Murphy's Wake

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Murphy's Wake

Murphy's Wake. 355 ft. £8 17s. 6d.


The Era, Londres, samedi 1er septembre 1906, p. 32.


MURPHY'S WAKE
Amusing droll study of Irish life. Murphy is thought to be dead, but keeps up the joke to see the fun. Guests come and have a great wake. Murphy carried away in his coffin, kicks off the lid, frightens the sexton, and returns to the house and is thought to be his ghost. Consternation to all. Causes screams of laughter. 355 ft. £8 17s. 6d.


The Era, Londres, samedi 8 septembre 1906, p. 36.

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1 Walturdaw  
2 n.c.  
3 <01/09/1906 355 ft
4 Grande-Bretagne  

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15/09/1906 Grande-Bretagne   Murphy's Wake 
 
"MURPHY'S Wake" is the title of a film which the Walturdaw Company have produced this month. Murphy is an Irishman who comes home drunk one day and receives so warm a reception from his wife that he determines to end his troubles by suicide. After stimulating his courage by a long draught from a black bottle, he places a noose round his neck and hangs himself from the kitchen mantelpiece. When his wife returns to resume her upbraidings she is shocked to find him struggling convulsively. She calls assistance and he is cut down, but found to be already dead. The next scene shows the "wake," the body, covered with a sheet, being raised on a table in the middle of the room, and the widow and her guests gathering round wringing their hands. Then the surprising sight is seen of the supposed corpse keeping time with his feet to the rythmic wailing of the mourners, while every now and again he reaches out his hand for one of the several black bottles in evidence and takes a deep drink. The others do not notice this, however, and in the next scene they are shown bearing the coffin on their shoulders to the grave yard. It is a more difficult thing than they had imagined, and they are at a loss to account for the swaying of the coffin. Arrived at the graveside the guests depart and the coffin left to wait for the grave-digger. While the latter is busy with his spade, Murphy creeps out of the coffin and sits on the edge with his back to the digger. paying attention to the usual bottle of spirits. The grave-digger sees him and runs off in terror, with Murphy in his grave clothes following him up. The last scene shows the widow and her guests working off their sorrow by means of an Irish jig, when the terrified grave-digger breaks in, to be shortly followed by Murphy himself. This subject is particularly well acted throughout. and the pictures have all that particularly clear definition which the Walturdaw people seem to so easily. Exhibitors should not miss seeing it.
The Optical Lantern and Kinematograph Journal, samedi 15 septembre 1906, p. 202.

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