'Neath Austral Skies

Last updated

'Neath Austral Skies
Directed by Raymond Longford
Written by Raymond Longford
Produced byA.C. Tinsdale
Starring Lottie Lyell
Production
company
Commonwealth Film Producing Company. [1]
Distributed byCo-Operative Film Exchange
Release date
  • 2 December 1913 (1913-12-02) [2]
CountryAustralia
Languages Silent film
English intertitles

'Neath Austral Skies is a 1913 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford.

Contents

It is considered a lost film.

It is referred to as 'Neath Australian Skies in newspapers of the day. [3] [4]

Plot

Captain Frank Hollis (Martyn Keith) is engaged to Eileen Delmont (Lottie Lyell). When her brother Eric commits a theft, Frank accepts the blame in order to protect her family's name. He leaves for Australia and joins the New South Wales mounted police. Eric confesses and Eileen and her father go to Australia to track down Frank. They buy a property, some of their cattle is stolen and request a trooper come to their aid – it is Frank. On the way out to see them, Frank is captured by the thieves and is thrown in the river, but Eileen comes to his aid and the lovers are reunited.

Cast

Production

'Neath Australian Skies was the name of a popular collection of poetry from E.B. Loughran published in 1894. [6]

The film was not widely screened and is not one of Longford's better known movies. [7]

The film opens in Surrey, England and then changes scene to feature Australian station-life. Mounted troopers and bushrangers also feature in the picture, adding to the drama. [8]

It was reported to have some "splendid views of Sydney and of the Australian bush". [9]

Reception

The film was shown at the Melbourne Lyric Theatre in 1913. [1]

One contemporary critic said the film "has many exciting and sensational scenes, relieved with pure Australian comedy to hold the audience. The photography is very true." The Argus wrote about one screening being "well received." [10]

Raymond Longford's name was used extensively in advertising [11] and was described in 1914 as "a great Australian picture production, claimed to be the greatest of all Australian photo-plays." [12]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Sentimental Bloke</i> 1918 Australian film

The Sentimental Bloke is a 1918 Australian silent film based on the 1915 verse novel The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke by C. J. Dennis. Produced and directed by Raymond Longford, the film stars Arthur Tauchert, Gilbert Emery, and Lottie Lyell, who also co-wrote the film with Longford.

The Longford Lyell Award is a lifetime achievement award presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), a non-profit organisation whose aim is "to identify, award, promote and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements in film and television." The award is presented at the annual AACTA Awards, which hand out accolades for technical achievements in feature film, television, documentaries and short films. From 1968 to 2010, the award was presented by the Australian Film Institute (AFI), the Academy's parent organisation, at the annual Australian Film Institute Awards. When the AFI launched the Academy in 2011, it changed the annual ceremony to the AACTA Awards, with the current award being a continuum of the AFI Raymond Longford Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lottie Lyell</span> Australian actress and film director

Lottie Lyell was an Australian actress, screenwriter, editor and filmmaker. She is regarded as Australia's first film star, and also contributed to the local industry during the silent era through her collaborations with director and writer Raymond Longford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond Longford</span> Australian filmmaker and actor (1878–1959)

Raymond Longford was a prolific Australian film director, writer, producer, and actor during the silent era. Longford was a major director of the silent film era of the Australian cinema. He formed a production team with Lottie Lyell. His contributions to Australian cinema with his ongoing collaborations with Lyell, including The Sentimental Bloke (1919) and The Blue Mountains Mystery (1921), prompted the Australian Film Institute's AFI Raymond Longford Award, inaugurated in 1968, to be named in his honour.

Arthur Embery Higgins was a pioneering Australian cinematographer known for his use of trick photography during the silent era. His ongoing collaborations with director Raymond Longford include The Sentimental Bloke (1919) and The Blue Mountains Mystery (1921). He briefly turned to directing with Odds On (1928) however returned to cinematography in 1931 for the remainder of his career.

The Fatal Wedding is a play by Theodore Kremer and a 1911 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford based on the melodrama, which he and Lottie Lyell had toured around Australia.

<i>The Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole</i> 1911 Australian film

The Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole, generally referred to as Margaret Catchpole, is a 1911 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford and starring Lottie Lyell. It is based on the true story of Margaret Catchpole, an adventurer and convict.

<i>The Midnight Wedding</i> 1912 Australian film

The Midnight Wedding is a 1912 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford based on a popular Ruritanian stage play in which Longford had appeared. It is considered a lost film.

Australia Calls is a 1913 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford about the fictitious invasion of Australia by an unnamed Asian country.

Pommy Arrives in Australia is a 1913 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford. The director's first comedy, and the first purely comic feature made in Australia, it is considered a lost film.

The Silence of Dean Maitland is a 1914 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford. It is an adaptation of the 1886 novel of the same name by Maxwell Gray which was later filmed by Ken G. Hall in 1934. It is considered a lost film.

A Maori Maid's Love is a 1916 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford about an interracial romance between a white man and a Māori girl. It is considered a lost film as there are no known copies.

The Mutiny of the Bounty is a 1916 Australian-New Zealand silent film directed by Raymond Longford about the mutiny aboard HMS Bounty. It is the first known cinematic dramatisation of this story and is considered a lost film.

The Church and the Woman is a 1917 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford set against the background of sectarianism in Australia. It is considered a lost film.

The Woman Suffers is a 1918 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford. It is a melodrama starring Lottie Lyell. Two-thirds of the movie still survives.

Rudd's New Selection is a 1921 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford based on the Dad and Dave stories by Steele Rudd. It is a sequel to On Our Selection (1920). The plot concerns the marriage of Dave Rudd and introduces a sister, Nell.

The Dinkum Bloke is a 1923 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford. Despite the title and the presence of Arthur Tauchert and Lottie Lyell in the cast, the film is not a direct sequel to The Sentimental Bloke (1919) or Ginger Mick (1920).

Fisher's Ghost is a 1924 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford based on the legend of Fisher's Ghost. It is considered a lost film.

The Pioneers is a 1926 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford. The script had been written by Lottie Lyell but she had died by the time filming started. It was considered a lost film but some surviving footage from it has recently emerged.

The Swagman's Story is a 1914 short film directed by Raymond Longford. Although considered a lost film, it is likely that it was a low-budget support feature.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Age (Melbourne, Vic.)". Trove. 20 December 1913. p. 20. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  2. ↑ "Raymond Longford", Cinema Papers, January 1974 p. 51
  3. ↑ "'Neath Australian Skies". Southern Districts Advocate. 3 June 1914. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  4. ↑ "MONARCH PICTURES". Leader. 6 February 1914. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  5. ↑ ""NEATH AUSTRALIAN SKIES."". Barrier Miner. 2 February 1914. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  6. ↑ "Review: 'Neath Austral Skies". The Brisbane Courier . Vol. LI, no. 11,376. Queensland, Australia. 30 June 1894. p. 6. Retrieved 6 March 2016– via National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ Pike, Andrew (1980). Australian film, 1900-1977: a guide to feature film production. Oxford University Press in association with the Australian Film Institute. ISBN   0-19-554213-4. OCLC   7373730.
  8. ↑ ""NEATH AUSTRALIAN SKIES."". Barrier Miner. 28 January 1914. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  9. ↑ "AMUSEMENTS. JOHNSON'S PICTURES". Barrier Miner. 30 January 1914. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  10. ↑ "Music and Drama". The Argus (Melbourne) . No. 21, 033. Victoria, Australia. 22 December 1913. p. 11. Retrieved 6 March 2016– via National Library of Australia.
  11. ↑ "Advertising". The Leader . Orange, NSW: National Library of Australia. 6 February 1914. p. 3. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  12. ↑ ""NEATH AUSTRALIAN SKIES."". Dubbo Liberal and Macquarie Advocate. 3 February 1914. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.