Name: Who Killed Joe Merrion?
Released: 1916
Cast: Joseph Kilgour, S. Rankin Drew, Betty Gray, J. Herbert Frank, Mabel Kelly

Cast & Crew

Film Details

Also Known As

The Atonement

Release Date

Jan 3, 1916

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

Vitagraph Co. of America; Personally Picked Program

Distribution Company

General Film Co.

Country

United States

Synopsis

Because of his wild ways, James Randall is banished from his home by his father, a prominent English judge. After Joe Merrion, a bookmaker, is found dead on a train, Judge Randall sentences William Rufford, the last man seen with the victim, for the crime. Penniless, James asks his father for financial help, and, to keep a deathbed promise to his wife, the Judge complies. While going through James' possessions, however, the judge discovers a piece of evidence that ties his son to Merrion's murder. Devastated, the judge writes a confessional letter to the authorities and forces James to admit the crime. After escaping from jail, Rufford goes to the Randall home, kills the judge in revenge, then reads the letter clearing him of the murder. Filled with remorse, Rufford burns the letter and turns himself in, permitting the reformed James to leave with Vivienne, his fiancée.