It Is Never Too Late to Mend (1911 film)

Last updated

It Is Never Too Late to Mend
Never Too Late to Mend.png
Daily Telegraph 21 January 1911
Directed by W. J. Lincoln [1]
Written by W. J. Lincoln [2]
Based on the novel by Charles Reade
adapted into a play by Charles Reade
Produced by John Tait
Nevin Tait
Millard Johnson
William Gibson
Starring Stanley Walpole
Cinematography Orrie Perry [3]
Production
companies
Johnson and Gibson
Distributed byJ & N Tait (Australia)
Sawyer's Pictures (USA)
Release dates
7 January 1911 (Sydney) [4]
August 1914 (USA) [5]
Running time
4,000 feet [6]
45 minutes [7]
CountryAustralia
Languages Silent film
English intertitles
Budget£300-£400 [8]

It Is Never Too Late to Mend is a 1911 Australian feature-length silent film written and directed by W. J. Lincoln. [7]

Contents

It was based on a stage adaptation of the popular 1865 novel It Is Never Too Late to Mend: A Matter-of-Fact Romance by Charles Reade about the corrupt penal system in Australia. The movie was called "certainly one of the best pictures ever taken in Australia." [9]

The 1911 film is considered a lost film. The novel was filmed again in 1913 and in 1937 (the latter film being the definitive version starring Tod Slaughter as the evil squire). [7]

The film was made by the Tait family, who also made the first Australian feature film, The Story of the Kelly Gang . The Taits went on to make several more films with Lincoln, including The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1911), The Luck of Roaring Camp (1911), Called Back (1911), The Lost Chord (May 1911), The Bells (1911) and The Double Event (1911). [10] This was Lincoln's first film in a rather short career, as he died soon after in 1917 in Sydney, Australia at age 47. [7]

Plot

The film begins at Grance Farm in England, rented by Georgie and William Fileing. The farm is struggling and the brothers have to sell their new hay to stave off the landlord. The Honorable Frank Winchester contemplates going abroad and asks George to accompany him. However, George is in love with his cousin, Susan Merton, and does not want to make the trip.

Susan is also loved by the villainous John Meadows. He refuses to lend money to Georgie and there is an eviction sale on the farm. [11]

George Fielding travels to Australia to make enough money to marry Susan. George discovers gold and a bushranger gang tries to rob him but the other miners come to George's rescue.

There is a subplot about a thief acquaintance of George, Tom Robinson, who is sent to gaol and suffers brutal treatment at the hands of the guards. Susan is about to marry the evil Meadows but he is unmasked at the wedding by Isaac Levy. The wedding goes ahead with Susan marrying George instead.

The film consisted of 60 scenes. [12] It was issued with a summary of the story and featured chapter titles which prepared the audiences for incidents before they happened. [13] It was also often accompanied by a lecturer.

The film was one of the longest early Australian films. [14]

According to The Age "Interesting phases of early Australian life are revealed, including the fascinating stories of the gold discoveries... in the construction of the story for picture purposes, the salient features of the novel have been retained and a descriptive address accompanies the production." [15]

Cast

Production

The novel has been credited with exposing cruelties in the Australian prison system and having helped end the convict system. [17]

Stage adaptations of the novel had been popular since 1865. [18]

In February 1911 The Bulletin reported that:

The Taits are going to produce It’s Never Too Late To Mend in biograph drama form at Melbourne Glaeiarium. "Willie" Lincoln, who was an Australian playwright in his youth, and is nowadays running the "Paradise" Pictures at St. Kilda, is understood to be responsible for this biograph version of Charles Reade’s drama. Picture show condensations of familiar stories, also original film dramas of the sort now imported from America and Europe, might as well be locally fixed up. There’s no better country than Australia for open-air photography, and few that are nearly as good. [19]

The film was shot in Melbourne and "enacted by a specially-selected company of Victorian artists" [20] who were "a selected metropolitan company of 60 performers." [12] The estimated budget was £300-£400. [8]

Reception

The movie debuted at the Olympia Theatre in Haymarket, Sydney in January 1911. [21] A lecturer accompanied screenings and would explain the action that took place.

Box office

The movie broke box office records at the Olympia. [22] [23] It later drew strong crowds in Melbourne as well. [24] [25]

Critical

The Bulletin called it:

An interesting piece... adapted by W.J. Lincoln for dumb show purposes, and Johnson and Gibson had prepared three or four thousand feet of photographs for reproduction on the screen. The picture promised well for the future of the Australian "art film" industry. Theadapter has "potted" the novel, rather than the drama of the same name, and done it very well. The actors look their parts and play them dramatically, and the heroine, who is a first consideration and the only girl in the piece, fills the bill quite charmingly. For about an hour It’s Never Too Late To Mend kept a packed house interested. A man with a ripe, sonorous voice supplied brief descriptive details, and kept the story in a state of coherency, the only noticeable shortcoming being the absence of a moral tag, to the effect that the conversion of the English thief, Tom Robinson, had been fully completed in The Sunny South . [26]

The Sydney Sunday Times said there "was special performances by a company of Australian actors." [27]

Melbourne's Table Talk called it "a most gratifying success in all ways. The pictures are clear and the acting is adequate, while to our ideas it is more natural, for it has not the Gallic mannerisms and excessive gesture noticeable in some of the imported pictorial dramas, which are usually interpreted by French artists." [28]

The Riverine Herald stated "the cast was well chosen and well balanced, and the dramatic action of the play was finely brought out." [29]

The Launceston Examiner said "in its construction the adapter has endeavoured to retain all the main and most salient features of the novel, allowing for the bridging over of many incidents, to make a natural sequence and clear-cut story." [30]

The Launceston Daily Telegraph said the novel had been "exceedingly well adapted by W. J. Lincoln... [a] magnificent pictorial representation, so full of strong human interest". [24]

USA release

The film was released in the US in August 1914. [5]

Legacy

The box office success of the film encouraged the Tait brothers and Millard and Johnson to appoint Lincoln as the main director for their new company, Amalgamated Pictures, which operated for over a year. [31]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinesound Productions</span> Australian film production company

Cinesound Productions Pty Ltd was an Australian feature film production company. Established in June 1931, Cinesound developed out of a group of companies centred on Greater Union Theatres that covered all facets of the film process, from production to distribution and exhibition. Cinesound Productions established a film studio as a subsidiary of Greater Union Theatres Pty Ltd based on the Hollywood model. The first production was On Our Selection (1932), which was an enormous financial success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W. J. Lincoln</span> Australian playwright, theatre manager, film director and screenwriter

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.

Keane of Kalgoorlie, or a Story of the Sydney Cup is a 1911 Australian silent film set in the racing and gambling circles of Sydney, based on a popular play by Edward William O'Sullivan and Arthur Wright, adapted from the novel by Wright.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Rolfe (director)</span> Australian stage and film director and actor

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.

Seven Little Australians is a 1939 Australian film directed by Arthur Greville Collins and starring Charles McCallum. It is an adaptation of Ethel Turner's 1894 novel in a contemporary setting.

The Mystery of the Hansom Cab is an Australian feature-length film directed by W. J. Lincoln based on the popular novel, which had also been adapted into a play. It was one of several films Lincoln made with the Tait family, who had produced The Story of the Kelly Gang.

<i>The Double Event</i> (1911 film) 1911 Australian film

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.

Called Back is a 1911 Australian feature-length film directed by W. J. Lincoln based on a popular play which was adapted from an 1883 novel by Hugh Conway. Although the movie was a popular success it is now considered a lost film.

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.

<i>For the Term of His Natural Life</i> (1908 film) 1908 Australian film

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.

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".

<i>Captain Midnight, the Bush King</i> 1911 film

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.

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.

<i>The Lady Outlaw</i> 1911 film

The Lady Outlaw is a 1911 Australian silent film set in Van Diemen's Land during convict days.

The Cup Winner is a 1911 Australian silent film directed by Alfred Rolfe. It is set against a backdrop of horseracing and the finale involves real footage from the 1911 Melbourne Cup.

Amalgamated Pictures Ltd was a film exchange company in Australia.

<i>Mates from the Murrumbidgee</i> 1911 Australian film

Mates from the Murrumbidgee is a 1911 Australian silent movie. It is considered a lost film and was arguably the first Australian war film, being set during the Boer War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Irham Cole</span> Australian theatrical entrepreneur and film director

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.

Wilton Welch was an Australian comic actor and dramatist, husband and collaborator of Louise Carbasse, best known as Louise Lovely.

References

  1. ↑ "Port Empire Picture Palace". Daily Herald . Adelaide. 20 February 1912. p. 6. Retrieved 18 June 2015– via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald . 21 January 1911. p. 2. Retrieved 29 September 2013– via National Library of Australia.
  3. ↑ "Our Film Jubilee". The Sunday Herald . Sydney. 9 September 1951. p. 9. Retrieved 26 October 2014– via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ Bateman, Mary (June–July 1980). "W. J. Lincoln". Cinema Papers. p. 174.
  5. 1 2 "Moving Picture World - Lantern: Search, Visualize & Explore the Media History Digital Library".
  6. ↑ "Amusements". The Examiner (DAILY ed.). Launceston, Tasmania. 20 May 1911. p. 9. Retrieved 12 January 2012– via National Library of Australia.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Kinnard, Roy (1995). Horror in Silent Films. McFarland and Company, Inc. p. 87. ISBN   0-7864-0036-6.
  8. 1 2 "Poverty Point". The Bulletin. 19 June 1924. p. 36.
  9. ↑ "Australian Made Pictures". The Age . Victoria, Australia. 20 February 1911. p. 9. Retrieved 17 March 2020– via Trove.
  10. 1 2 Endean, Lin (13 December 1933). "134 Years in the Industry: The Perrys' Record identifier". Everyones. p. 44.
  11. ↑ "Never Too Late to Mend". The Bendigo Independent . No. 12533. Victoria, Australia. 25 February 1911. p. 5. Retrieved 8 March 2017– via National Library of Australia.
  12. 1 2 "The Mildura 'Cultibator.'". The Mildura Cultivator . Vic. 22 July 1911. p. 7. Retrieved 29 September 2013– via National Library of Australia.
  13. ↑ "Wonderland Pictures". The Mildura Cultivator . Vic. 29 July 1911. p. 9. Retrieved 28 January 2012– via National Library of Australia.
  14. ↑ "Along Film Row Folk. Fact and Fancy....The Laughs and Laments of the Trade", Everyones, Sydney, 3 January 1934, nla.obj-578996760, retrieved 1 December 2023– via Trove
  15. ↑ "Australian Made Pictures". The Age . Melbourne. 20 February 1911. p. 9. Retrieved 27 July 2015– via National Library of Australia.
  16. ↑ "Life & Letters". The West Australian . Perth. 4 May 1946. p. 5. Retrieved 16 September 2013– via National Library of Australia.
  17. ↑ 'POWERFUL BOOKS. And the Miracles They Performed.' Camperdown Chronicle, Tuesday 20 February 1934 p 3
  18. ↑ "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald . 20 August 1867. p. 8. Retrieved 6 December 2012– via National Library of Australia.
  19. ↑ "At Poverty Point". The Bulletin. 16 February 1911. p. 11.
  20. ↑ "Tivoli Theatre". Bendigo Advertiser . Vic. 27 February 1911. p. 7. Retrieved 29 September 2013– via National Library of Australia.
  21. ↑ "Olympia Theatre". The Sydney Morning Herald . 9 January 1911. p. 3. Retrieved 29 September 2013– via National Library of Australia.
  22. ↑ "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald . 10 January 1911. p. 1. Retrieved 29 September 2013– via National Library of Australia.
  23. ↑ "Olympia Theatre". The Sydney Morning Herald . 14 January 1911. p. 14. Retrieved 29 September 2013– via National Library of Australia.
  24. 1 2 "Music, Art, and Drama". The Daily Telegraph . Launceston, Tasmania. 24 February 1911. p. 6. Retrieved 25 October 2014– via National Library of Australia.
  25. ↑ "Advertising". The Age . Melbourne. 20 February 1911. p. 1. Retrieved 23 September 2015– via National Library of Australia.
  26. ↑ "Sundry Shows". The Bulletin. 23 February 1911. p. 8.
  27. ↑ "The Olympia". The Sunday Times . Sydney. 8 January 1911. p. 2. Retrieved 29 September 2013– via National Library of Australia.
  28. ↑ "Tait's Pictures". Table Talk . Melbourne. 23 February 1911. p. 21. Retrieved 1 July 2015– via National Library of Australia.
  29. ↑ "The Riverine Herald". Riverine Herald . Echuca, Vic. 27 April 1911. p. 2. Retrieved 29 September 2013– via National Library of Australia.
  30. ↑ "Amusements". The Examiner (Daily ed.). Launceston, Tasmania. 20 May 1911. p. 9. Retrieved 29 September 2013– via National Library of Australia.
  31. ↑ Graham Shirley and Brian Adams, Australian Cinema: The First Eighty Years, Currency Press, 1989, p42
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.