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"The Pardon"
Hart is accompanied by two men and a woman, the latter with a splendid speaking voice. The woman plays the old mother of a convict. She steals into the room of the governor (Hart) of the state to plead for a pardon. Just previously, the political boss demanded the governor release the woman's son. He does so to get revenge, as the man is in prison for killing the political boss's son. Through his connections with the prison guards, he has had the man starved until he developed tuberculosis. His plan is to have the boy released, let just outside the prison gates before being thrust back into his cell, citing a mistake. Due to fear for his political future, the governor accedes to the boss. When the mother arrives, the governor learns the boss's son instigated the quarrel that led to his own death. Upon learning how the boss framed the man, the governor returns to his righteous stand, giving the pardon to the mother and sends the boss away.
Hart and his company have a well-balanced cast, or perhaps more importantly, an evenly balanced company. This seems to be a grave oversight on the part of most producers, especially when a sketch is limited in its running time. Many plays have been ruined by the principal player surrounding themselves with inferior people. The sketch, nor its situation, is unfamiliar. The sketch is very good for the small time, and could possibly go on to the big time. The small time should commence to print billing details on the programs.
Source:
Variety 36:5 (10/03/1914)