Hell-to-Pay Austin

Hell-to-Pay Austin[1][2] (also known, without hyphens, as Hell to Pay Austin)[3][4] is a 1916 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Paul Powell and starring Wilfred Lucas in the title role, with Bessie Love, Eugene Pallette, and Mary Alden in supporting roles.[4] Written by Mary H. O'Connor,[5] the film was produced by D. W. Griffith's Fine Arts Film Company and distributed by Triangle Film Corporation.[6] It is presumed lost.[7]

Hell-to-Pay Austin
Newspaper advertisement
Directed byPaul Powell
Written byMary H. O'Connor
StarringWilfred Lucas
Bessie Love
Eugene Pallette
Ralph Lewis
Mary Alden
Monte Blue
CinematographyJ.W. Leezer
Production
company
Distributed byTriangle Film Corporation
Release date
  • August 20, 1916 (1916-08-20) (U.S.)
Running time
50 minutes; 5 reels
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)

Production

Locations were filmed in San Diego, San Francisco, Bear Valley, Fresno, and Huntington Lake.[1]

Plot
Bessie Love in a scene from the film.

When a minister dies from alcoholism, his daughter Briar Rose (Love), also called "Nettles", is unofficially adopted by a team of lumberjacks, including the rough-and-tumble 'Hell-to-Pay' Austin (Lucas). Nettles is so touched by the logging camp's tribute to her father, organized by Austin, that she chooses him to be her foster father. Her innocence and purity eventually transform Austin into an upstanding Christian.

One day, an elegant woman (Alden) stumbles into the logging camp. The lumberjacks and Nettles help her, and she invites Briar Rose to visit her in New York someday. Years later, Nettles goes away to boarding school in New York. When taunted by her fellow students, Nettles leaves the school to stay with the woman she had met previously. Austin comes to New York to rescue Nettles, and, reunited, they discover that their guardian/ward relationship has evolved into one of true love and they marry.[2][3][4][8][9]

Cast
Wilfred Lucas, Bessie Love, and Mary Alden

Release

It was accompanied by the Charles Chaplin short comedy One A.M. in some theaters during its initial theatrical release[5] and by the Fay Tincher short Skirts in some others.[9]

References
  1. "In and Out of West Coast Studios". Motion Picture News. Vol. 14 no. 4. July 29, 1916. p. 604.
  2. Milne, Peter (August 19, 1916). "Screen Examinations". Motion Picture News. Vol. 14 no. 7. p. 1096.
  3. Kennedy, Thomas C. (August 26, 1916). "Hell to Pay Austin". Motography. Vol. XVI no. 9. pp. 500–1.
  4. "Triangle Film Corp". The Moving Picture World. Vol. 29. World Photographic Publishing Company. August 26, 1916. p. 1444.
  5. "At Leading Picture Theatres". The Moving Picture World. Vol. 29. World Photographic Publishing Company. August 19, 1916. p. 1265.
  6. Connelly, Robert B. (1998). The Silents: Silent Feature Films, 1910–36. 40 (2 ed.). December Press. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-913204-36-8.
  7. Erickson, Hal. "Hell-To-Pay Austin (1916)". allmovie.com. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  8. Paietta, Ann Catherine (2005). Saints, Clergy, and Other Religious Figures on Film and Television, 1895–2003. McFarland & Company. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-7864-2186-2.
  9. "Advertisement". The Seattle Star. August 19, 1916. p. 3 – via Library of Congress: Chronicling America.
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