John F. Gavin was a pioneer Australian film actor and director, one of the early filmmakers of the 1910s. He is best known for making films about bushrangers such as Captain Thunderbolt, Captain Moonlite, Ben Hall and Frank Gardiner. Known informally as 'Jack', Gavin worked in collaboration with his wife Agnes, who scripted many of his films.
Captain Thunderbolt is a 1953 Australian action film from director Cecil Holmes about the bushranger Captain Thunderbolt. It was one of the few all-Australian films of the 1950s.
Moonlite is a 1910 bushranger film about Captain Moonlite, played by John Gavin, who also directed. It was also known as Captain Moonlite and is considered a lost film.
Ben Hall and his Gang is a 1911 Australian film about the bushranger Ben Hall, played by John Gavin, who also directed. It is considered a lost film.
Agnes Gavin (1872–1947), was an Australian actor and screenwriter in the silent film era. She worked in collaboration with her husband John Gavin throughout her career. She wrote the majority of his films and was arguably the first specialist screenwriter in the history of the Australian film industry. In newspapers she was advertised as the "well known picture dramatizer" and was praised for creating "cleverly constructed stories". Many of her films are considered lost.
His Convict Bride is a 1918 Australian silent film from the team of John and Agnes Gavin. It was a convict-era melodrama.
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.
Alfred Rolfe, real name Alfred Roker, was an Australian stage and film director and actor, best known for being the son-in-law of the celebrated actor-manager Alfred Dampier, with whom he appeared frequently on stage, and for his prolific output as a director during Australia's silent era, including Captain Midnight, the Bush King (1911), Captain Starlight, or Gentleman of the Road (1911) and The Hero of the Dardanelles (1915). Only one of his films as director survives today.
Charles Cozens Spencer was a British-born film exhibitor and producer, who was a significant figure in the early years of the Australian film industry. He produced films under the name Spencer's Pictures and was an early backer of the films of Raymond Longford. He was also instrumental in the creation of "The Combine".
Captain Midnight, the Bush King is a 1911 Australian silent Western film about the fictitious bushranger Captain Midnight. It was the directorial debut of actor Alfred Rolfe. The film is based on the play of same name by W. J. Lincoln and Alfred Dampier. Captain Midnight, the Bush King is now considered lost.
Captain Starlight, or Gentleman of the Road is a 1911 Australian silent film about the bushranger Captain Starlight. It was based on Alfred Dampier's stage adaptation of the 1888 novel Robbery Under Arms. It is considered a lost film.
A Tale of the Australian Bush is a 1911 Australian silent film directed by Gaston Mervale. Set in colonial Australia, it was also known as Ben Hall, the Notorious Bushranger and is considered a lost film.
Bushranger's Ransom, or A Ride for Life was an Australian silent film produced by Pathé Frères' in 1911, their first motion picture production in Australia after establishing a branch office in Sydney in April 1910. It was adapted from a stage play first performed in 1907 by E. I. Cole's Bohemian Dramatic Company.
Gambler's Gold is a 1911 Australian film based on the 1911 novel by Arthur Wright. It is considered a lost film.
Dan Morgan is a 1911 Australian film from Charles Cozens Spencer about the bushranger Daniel Morgan. It was said to be starring "Alfred Rolfe and company". Rolfe directed three movies for Spencer, all starring himself and his wife Lily Dampier so there is a chance he may have directed this one and that it starred his wife. A prospectus for the Australian Photo Play Company said he directed it. It is considered a lost film.
Henry Albert ('Bert') Forsyth, known professionally as H. A. Forsyth, was a pioneer of Australian film production during the silent era. From about 1907 to 1909 Forsyth worked as a travelling picture showman, screening the film Robbery Under Arms in Australian country towns. In 1910 his company, Southern Cross Motion Pictures, produced and released two successful motion pictures, Thunderbolt and Moonlite, based on incidents in the careers of the bushrangers Frederick Ward and Andrew Scott. For these projects Forsyth worked with Jack Gavin, who directed both films and acted in the lead roles. In January 1913 the New South Wales Government banned Forsyth's bushranger films. At various stages in his career Bert Forsyth also managed theatres that screened motion pictures.
The Australian Photo-Play Company was a short-lived but highly productive Australian film production company which operated from 1911 to 1912.
The bushranger ban was a ban on films about bushrangers that came in effect in Australia in 1911–12. Films about bushrangers had been the most popular genre of local films ever since The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906). Governments were worried about the influence this would have on the population and bans against films depicting bushrangers were introduced in South Australia (1911), New South Wales and Victoria (1912).
Edward Irham Cole was an Australian theatrical entrepreneur and film director whose productions represented a synthesis of Wild West show and stage melodrama. He managed a theatre company, called the Bohemian Dramatic Company, that performed in semi-permanent and temporary tent theatres. During 1910 and 1911 Cole directed a number of silent films, adapted from his stage plays and using actors from his theatre company.
Robbery Under Arms is a 1907 Australian film based on the popular 1888 novel. It was from the team of J and N Tait and Millard Johnson and W Gibson, who had just made The Story of the Kelly Gang. It is considered a lost film.
