The Assigned Servant

The Assigned Servant
File:The Assigned Servant.jpg Production still from the film
Directed by	John Gavin
Produced by	Herbert Finlay Stanley Crick
Written by	Agnes Gavin
Starring	John Gavin
Cinematography	Herbert Finlay
Production company	Crick and Finlay
Release dates	26 August 1911
Running time	3,000 feet
Country	Australia
Language	Silent
Budget	₤300 or £500

The Assigned Servant is a 1911 Australian silent film about a convict who is transported to Van Diemen's Land. It was made by the husband and wife team of John and Agnes Gavin and is considered a lost film.

Plot

In England, Ralph Frawley is arrested for rabbit poaching and transported to Van Diemen's Land as a convict. He is assigned as a servant to a settler and falls in love with the daughter of the house. He marries her in secret but when this is revealed he is sent back to prison to serve the rest of his term. He escapes by a spectacular leap and swims to freedom. He turns to bushranging and robs the mail coach. He is saved by his aboriginal friend during a fight with police. After learning his wife has died he returns to England.

Cast

• John Gavin
• Alf Scarlett
• Charles Woods
• Dore Kurtz
• Sid Harrison
• Agnes Gavin

Production

Filming took under a month, which over a week spent on location. During the shoot, two actors injured themselves during a scene where they fought on top of a cliff and fell twenty feet below into the water. The actor Frank Gardiner cut his head falling from a horse during a chase scene, and an actor playing a trooper had four teeth knocked out during a fight.

Filming took place in the National Park, with Georges River heavily featured.

External links

• The Assigned Servant at IMDb
• The Assigned Servant at the National Film and Sound Archive