The Lyons Mail
1931 film
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The Lyons Mail (also known as Coufrier de Lyon [1]) is a 1931 British historical mystery adventure film directed by Arthur Maude and starring John Martin-Harvey, Norah Baring, and Ben Webster.[1][2] It was written by H. Fowler Mear based on the 1877 play The Lyons Mail by Charles Reade, which in turn was based on his 1854 play The Courier of Lyons.[3]
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| The Lyons Mail | |
|---|---|
Trade Show advertisement | |
| Directed by | Arthur Maude |
| Written by | H. Fowler Mear |
| Based on | The Lyons Mail by Charles Reade |
| Produced by | Julius Hagen |
| Starring | John Martin Harvey Norah Baring Ben Webster Moore Marriott |
| Cinematography | Sydney Blythe |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Woolf & Freedman Film Service |
Release date |
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Running time | 76 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The play had previously been made into a 1916 silent film The Lyons Mail.Filmed in 1930 at the Twickenham Studios in London,[4] it was to be John Martin-Harvey's only sound film.[citation needed]
The story is based on the Courrier de Lyon case.
Plot
Cast
- John Martin-Harvey as Joseph Lesurques
- Norah Baring as Julie
- Ben Webster as Jerome Lesurques
- Moore Marriott as Choppard
- George Thirlwell as Jean Didier
- Michael Hogan as Courrioll
- Sheila Wray as Madame Choppard
- Eric Howard as Fouinard
- Charles Paton as George Didier
- Earl Grey as Daubenton
- John Garside as Adjutant
- Gabrielle Casartelli as maid
Reception
Film Weekly wrote: "This mellow favourite of touring companies and amateur theatrical productions loses none of its fruitiness in its guise of talkie. It belongs to a period of dramatic entertainment with which we have so lost sympathy that we find its melodramatic product amusing and its comedies dull. As it is played here – quite straight and without concessions to present-day tastes – The Lyons Mail is more amusing than it is moving, although the actual robbery is grippingly presented."[5]
Picture Show wrote: "Hearty melodrama, well recorded."[6]