The Lyons Mail
| 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 |
|
Running time | 76 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
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]
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.
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]
References
- ^ a b "The Lyons Mail". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
- ^ "BFI | Film & TV Database | The Lyons Mail (1931)". BFI. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
- ^ Haste, Steve (1997). Criminal Sentences: True Crime in Fiction and Drama. Cygnus Arts. ISBN 978-1-900541-25-1.
- ^ Cottis, David (26 December 2024). How Stage Playwrights Saved the British Cinema, 1930-1956: The Well-Made Screenplay. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 979-8-7651-0106-3.
- ^ "The Lyons Mail". Film Weekly. 5 (135): 24. 16 May 1931. ProQuest 1705121263.
- ^ "The Lyons Mail". Picture Show. 25 (650): 9. 17 October 1931. ProQuest 1879651205.