A Romance of the Burke and Wills Expedition of 1860: Difference between revisions
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The film was also known as ''Flirting with Death''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article221395753 |title=NEW AUSTRALIAN PRODUCTION |newspaper=The Sun |issue=766 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=2 December 1917 |accessdate=28 April 2024 |page=16 |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref> |
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The film was completed in November 1917 and originally ran for three reels. Director Charles Coates then spent another month in central Australia shooting additional footage. Filming took over 12 months all up and involved more than 300 people. Reportedly shooting some scenes involved a risk to the cinematographer's life.<ref name="romance"/> |
The film was completed in November 1917 and originally ran for three reels. Director Charles Coates then spent another month in central Australia shooting additional footage. Filming took over 12 months all up and involved more than 300 people. Reportedly shooting some scenes involved a risk to the cinematographer's life.<ref name="romance"/> |
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Revision as of 12:40, 28 April 2024
| A Romance of the Burke and Wills Expedition of 1860 | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Charles Byers Coates |
| Written by | A.C. Tinsdale[1] Edmund Duggan |
| Produced by | A.C. Tinsdale |
| Starring | Charles Clarke |
| Cinematography | Franklyn Barrett A. O. Segerberg Walter Sully |
Production companies | Antipodes Films Austral Photoplay Company |
| Distributed by | Kookaburra Films[2] |
Release date | 7 September 1918 |
Running time | 6 reels[3] |
| Country | Australia |
| Languages | Silent film English intertitles |
| Budget | over £2,000[4] |
A Romance of the Burke and Wills Expedition of 1860 is a 1918 Australian silent film. The plot is fictional and is loosely based around the Burke and Wills expedition.
Plot
Robert O'Hara Burke leads an expedition from Melbourne to the north of Australia, including William John Wills, John King, Gray, Dandells and Brahe. Although he reaches the Gulf of Carpentaria along with Wills and King when they return to their base at Cooper Creek they discover their comrades have left without them. Burke and Wills both die but King is rescued by aborigines and survives.[5] A fictitious romance was added to the story.[6]
Chapter headings included:
- a love romance
- a minuet of 1857
- expedition leaves Melbourne
- scenes along the route
- customs and habits of natives
- gorgeous desert sunsets
- historic landmarks
- there is no death.[7]
According to the Argus "Believing that - something was needed to lighten the tragedy of the story, the producers have introduced a certain number of fictional scenes relating to the days of preparation, and have thus brought in a love interest. There are other Melbourne scenes' for which there is more Authority, and the old costumes give an air of quaintness. in the bush the tragic situations of the familiar record are portrayed, and native customs are illustrated.[8]
Cast
- Charles Clarke as Robert O'Hara Burke
- George Patterson as William John Wills
- Chris Olsen as John King
- G. Gould as W. Grey
- Bias Kotes as William Brahe
- David Edelsten as Mayor of Melbourne
- Vera Chamberlain as Mina Doyle
- Ona Landers as Stella McDonald
- Madame Carbasse as Mrs Doyle
- Melville Stevenson as Dost Mahommed
- Astor Lewis as Bridget
- Yvonne Blight as maid
- Dorothy Beer and Evelyn Hooper as Mina's sisters
- Clayre St Start and Ida Hooper
Production
The film was also known as Flirting with Death.[9]
The film was completed in November 1917 and originally ran for three reels. Director Charles Coates then spent another month in central Australia shooting additional footage. Filming took over 12 months all up and involved more than 300 people. Reportedly shooting some scenes involved a risk to the cinematographer's life.[4]
The cast included Madam Carbasse, the French mother of Louise Lovely.
Reportedly the film was based on a script by Edmund Duggan using material at the Mitchell Library. The National Film and Sound Archive recently obtained a copy of this script.[10][11]
Release
The movie was previewed to the trade in May 1918 and submitted for censorship in June 1918.[12]
It was released in September 1918 and screeed at J Tait's cinema in Melbourne.[13]
The movie was still being screened in cinemas in Perth in the middle of 1921.[14]
In October 1923 the film was occasionally being screened in England.[15]
References
- ^ "Untitled". Sunday Times. Perth: National Library of Australia. 31 July 1921. p. 2. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
- ^ "SCENE FROM A ROMANCE OF THE BURKE AND WILLS EXPEDITION OF 1860". Table Talk. No. [?]728. Victoria, Australia. 5 September 1918. p. 33. Retrieved 28 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "A ROMANCE OF BURKE AND WILLS". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 14 September 1918. p. 11. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
- ^ a b "BURKE AND WILLS". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 14 September 1918. p. 10. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
- ^ "BURKE AND WILLS EXPEDITION". The Barrier Miner. Broken Hill, NSW: National Library of Australia. 24 September 1918. p. 2. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
- ^ "Advertising". The Mirror. Perth: National Library of Australia. 13 August 1921. p. 4 Section: SECOND SECTION. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
- ^ "Advertising". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 6 August 1921. p. 2. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
- ^ "THE PICTURES". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 22, 499. Victoria, Australia. 9 September 1918. p. 6. Retrieved 28 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "NEW AUSTRALIAN PRODUCTION". The Sun. No. 766. New South Wales, Australia. 2 December 1917. p. 16. Retrieved 28 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ National Film and Sound Archive (Australia). (2009), "APPENDIX 6: KEY ACQUISITION GEMS AND HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2008-09", Annual report, Parliamentary paper (Australia. Parliament) (2008/2009, PP no. 371 of 2009), Acton, A.C.T: National Film & Sound Archive, ISSN 1837-2260, nla.obj-1189945882, retrieved 22 October 2023 – via Trove
- ^ Report on script at Antiques Reporter
- ^ Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 82
- ^ "Notes from the Picture Shows". The Sun. No. 811. New South Wales, Australia. 13 October 1918. p. 21. Retrieved 28 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "OLD FILM STILL IN BUSINESS.", Everyones., Sydney: Everyones Ltd, 10 August 1921, nla.obj-584371542, retrieved 28 April 2024 – via Trove
- ^ "Our English Letter.", Everyones. (Vol.4 No.192 (7 November 1923)), Sydney: Everyones Ltd, nla.obj-560357683, retrieved 28 April 2024 – via Trove
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