Godfrey Cass (1867 – 14 May 1951) was an Australian actor in the

silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

. Between 1906 and 1935 he acted in nineteen film roles. He played

Ned Kelly Edward Kelly (December 1854 – 11 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing a suit of bulletproof armour during his final shootout wi ...

three times, and also had roles in a number of other

bushranger Bushrangers were originally escaped convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who used the bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. By the 1820s, the term had evolved to refer to those who took up "robbery under ...

movies including '' A Tale of the Australian Bush'' (1911) and '' Moondyne'' (1913).

Biography

The son of the Governor of

Melbourne Gaol The Old Melbourne Gaol is a former jail and current museum on Russell Street, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It consists of a bluestone building and courtyard, and is located next to the old City Police Watch House and City Courts buildin ...

, John Buckley Castieau (1831–1885), Godfrey Cass was born Godfrey Castieau in 1867, one of seven children. As a child he spent a lot of time around the gaol and met

just before Kelly was hung. He began acting in late 1883 or 1884 for J. C. Williamson Ltd. He married Hilda Fraser, with whom he often appeared on stage, in 1894. His peak years as an actor were from 1903 to 1914, usually playing the villain in melodramas. Cass appeared in his first film in 1911 for the Australian Life Biography Company, and followed it with two more movies for the same company. Two years later he partnered with

W. J. Lincoln William Joseph Lincoln (1870 – 18 August 1917) was an Australian playwright, theatre manager, film director and screenwriter in the silent film, silent era. He produced, directed and/or wrote 23 films between 1911 and 1916. One obituary calle ...

to make films as

Lincoln-Cass Films Lincoln Cass Films was a short-lived Australian film production company. History Formed in July 1913, its principal filmmakers were W. J. Lincoln and Godfrey Cass and the managing director of the company was H. Dean Stewart. Charles Wheeler was ...

. The company survived for only one year, but in that time it made eight films, with Cass playing roles in six of them. He then returned to the stage appearing in ''Sealed Orders'' for J. C. Williamson Ltd. Cass enlisted in the Army for

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

on 27 January 1915, dropping his age by eleven years, and was discharged on 25 August 1917, suffering from shell shock. He returned to theatre, working as an actor and director. He also appeared in several films, including playing as

Harry Southwell Harry Southwell (born 1882, date of death unknown) was an Australian actor, writer and film director best known for making films about Ned Kelly. He was born in Cardiff, Wales and spent a couple of years in America, where he adapted some short ...

's ''

The Kelly Gang ''The Kelly Gang'' is an Australian feature-length film about the Australian bush ranger, Ned Kelly. The film was released in 1920, and is the second film to be based on the life of Ned Kelly, the first being ''The Story of the Kelly Gang'', re ...

''. He died in 1951.

Filmography

#'' A Tale of the Australian Bush'' (1911) – actor #'' One Hundred Years Ago'' (1911) – actor #'' A Ticket in Tatts'' (1911) – actor #''

The Sick Stockrider ''The Sick Stockrider'' is a 1913 film directed by W. J. Lincoln based on the 1870 poem of the same title by Adam Lindsay Gordon. It was the first production from Lincoln-Cass Films and is one of the few Australian silent films to survive in it ...

'' (1913) – actor, producer #'' Moondyne'' (1913) – actor, producer #'' The Remittance Man'' (1913) – actor, producer #''

Transported ''Transported'' is an Australian convict melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln. It is considered a lost film. Plot In England, Jessie Grey is about to marry Leonard Lincoln but the evil Harold Hawk tries to force her to marry him and she w ...

'' (1913) – actor, producer #'' The Road to Ruin'' (1913) – actor, producer #''

The Crisis ''The Crisis'' is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Mi ...

'' (1913) – actor, producer #''

The Reprieve ''The Reprieve'' (french: Le sursis) is a 1945 novel by French author Jean-Paul Sartre. It is the second part in the trilogy ''The Roads to Freedom''. It concerns life in France during the eight days before the signing of the Munich Agreement an ...

'' (1913) – actor, producer #'' The Wreck'' (1913) – actor, producer #''

'' (1920) – actor #'' The Hordern Mystery'' (1920) – actor #'' The Dingo'' (1923) – actor #''

When the Kellys Were Out ''When the Kellys Were Out'' is an Australian feature-length film directed by Harry Southwell about Ned Kelly. Only part of the film survives today. Plot Constable Fitzpatrick arrives at the Kelly house, to accuse Dan Kelly of cattle duffing. ...

'' (1923) – actor #''

Jewelled Nights ''Jewelled Nights'' is a 1925 Australian silent film directed by the film star Louise Lovely in collaboration with her husband Wilton Welch. Only part of the film survives today. Synopsis After her father's death, socialite Elaine Fleetwood ...

'' (1925) – actor #''

Jungle Woman ''Jungle Woman'' is a 1944 American horror film directed by Reginald LeBorg. The film stars Evelyn Ankers, J. Carrol Naish, Samuel S. Hinds, Lois Collier, Milburn Stone, and Douglass Dumbrille. The film involves Dr. Carl Fletcher who is in court ...

'' (1926) – actor #''

The Mystery of a Hansom Cab ''The Mystery of a Hansom Cab'' is a mystery fiction novel by the Australian writer Fergus Hume. The book was first published in Australia in 1886. Set in Melbourne, the story focuses on the investigation of a homicide involving a body discovered ...

'' (1925) – actor #''

The Rushing Tide ''The Rushing Tide'' is a 1927 Australian silent film about the search for a hoard of diamonds. It was not a success at the box office and is considered a lost film.Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature F ...

'' (1927) – actor #''

Tiger Island El Tigre is an island located in the Gulf of Fonseca, a body of water on the Pacific coast of Central America. The island is a conical basaltic stratovolcano and the southernmost volcano in Honduras. It belongs to Valle department. Together ...

'' (1930) – actor # ''

Heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today ** Cultural heritage is created by humans ** Natural heritage is not * Heritage language Biology * Heredity, biological inheritance of physical c ...

'' (1935) – actor

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cass, Godfrey 1867 births 1951 deaths Australian male silent film actors Male actors from Melbourne 20th-century Australian male actors Australian film studio executives