| Hills of Hate | |
|---|---|
 Everyone's 1 December 1926 | |
| Directed by | Raymond Longford |
| Written by | E. V. Timms |
| Based on | novel by E. V. Timms |
| Starring | Dorothy Gordon |
| Cinematography | Arthur Higgins |
Production companies |
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Release date |
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Running time | 6,000 feet |
| Country | Australia |
| Languages | Silent film English intertitles |
Hills of Hate is a 1926 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford, based on the debut novel of a similar name by E. V. Timms, who also wrote the screenplay. It is considered a lost film.
A feud exists between two outback families, the Blakes and the Ridgeways, caused by Sam Ridgeway having married a woman Jim Blake was in love with. The feud goes on for over thirty years.
Blake's eldest son, also called Jim (Gordon Collingridge) returns from being away for ten years and falls in love with Ridgeway's daughter Ellen (Dorothy Gordon). Matters are complicated by Sam Ridgeway's villainous overseer, Cummins (Big Bill Wilson).
E. V. Timms' original novel was published in 1925. It was Timms' first novel although he had sold short stories; he wrote it with the encouragement of his wife. [2]
The Bulletin called it "A virile Australian story, though rough-cut and without pretence to literary quality." [3]
Master Pictures bought the screen rights in January 1926 and Timms was hired to write the script. Everyone's said it "presents a new type of Australian character set amid the wide open spaces, and should make an excellent photoplay. " [4]
The studio would make it after two other outdoors adventures, The Pioneers and Tall Timber. Raymond Longford, who directed both Pioneers and Hills of Hate later said at the 1927 Royal Commission that both films "were selected by the directors of the combine; they were produced at an inadequate expense and in many cases the cast was chosen despite my protests. During the filming of these pictures I recognised that these pictures were absurdly cheap and inadequate to secure even an English market." [5]
The films stars were Dorothy Gordon and Gordon Collingridge, who Everyones said was "well known to fans" having "established himself by his remarkable work opposite Lotus Thompson and now as a leading man he is greatly in demand." [6] Kevin Gallagher was a recent arrival from Ireland. [7] Gordon had worked in Hollywood for six years and did art direction on For the Term of His Natural Life (1927). [8] She and later became a radio commentator and newspaper columnist under the name of Andrea. [9] [10]
'Big' Bill Wilson was a professional boxer before being discovered by a casting agent at the Sydney Stadium and cast in Tall Timber (1927). [11]
Longford said "the cast was engaged without consulting me. We were told that the attacks in Mr Hugh D McIntohsh's newspapers would cease if we allotted the star part as he desired." [12]
In late March 1926 the unit left for Gloucester, New South Wales for a six-week shoot near Avon. [13] [14] [15] [16]
Filming was delayed by weather. [17] Willian Thornton, juvenile lead, was injured on location but recovered by May. [18] Studio work in Bondi started in late April and was finished by May. [19]
Raymond Longford's son Victor served as associate producer. [20]
The Northern Times said Collingridge played his role "with a skill remarkable in such a young actor, whilst Dorothy Gordon's portrayal is a powerfully competing proof of her ability." [21]
Everyones said it was "chiefly remarkable for some excellent photography... There is plenty of fast action and some hard riding in this typical outback Australian story." [22]
The film was not a success at the box office – although it was screening in cinemas as late as 1933 [23] – and it was several years before Longford managed to direct another feature, The Man They Could Not Hang (1934). This turned out to be his last movie as director.
In July 1926 Australasian Pictures decided to move into bigger budgeted territory making a version of For the Term of His Natural Life. [24]
Uncivilised is a 1936 Australian film directed by Charles Chauvel. It was an attempt by Chauvel to make a more obviously commercial film, and was clearly influenced by Tarzan.
The Blue Mountains Mystery is a lost 1921 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford and co-directed by Lottie Lyell.
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.
Edward Vivian Timms (1895–1960), better known as E. V. Timms, was an Australian novelist and screenwriter. He was injured serving in the Gallipoli Campaign during World War I and was an unsuccessful soldier settler before turning to writing. He became a popular novelist, and also wrote scripts for films and radio. He served as an officer during World War II and was on duty the night of the Cowra breakout. He has been called "Australia's greatest historical novelist."
Trooper O'Brien is a 1928 Australian silent film from the team of John and Agnes Gavin. It was a melodrama set during the "Ned Kelly era" about an orphaned girl raised by a policeman in the bush. It is one of the rare early Australian films that still exist in its entirety.
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.
Sweet Nell of Old Drury is a 1911 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford starring Nellie Stewart about the relationship between Nell Gwynne and King Charles II. It is based on the 1900 play of the same name by Paul Kester which Stewart had performed numerous times on stage. 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.
The Bushwhackers is a 1925 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford loosely based on Alfred Tennyson's 1864 poem Enoch Arden. It is considered a lost film.
Peter Vernon's Silence is a 1926 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford. It was the last film on which Lottie Lyell worked prior to her death in December 1925. 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.
Sunrise is a 1926 Australian silent film co-directed by Raymond Longford, who took over during filming.
Walter Franklyn Barrett, better known as Franklyn Barrett, was an Australian film director and cinematographer. He worked for a number of years for West's Pictures. It was later written of the filmmaker that "Barrett's visual ingenuity was to be the highlight of all his work, but... his direction of actors was less assured".
The Grey Glove is a 1928 Australian silent film based on a newspaper serial by E. V. Timms.
The Romance of Runnibede is a 1928 Australian silent film based on an incident in a book by Steele Rudd. Unlike many Australian silent movies, a copy of it exists today.
Tall Timber is a 1926 Australian silent film about a rich man who flees the city and works in a timber mill. It is considered a lost film.
The Life of Rufus Dawes is a 1911 Australian silent film based on Alfred Dampier's stage adaptation of the 1874 novel For the Term of His Natural Life produced by Charles Cozens Spencer.
Dope is a 1924 Australian silent film about a respected citizen who is blackmailed by someone from his past. It is considered a lost film.
Australasian Films, full name Union Theatres and Australasian Films, was an Australian film distribution and production company formed in 1913 that was wound up in the 1930s to merge into Greater Union. The Union Theatres and Australasian Films dominated cinema in Australia in the 1910s and 1920s.
The Hills of Hate is a 1925 novel by the Australian author E. V. Timms. It was the author's debut novel.
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