The Bells | |
---|---|
Directed by | W. J. Lincoln |
Written by | W. J. Lincoln |
Based on | the play The Bells by Erckmann-Chatrian adapted by Leopold Lewis and W. J. Lincoln |
Produced by | William Gibson Millard Johnson John Tait Nevin Tait |
Starring | Arthur Styan Nellie Bramley |
Cinematography | Orrie Perry [1] |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Tait's Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 4,000 feet [5] |
Country | Australia |
Languages | Silent film English intertitles |
The Bells is a 1911 Australian feature-length silent film directed by W. J. Lincoln. It is based on the famous stage melodrama by Erckmann-Chatrian, adapted by Leopold Lewis, which in turn had been adapted for the Australian stage by W. J. Lincoln before he made it into a film. [6] [7]
It is today considered a lost film.
It was one of several films Lincoln made with the Tait family, who had produced The Story of the Kelly Gang . [8] According to Lincoln's obituary in The Bulletin it was one of Lincoln's best films. [9]
Mathias (Arthur Styan) is an innkeeper in a village in Alsace, happily married to Catherine (Miss Grist) and with a daughter Annette (Nellie Bramley). However he is greatly in debt, so on Christmas Day 1833, he murders a Polish Jew (Mr Cullenane) who visits the inn for his gold. He uses this to pay off his debts and rise in society, becoming the burgomaster of the town – however he is always tormented by guilt.
Fifteen years later on Christmas Day, Mathias becomes delirious and hears the sound of the Jew's sleigh bells. He dreams he is being tried for the murder and is found guilty. He awakes and dies, leaving his family none the wiser.
The film was an adaptation of a well known play and featured the only known screen appearance of stage actor Nellie Bramley. [11] It was shot partly on location of Mount Donna Buang in Victoria. [12]
Sam Crews was the scenic artist, and John Ennis was the stage manager. [5] Stage scenery was hired from J.C. Williamson Ltd. [13] It was shot at a studio in St Kilda. [14]
Screenings of the film were often accompanied by a lectured from J Ennis, who was in the film. [15]
The Adelaide Critic said "The snow scene at Mount Dounna Buang, near Warburton, came in for much admiration." [3]
The film was released in the US in 1914 by Sawyers Inc. [16]
Charles Tait was an Australian concert, film and theatrical entrepreneur. His most notable achievement was as the director and writer of The Story of the Kelly Gang regarded as the world's first feature-length film. The film was first shown on 26 December 1906.
William Joseph Lincoln was an Australian playwright, theatre manager, film director and screenwriter in the silent era. He produced, directed and/or wrote 23 films between 1911 and 1916.
The Bells is a 1926 American silent crime film directed by James Young and starring Lionel Barrymore and Boris Karloff. It was based on an 1867 French stage play called Le Juif Polonais by Erckmann-Chatrian. The play was translated to English in 1871 by Leopold Lewis at which time it was retitled The Bells. The English version of the play was performed in the U.S. in the 19th century by Sir Henry Irving. Le Juif Polonais was also adapted into an opera of the same name in three acts by Camille Erlanger, composed to a libretto by Henri Cain.
George Marlow was an Australian theatrical entrepreneur born in London of Jewish extraction, noted for bringing melodrama and pantomime to Sydney audiences in the early 1900s. His name has been frequently mis-spelled as "George Marlowe".
The Bells is a play in three acts by Leopold David Lewis which was one of the greatest successes of the British actor Henry Irving. The play opened on 25 November 1871 at the Lyceum Theatre in London and initially ran for 151 performances. Irving was to stage the play repeatedly throughout his career, playing the role of Mathias for the last time the night before his death in 1905.
It Is Never Too Late to Mend is a 1911 Australian feature-length silent film written and directed by W. J. Lincoln.
Rip Van Winkle is a 1912 Australian feature-length film directed by W. J. Lincoln about Rip Van Winkle. It was arguably Australia's first fantasy film.
Nurse Cavell is a 1916 Australian feature-length film directed by W. J. Lincoln about the execution of Edith Cavell during World War I. It was also known as Edith Cavell.
La Revanche, also known as The Vengeance, is a 1916 Australian feature-length film directed by W. J. Lincoln about the revenge sought by Belgian friends of Edith Cavell against the Germans during World War I. It was a sequel to Nurse Cavell (1916), using many of the same cast and crew.
The Crisis is an Australian melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln. It was inspired by a painting, The Crisis by Frank Dicksee, and is considered a lost film.
Breaking the News is a 1912 Australian melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln based on John Longstaff's 1887 painting of the same name.
The Double Event is a 1911 Australian feature-length film directed by W. J. Lincoln based on the first novel by Nat Gould, which had been adapted several times for the stage, notably by Bland Holt.
The Luck of Roaring Camp is a 1911 Australian feature-length film directed by W. J. Lincoln now considered a lost film. It was highly regarded in its day, in part because it was based on a play that was popular with audiences.
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.
Sentenced for Life is an Australian film directed by E. I. Cole. It was an adaptation of a play performed by Cole and his Bohemian Dramatic Company as early as 1904.
J. C. Williamson's, formerly Williamson, Garner, & Musgrove and Williamson and Musgrove, was an Australian theatrical management company and theatre owner. With its beginnings in the theatrical productions of J. C. Williamson and his partners in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the company J. C. Williamson Limited was established in 1910. Colloquially known as The Firm or JCW, the company dominated Australian commercial theatre in the twentieth century and at one time was described as the largest theatrical firm in the world. It closed under financial pressure in 1976.
George Harry "Snazzy" Snazelle was an English singer and raconteur who enjoyed a great popularity in Australia.
Richard Stewart was an English stage actor who settled in Australia. He is best remembered as the father of Nellie Stewart.
Wilton Welch was an Australian comic actor and dramatist, husband and collaborator of Louise Carbasse, best known as Louise Lovely.
Ellen "Nellie" Odelle Bramley was an Australian stage actress who gained prominence during the early 20th century as a leading actress on stage and opened the Palace Theatre, Melbourne around 1914. Bramley was the first female Australian to establish her own theatre company in 1922, named after herself and which toured all of Australia, as well as New Zealand and Tasmania. Her earlier years touring New Zealand and Tasmania were successful, with sell-out performances in Launceston, Tasmania where at the time, she was the youngest star to have ever visited the city.