Rip Van Winkle | |
---|---|
Directed by | W. J. Lincoln |
Based on | stage adaptation by Joseph Jefferson and Dion Boucicault of Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving |
Produced by | William Gibson Millard Johnson John Tait Nevin Tait |
Starring | Arthur Styan |
Cinematography | Orrie Perry |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Tait's Pictures |
Release date |
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Country | Australia |
Languages | Silent film English intertitles |
Rip Van Winkle is a 1912 Australian feature-length film directed by W. J. Lincoln about Rip Van Winkle. [2] It was arguably Australia's first fantasy film. [3]
It is considered a lost film.
Rip Van Winkle is a lazy man who likes to wander around with his dog, Wolf. One day, he ventures into the Kaatskill mountains, where he encounters a strange group of men drinking and playing bowls. He drinks their mysterious brew and falls asleep. When he wakes up, he is shocked to discover that 20 years have passed, and everything has changed.
The story is a charming tale that depicts how America changed during the Civil War, but in a more subtle way. Rip's experiences show how the war affected the people and the country. It also portrays the changing values and attitudes towards work and leisure time.
The film was made in the wake of a successful Australian season of Joseph Jefferson and Dion Boucicault's theatre adaptation of Washington Irving's 1819 short story "Rip Van Winkle". [5]
One reviewer said that star Arthur Styan "has figured in several of the previous productions of the Amalgamated Pictures Ltd., and who makes quite a success of this." [6]
The film appears not to have been widely released. The Bendigo Advertiser said that "the famous story is most effectively explained in the picture production." [8]
In April 1912 The Bulletin said "Rip Van Winkle is biographed in Melbourne excellently, by an Australian company, with Styan as Winkle." [9]
Dionysius Lardner "Dion" Boucicault was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the most successful actor-playwright-managers then in the English-speaking theatre. The New York Times hailed him in his obituary as "the most conspicuous English dramatist of the 19th century,"; he and his second wife, Agnes Robertson Boucicault, applied for and received American citizenship in 1873.
Joseph Jefferson III, often known as Joe Jefferson, was an American actor. He was the third actor of this name in a family of actors and managers, and one of the most famous 19th century American comedians. Beginning as a young child, he continued as a performer for most of his 76 years. Jefferson was particularly well known for his adaptation and portrayal of Rip Van Winkle on the stage, reprising the role in several silent film adaptations. After 1865, he created no other major role and toured with this play for decades.
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).
It Is Never Too Late to Mend is a 1911 Australian feature-length silent film written and directed by W. J. Lincoln.
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.
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.
The Remittance Man is an Australian melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln about a thief's reformation.
Transported is an Australian convict melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln.
The Road to Ruin is an Australian melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln. It was one of the first movies from Lincoln-Cass Films and is considered a lost film.
Lincoln Cass Films was a short-lived Australian film production company.
The Sick Stockrider is a 1913 film directed by W. J. Lincoln based on the 1870 poem of the same title by Adam Lindsay Gordon. It was the first production from Lincoln-Cass Films and is one of the few Australian silent films to survive in its entirety.
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 MacMahon brothers were entrepreneurs in Australian show business. Chief among them were James MacMahon and Charles MacMahon, who together and separately toured a large number of stage shows. Their younger brothers, Joseph and William, were involved in many of those activities.
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.
Amalgamated Pictures Ltd was a film exchange company in Australia.
After Sundown is a 1911 Australian film directed by W. J. Lincoln set in the Australian bush.
Rip Van Winkle is a 1903 American short black-and-white silent compilation film written and directed by William K.L. Dickson. It is adapted from the play by his friend and investor Joseph Jefferson with Dion Boucicault based on the 1819 story of the same name by Washington Irving.
The Prahran Telegraph was a weekly newspaper published from 1860 to 1930 in Prahran, an inner-suburb of the city of Melbourne, Australia. No copy pre-1866 is known to have survived. From 1866 until December 1888, the paper was called the Telegraph and St Kilda, Prahran and South Yarra Guardian. From January 1889 until 7 December 1902, the paper was known simply as the Prahran Telegraph. From 13 December 1902 the banner head read the Prahran Telegraph, with which is incorporated the St Kilda Advertiser and the Malvern Argus.
Rip Van Winkle is a 1921 American silent fantasy film, directed by Edward Ludwig. Starring Thomas Jefferson and Milla Davenport in the oft-filmed 1819 Washington Irving short story about Rip Van Winkle who falls asleep and wakes up 20 years later. It was made famous in the 19th century as a play by Thomas Jefferson's father, Joseph Jefferson, and Dion Boucicault. T. Jefferson had starred in a 1914 feature-length version of the story, which was re-released in 1921 just as this film was premiering. However, the two should not be confused as the same film, they are two different films starring the same actor.