
  6. "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 7 October 1911. p. 2. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  7. "Advertising". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Qld.: National Library of Australia. 20 April 1912. p. 1. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  8. "Advertising". The Referee. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 4 October 1911. p. 16. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  9. "AMUSEMENTS". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 5 February 1912. p. 14. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  10. "A Great Australian". The Newsletter: an Australian Paper for Australian People. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 4 November 1911. p. 3. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  11. "GENERAL GOSSIP". The Referee. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 15 November 1911. p. 16. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
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