''Daughter of the East'', also known as 'The Boy of the Dardanelles', is a 1924 Australian
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...
directed by Roy Darling. It is considered a
lost film
A lost film is a feature
Feature may refer to:
Computing
* Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch
* Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob
* Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing char ...
.
Plot
Harry Wharton is born of English parents in Turkey. Despite being engaged to a woman back in England, he falls in love with an orphaned Armenian girl, Marian. A Turkish pasha also loves Marian and kidnaps her. Wharton tries to rescue her but is captured just as England and Turkey declare war on each other. He escapes disguised as a Greek and joins the Australians at the
Gallipoli Campaign.
After the war Wharton finds Marian who has been traumatised by the war. He helps her recover and his fiancée gives him his freedom, enabling Wharton and Marian to be married.
Production
The film was financed by Adam Tavlradi, a Greek cafe owner keen to show a film demonstrating the contribution of Greeks to the British war effort. It was shot in and around Sydney in mid 1923, with battles scenes shot on
Maroubra Beach
Maroubra is a beachside suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 10 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Randwick.
Marou ...
.
[Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 122.] It was previewed under the title ''The Boy of the Dardanelles''.
Release
As he had with his first film, ''
The Lust for Gold
''The Lust for Gold'' is a 1922 Australian silent film directed by Roy Darling.
Release
Despite starring several well-known actors, including Gilbert Emery of '' The Sentimental Bloke'' (1919), the film only received a limited release. Darlin ...
'' (1922), Darling had great trouble getting the film released, but eventually managed to make a deal with
Paramount
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* Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
. However box office response was not strong and Darling only received £50 in returns.
Only 25 seconds of the movie survive today.
''Daughter of the East''
at National Film and Sound Archive
Cast
*Dorothy Hawtree
Dorothy Hawtree (1902-1981) was an Australian stage and screen actor, dancer and model during the 1920s. In 1919 she joined a theatre company touring the musical comedy ''The Better 'Ole'' to country towns, using motor vehicles to convey the ar ...
*Paul Eden
*Catherine Tearle
* Charles Villiers
*Adam Tavalridi
References
External links
*
''Daughter of the East''
at National Film and Sound Archive
"Beyond the Rolling Wave: A History of Greek Settlement in New South Wales"
– an article for the NSW Heritage Office mentioning Adam Tavlaridi
1924 films
Silent Australian drama films
Australian black-and-white films
Lost Australian films
1924 lost films
Lost drama films
1924 drama films
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