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For the Term of His Natural Life (1908 film)
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Wikipedia article
'For the Term of His Natural Life' is a 1908 Australian silent film based on the 1874 novel by the same name by Marcus Clarke. The film is an adaptation of MacMahon's stage adaptation of the novel.
It was the fourth Australian feature ever made and is considered a lost film.
The 1908 film was the first screen adaptation of Clarke's novel, which was also later filmed in 1911, as a silent film known as "The Life of Rufus Dawes", 1927, again as a silent film (the most expensive produced in Australia to that time) and 1983, as a television mini-series.
Synopsis
The film's plot was a collection of highlights from the novel, such as
*"The Convict Mutiny in the 'Malabar'",
*"The Burning of the 'Hydaspes'",
*"The Murder on Hampstead Heath",
*"The Solitary of Grummet Island", and
*"The Life and Death Struggle Between Gabbett and his Famished Escapees".
The movie kept the tragic ending of the novel, with Rufus Dawes and Sylvia perishing in a storm after Reverend North had helped Dawes escape.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50392694 "FOR THE TERM OF HIS NATURAL LIFE."] 'The Examiner' (Launceston), 10 November 1909: 6, accessed Web. 26 November 2011
Cast
*Martyn Keith as Rufus Dawes
*Rosie Knight Phillips as Sylvia Vickers
*Mrs Barry Lane as Mrs Vickers
*Frank Kenn as Lord Bellasis
*Augustus Neville as Gabbett
*Roland Conway as Reverend North
*Mr Jerdan as Reverend Meekin
*Fred Francis as Lieutenant Frere
*Charles Morse as Jemmy Vetch
Production
The MacMahon brothers, James and Charles MacMahon, had enjoyed success producing a version of the novel on stage, and allocated a considerable budget for the movie, including a shooting schedule of eight weeks and location work in Port Arthur. The scene involving the burning of a sailing ship was staged with a model ship in a tank.
Reception
Based on a popular stage adaptation of the novel, the movie was a big success at the box office, running for eight weeks in Sydney at Queens Hall in 1908.[http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/macmahon-charles-7773/text12911 Margaret Williams, 'MacMahon, Charles (18611917)'], 'Australian Dictionary of Biography', National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 4 December 2012. It played in cinemas on and off until World War I.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50392995 "MacMahon and Carroll's Picture Drama"] 'The Examiner' (Launceston, Tas) 12 November 1909: 3, accessed Web. 26 November 2011Graham Shirley and Brian Adams, 'Australian Cinema: The First Eighty Years', Currency Press, 1989 p 26. Screenings were usually accompanied by an actor, who would provide descriptive commentary to what was on screen.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19612256 "His Natural Life" by Biograph"] 'The Brisbane Courier' 24 December 1909: 2, retrieved 26 November 2011
See also
*List of Australian films before 1910
References
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