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The Blue Mountains Mystery
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Wikipedia article
'The Blue Mountains Mystery' is a lost 1921 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford and co-directed by Lottie Lyell.
The film was derived from the 1919 novel 'The Mount Marunga Mystery' by Harrison Owen. It is considered a lost film.
Plot
'The Blue Mountains Mystery' involves the alleged murder of a wealthy businessman, Henry Tracey, and the eventual discovery that the victim was an underworld look-alike impersonator. The main suspects are Tracey's ward, Pauline, Mrs Tracey, and Pauline's boyfriend, Hector, and his rival, Richard Maxim.
Eventually the supposedly dead Henry Tracey reappears and announces that he had been kidnapped. The corpse was Stephen Rodder, a man with a strong resemblance to Tracey.
Cast
*Marjorie Osborne as Mrs Tracey
*John Faulkner as Henry Tracey/Stephen Rodder
*Vivian Edwards as Hector Blunt
*Bernice Vere as Pauline Tracey
*Billy Williams as Richard Maxim
*Redmond Barry as detective
*John de Lacey as Captain Banks
*Ivy Shilling as dancer
Production
The movie was mostly filmed in Katoomba, the Blue Mountains and Sydney Harbour, with some studio work at the Carrolls' Palmerston studio in Sydney. The Carrington Hotel and Hydro-Majestic Hotel were featured. Shooting took an unusually long time to complete, in part because of the location work involved.
Marjorie Osborne was a fashion consultant to the Sydney store of Farmer's, and wife of a wealthy land-owner, Henry Hill Osborne. She unsuccessfully attempted a Hollywood career after making this film.
It was Longford's third production for E.J. Carroll and the first in which Lyell received a formal co-direction credit. According to the book 'Australian Cinema: The First 80 Years' by Graham Shirley and Brian Adams, the film cost almost double that of 'The Sentimental Bloke' (1919).
Reception
The film was popular at the box office in Australia.Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, 'Australian Film 19001977: A Guide to Feature Film Production', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 110.
Although now lost, at the time of its release 'The Blue Mountains Mystery' fared well in the United Kingdom, South America and the United States upon its initial release. The London 'Bioscope' wrote of 'The Blue Mountains Mystery': " by its restrained acting, shows the force which a story gains in the telling. As a consequence, suspense is held throughout".'Bioscope', quoted by 'Everyones', 4 November 1924 The reviewer of the 'Los Angeles Times' said the film "will keep you on the edge of your seat to the last fade out."THREE NEW PLAYS OPEN THIS WEEK 'Los Angeles Times' 24 June 1923: III27.
Actress Marjorie Osborne was admirable of Lottie Lyell's contributions for 'The Blue Mountains Mystery'. She said of her: "I like brains in a woman, and she has them. Her work on this picture is more on the directing side than the acting. She assists Mr. Longford, and the two of them have plenty of healthy argument when their ideas about a scene are different."'Ibid.', 1 November 1921 The November 1921 edition of the 'Picture Show' magazine also praised Lyell as being "enthusiastic, original, possessing charm and common sense" for her writing of the screenplay.
Harrison Owen was unimpressed with the film, which he thought poorly made compared to overseas movies.
The Carrolls withdrew from production after this film and concentrated on distribution and exhibition.
Resources
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References
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