Within the Law | |
---|---|
Directed by | Monte Luke assistant: W.J. Lincoln |
Written by | W. J. Lincoln |
Based on | play by Bayard Veiller |
Starring | Muriel Starr Monte Luke |
Cinematography | Maurice Bertel |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | Four reels [3] (4,000 feet [4] – est. 60 mins |
Country | Australia |
Languages | Silent English intertitles |
Within the Law is a 1916 Australian silent film based a play of the same name by Bayard Veiller. The leading role was played by American stage star Muriel Starr, reprising her stage performance. It is considered a lost film.
Shopgirl Mary Turner (Muriel Starr) is wrongly accused of theft due to her employer, powerful businessman Edward Guilder, and is sent to prison. On her release she joins forces with another woman and executes a series of scams by securing money from wealthy men with breach of promise suits. She targets Dick Guilder, her enemy's son, but finds herself falling in love with him. Dick is framed for an underworld killing but this is solved. Mary is cleared of her original crime and realises she loves Dick. [5]
The film is based on a popular play which was later filmed in 1917, 1923, 1930 and 1939.
Muriel Starr came to Australia in 1913 to perform in the play for J. C. Williamson Ltd, and was a great success with the local public, running for over three months in Melbourne [6] and sixteen weeks in Sydney. [7]
It was the fourth film shot at J. C. Williamson Studios, though the second released. [8]
The film version was shot primary on the stage of the Theatre Royal in Melbourne. [9] W.J. Lincoln worked on the script and assisted Monte Luke with direction. [10] [11] Filming was completed by September 1915. [4]
Muriel Starr would shoot the film in the morning while rehearsing another play, Under Cover, in the afternoon and acting in yet another play, The Law of the Land, that night. [12]
While most of the film was shot in the studio, there was some location shooting including at Buckley and Nunn's store in Bourke Street. [8]
There is no published cast list for the film but a short revival of the play was held at Theatre Royal in Melbourne six weeks after the film had been shot. [13] [14] It is likely that most of the cast members would have repeated their stage roles on screen. [8]
A contemporary review said "With the exception of Sidney Stirling, Theodore Boase, and Clarence Blakiston, this four reeler presents the original cast as on the stage." [7]
According to a review in Motion Picture News, "the picture suffers in comparison with the speaking version, but nevertheless affords good entertainment. The photographer, W. J. Lincoln, has given the best effects possible. Monte Luke directed the filming of the production." [7]
The movie was not received well at the box office [9] although it ran for a fortnight at the Paramount Theatre, Melbourne. [7]
Film historian Ralph Marsden later wrote that "of for four stage adaptations filmed by the JCW Studio it seems likely that Within the Law was the best". [8] It was also released before Get Rich Quick Wallingford and Officer 666, even though those two films were filmed earlier.
Muriel Starr continued to appear in revivals of the play throughout her career.
After the film was completed, it was announced Lincoln was writing another movie for Starr directed by Luke, but this does not appear to have been made. [4]
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.
Godfrey Cass was an Australian actor in the silent era. Between 1906 and 1935 he acted in nineteen film roles. He played Ned Kelly three times, and also had roles in a number of other bushranger movies including A Tale of the Australian Bush (1911) and Moondyne (1913).
Sylvia Poppy Bremer, known professionally as Sylvia Breamer, was an Australian actress who appeared in American silent motion pictures beginning in 1917.
Officer 666 is a 1916 silent film made in Australia, based on a successful Broadway comedy of 1912. The film was directed by Fred Niblo who would go on to direct The Mark of Zorro, The Three Musketeers, Blood and Sand and over forty more films.
Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford is a 1916 Australian silent comedy film directed by Fred Niblo. The film was the first made by the film unit of theatrical firm J. C. Williamson, although it was one of the last to be released. It was Niblo's debut film as a director and is considered a lost film.
Frank Harvey was a British-born actor, producer and writer best known for his work in Australia.
Frank Beaumont "Beau" Smith, was an Australian film director, producer and exhibitor, best known for making low-budget comedies.
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 Life's Romance of Adam Lindsay Gordon is a 1916 Australian feature-length film directed by W. J. Lincoln, based on the life of poet Adam Lindsay Gordon.
Lincoln Cass Films was a short-lived Australian film production company.
Within Our Gates, also known as Deeds that Won Gallipoli, is a 1915 Australian silent film about Australia's fight with the German Empire and the Ottoman Empire during World War I, including the landing at Gaba Tepe during the Gallipoli campaign. The story was partly based on a play The Man Who Stayed at Home.
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.
Seven Keys to Baldpate is a 1916 Australian silent film directed by Monte Luke for J. C. Williamson's. It was the first film adaptation of the popular play by George M. Cohan which had toured Australia successfully in 1914 with Fred Niblo. There were later versions of the story in 1917, 1925, 1929, 1935 and 1947.
Muriel Starr was a Canadian stage actress. She was particularly popular in Australia in the 1910s and 1920s. She appeared in one film, Within the Law (1916), an adaptation of her stage success. She was also known for the plays East of Suez, Birds of Paradise and Madame X.
J. C. Williamson Film Company was a short-lived Australian film production company in the 1910s. It was part of the theatrical firm J. C. Williamson's, and produced a number of feature films during 1914-1918.
Stanley Walpole was an Australian actor of stage and screen who was one of the first Australians have success in American films.
Within the Law is a play written by Bayard Veiller. It is the story of Mary Turner, a sales clerk who is wrongly accused of stealing and sent to prison. Upon her release, Turner sets up a gang that engages in shady activities that are just "within the law". After the police try to entrap her, she is mistakenly accused again, this time for murder, but she is vindicated when the real killer confesses.
The King's Theatre was a theatre in Melbourne, Australia, located at 133 Russell Street between Bourke Street and Little Collins Street.
Clarence Blakiston was a British film and stage actor, comedian and singer who during his career across five decades played the title role in the Sherlock Holmes parody Sheerluck Jones, or Why D’Gillette Him Off at Terry's Theatre (1901–02) which ran for 138 performances and who appeared in the original production of The Admirable Crichton at the Duke of York's Theatre in 1902.