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Convict Melodrama
A convict melodrama is a type of melodrama set in Australia during the convict era. They normally revolved around stories of innocent people wrongly accused of a crime who were transported to Australia as convicts. The best known work in this field was the novel ''For the Term of His Natural Life'', which was adapted into various plays and films. These melodramas were highly popular in novel, theatre and film form in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. They had their origins in novels such as ''Les Misérables''. by Wolf, Gabrielle from ''Journal of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melodrama
A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or excessively sentimental, rather than action. Characters are often flat, and written to fulfill stereotypes. Melodramas are typically set in the private sphere of the home, focusing on morality and family issues, love, and marriage, often with challenges from an outside source, such as a "temptress", a scoundrel, or an aristocratic villain. A melodrama on stage, filmed, or on television is usually accompanied by dramatic and suggestive music that offers cues to the audience of the drama being presented. In scholarly and historical musical contexts, ''melodramas'' are Victorian dramas in which orchestral music or song was used to accompany the action. The term is now also applied to stage performances without incidental music, novels, films, tel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
It Is Never Too Late To Mend (1911 Film)
''It Is Never Too Late to Mend'' is an Australian feature-length silent film written and directed by W. J. Lincoln. 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. It was called "certainly one of the best pictures ever taken in Australia." The novel has been credited with exposing cruelties in the Australian prison system and having helped end the convict system. It is considered a lost film. It was filmed again in 1913 and in 1937 (the latter film being the definitive version starring Tod Slaughter as the evil squire). 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 Be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Potato Factory
''The Potato Factory'' is a 1995 fictionalised historical novel by Bryce Courtenay, which was made into a four-part miniseries in Australia in 2000. The book is the first in a three-part series, followed by ''Tommo & Hawk'' and ''Solomon's Song''. ''The Potato Factory'' has been the subject of some controversy regarding its historical accuracy and its portrayal of Jewish characters. The book is based on Ikey Solomon, known as the "Prince of Fences" and the basis of the Fagin character in the Charles Dickens novel ''Oliver Twist''. Courtenay states that it is a fictional historical novel based on extensive research, but it depicts fictionalised versions of the characters. Author Judith Sackville-O'Donnell, who wrote another book on Solomon, claimed that the book was inaccurate and anti-Semitic. The book's other main characters are Solomon's wife, Hannah, and his (fictional) mistress, Mary Abacus. Abacus goes from serving girl, to prostitute, to high-class madam, to prisoner tran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
For The Term Of His Natural Life (mini-series)
''For the Term of His Natural Life'' is a 1983 Australian three-part, six-hour television miniseries based on the classic 1874 novel of the same name by Marcus Clarke. Each episode aired for two hours on Nine Network on 23 May, 30 May and 6 June 1983. Plot Well-educated but adventurous young British aristocrat, Richard Devine, son of Sir Richard Devine, learns his mother's secret - his biological father is in fact Lord Bellasis. To protect his mother's reputation, he leaves home to take ship to India, but is arrested after Lord Bellasis is murdered. He is tried for murder and acquitted but found guilty of theft of a pocket-watch which was given him by Lord Bellasis. Under the alias of Rufus Dawes, he is sentenced to transportation for life. Dawes is shipped to Van Diemen's Land on the ''Malabar'', which also carries Captain Vickers, who is to become the new commandant of the penal settlement at Macquarie Harbour, his wife Julia and child Sylvia, Julia's maid, Sarah Purfoy and Li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sara Dane
''Sara Dane'' is a 1982 Australian television miniseries about a woman transported from England to Australia for a crime she did not commit.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p231 Original novel The mini-series was based on the best-selling 1954 novel of the same name by Catherine Gaskin. Gaskin had spent two years researching the book, which was inspired by the true story of Mary Reibey, a woman convict who married an officer while travelling to Australia, went on to become a successful businesswoman in her own right, and whose image has been featured since 1994 on the Australian $20 note. The novel was Gaskin's most successful, selling over two million copies. Film rights were sold and Gaskin announced in 1955 that a movie version would be made at Elstree Studios the following year, but this did not occur. Production In 1980 it was announced that the South Australian Film Corporation would make a mini-series of the novel for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Against The Wind (TV Series)
''Against the Wind'' is a 1978 Australian television miniseries. It is a historical drama portraying both the British rule of Ireland, and the development of New South Wales and Australia. Jon English won the Logie Award in 1979 for "Best New Talent" for his role in the miniseries as "Jonathan Garrett". It was the first major Australian TV production to be broadcast in the United States. A soundtrack was also released, topping the charts in Norway and reaching the top 10 in Australia and Sweden. Plot Set during Australia's colonial era over the period 1798–1812, the series follows the life of Mary Mulvane, a daughter of an Irish school master. At 18, she is transported to New South Wales for a term of seven years after attempting to take back her family's milk cow which had been seized by the British "in lieu of tithes" to the local proctor. She endures the trial of a convict sea journey to New South Wales and years of service as a convict before her emancipation and life ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eliza Fraser (film)
''Eliza Fraser'' is a 1976 Australian bawdy adventure drama film, directed by Tim Burstall and starring Susannah York, Trevor Howard, Noel Ferrier and John Castle. The screenplay was written by David Williamson. The film was the first Australian film with a big-budget, costing A$1.2m to make. English actors Susannah York and Trevor Howard were brought from the United Kingdom to headline this Australian picture, which was filmed in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. The film has been described as a classic Aussie tale of colonial hardship and bawdy beginnings, and has been described as a sex romp. Synopsis Captain James Fraser, and his young wife, Eliza Fraser, sail from Sydney on the ''Stirling Castle''. Captain Rory McBryde, the most notorious rake in New South Wales, manages to get on board and tries to seduce Eliza. Captain Fraser stops off at the penal colony of Moreton Bay which is run by Captain Fyans, who tries to seduce convict Bracefell. Bracefell escapes and hide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Botany Bay (film)
''Botany Bay'' is a 1953 American drama film directed by John Farrow and starring Alan Ladd, James Mason and Patricia Medina. It was based on a novel of the same name by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. While the story includes characters loosely based on real figures (Gilbert and Phillips) and the ship ''Charlotte'', it is a largely fictional telling of the First Fleet's arrival in Australia in 1788. Plot In 1787 a group of prisoners lodged in Newgate Jail receive notice that their death sentences are commuted to life imprisonment in New South Wales. They are boarded onto the and joined by a smaller group of female prisoners. Gilbert, the captain, offers one pretty female prisoner free run of the ship on certain conditions. One prisoner, Tallant, admits guilt but is expecting a pardon to arrive within hours. The captain declines to wait for word of the pardon and Tallant jumps overboard. When caught he is sentenced to 50 lashes with a cat-o-nine-tails. Recoveri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
For The Term Of His Natural Life (1927 Film)
''For the Term of His Natural Life'' is a 1927 Australian film based on the 1874 novel by Marcus Clarke, directed, produced and co-written by Norman Dawn. It was the most expensive Australian silent film ever made and remains one of the most famous Australian films of the silent era. Plot After an argument, Ellinor Devine reveals to her husband, Sir Richard, that he is not actually the father of their son, also named Richard, but that he was fathered by her cousin, Lord Bellasis. Sir Richard throws his son out and storms off in a rage. Shortly afterwards, Richard Junior finds his biological father dead in the forest. Only the viewer and an unidentified witness know that Lord Bellasis has actually been killed by his own son, known as John Rex. However, it is Richard Devine who is found next to the body and arrested. Thinking that his father killed Bellasis, Richard wants to protect his mother's reputation and gives his name as Rufus Dawes. The convict ship that brings Dawes to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
His Convict Bride
''His Convict Bride'' is a 1918 Australian silent film from the team of John and Agnes Gavin. It was a convict-era melodrama. Plot In 1813 England, Bess Shelgrove rejects a suitor, Adam Wilson who works as a bank clerk. Seeking revenge, Adam steals money from the bank and frames Bess. She is arrested and transported to Botany Bay where she is assigned as a servant to the snobbish Mrs Renshay. Mrs Renshay has a dodgy son and Bess escapes into the bush, where she meets and marries Jack Warren. Bess is later recognised by Mrs Renshay and is arrested. Jack encounters Adam Wilson and forces him to confess he framed Tess. Bess is released from prison and is reunited with Jack and their baby daughter. Cast *Ethel Bashford as Bess Shelgrove *John Gavin as Jack Warren * Charles Villiers as Adam Wilson *Frank Hawthorne *Claude Turton *Fred Cope *Syd Everett *Walter Vincent *Ray Harris *C. Howard *D.L. Dalziel *Randal Woodhouse *Ruth Wainwright *Rose Rooney *Flo Smit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transported (1913 Film)
''Transported'' is an Australian convict melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln. It is considered a lost film. Plot In England, Jessie Grey is about to marry Leonard Lincoln but the evil Harold Hawk tries to force her to marry him and she wounds him with a gun. Hawk is arrested and sentenced to imprisonment in Australia. Leonard and Jessie get married and move to Australia. Hawk escapes from gaol and tries to get his revenge by kidnapping Jessie. Cast *Roy Redgrave *Godfrey Cass * George Bryant References External links''Transported''at IMDb'Transported''at AustLit''Transported''at National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ... 1913 films Australian black-and-white films Australian silent short films Lost Australian films Australi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Romantic Story Of Margaret Catchpole
''The Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole'', generally referred to as ''Margaret Catchpole'', is a 1911 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford and starring Lottie Lyell. It is based on the true story of Margaret Catchpole, an adventurer and convict. Only part of the film survives today. Synopsis In the south coast of England, a young woman, Margaret Catchpole (Lottie Lyell), is pursued by two men, the smuggler Will Laud (Raymond Longford) and the coastguard officer Lieutenant Barry (Augustus Neville). Laud is killed in a fight with coast guards and Margaret is sentenced to Botany Bay for horse stealing. She later marries Barry, who has since moved to Sydney, and becomes well-regarded for her hospital work. Cast *Lottie Lyell as Margaret Catchpole *Raymond Longford as Will Laud *Augustus Neville as Lieutenant Barry *Sybil Wilde as Little Kitty *William Coulter as Lord Chief Justice *E. Melville as Justice Heath *Fred Hardy as Chaloner Archdeckne *J. Eldridge as Land ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |