The Dop Doctor (film)

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The Dop Doctor
Directed by Fred Paul
Written by Clotilde Graves (Richard Dehan)
Harry Engholm
StarringFred Paul, Agnes Glynn, Bertram Burleigh
Production
company
Samuelson Film Manufacturing Company
Release dates
1915 (South Africa)
21 January 1916 (USA)
Country South Africa
Language English

The Dop Doctor, also known as The Love Trail or The Terrier and the Child, [1] [2] is a 1915/16 South African drama film directed by Fred Paul. [1] It is based on the book, The Dop Doctor, by Clotilde Graves.

Contents

Plot

The film depicts the Siege of Mafeking (1899–1900) during the Second Boer War through the scenario of an orphan girl that loves a soldier but is married to an exiled doctor. [2]

Censorship

The film is notable for being the first South African film to be prohibited or censored. The government of Prime Minister Louis Botha banned the film under the Defence of the Realm Act [3] as "the film wrongly represents the Boers as being cheats and immoral." [4]

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References

  1. 1 2 "The Dop Doctor (1915)". BFI. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  2. 1 2 "The Dop Doctor". 21 January 1916. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  3. Parsons, Neil (1 September 2013). "Nation-Building Movies Made in South Africa (1916–18): I.W. Schlesinger, Harold Shaw, and the Lingering Ambiguities of South African Union". Journal of Southern African Studies. 39 (3): 641–659. doi:10.1080/03057070.2013.827003. S2CID   143079921 . Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  4. "The Dop Doctor". Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957). 17 June 1916. p. 19. Retrieved 20 October 2020.