''Dope'' is a 1924 Australian

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized 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) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

about a respected citizen who is blackmailed by someone from his past. It is considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...

.Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 121.

Synopsis

Hugh Murnin, a pillar of Sydney society, has a secret past as a pearler on Thursday Island, during which time he believes he killed a man in a drunken brawl. He is blackmailed by one of his old drinking mates, Slick Harvey, who also tries to seduce Murnin's daughter, Mildred (Lorraine Esmond). Mildred's fiancé, Tom (

Gordon Collingridge Gordon Collingridge was an Australian actor during the silent film era. He played many matinee idol type roles, most notably for director Beaumont Smith and opposite Louise Lovely in ''Jewelled Nights'' (1925). Lovely called him "the male screen ...

) exposes Harvey as the leader of a gang of opium smugglers and that it was he, not Murnin, who killed the man on Thursday Island. Mildred and Tom get married.

Cast

as Tom Searle * Lorraine Esmond as Mildred Murnin * Charles Villiers *Monica Mack *Robert Purdie *Jack Raymond *William Newman *J.N. Tait

Production

The script was written by Sydney journalist and author Con Drew, and was originally titled The Trail of the Twang. Shooting took place in April 1923 but it was not released until the following year.

Reception

The film received poor reviews and unenthusiastic public reception.

Australasian Picture Productions Scandal

''Dope'' was the only film from Australasian Picture Productions, which is not to be confused with

Australasian Films Australasian Films, full name Union Theatres and Australasian Films, was an Australian film distribution and production company formed in 1913 that was wound up in the 1930s to merge into Greater Union. The Union Theatres and Australasian Films d ...

. The company was registered on 1 February 1923 in Queensland by promoters Stephen Perry and Percy McMahon. Under the terms of the corporation, Perry and McMahon were to receive £1,000 in part payment for their services, plus £1,560 annually for seven years and 6,000 fully paid-up shares. By 30 June 1924 the company's profit and loss statement showed director's salaries of £1,705, office salaries of £154 and general expenses of £230. In December of the year the company went into liquidation owing £2,974. "The investigations satisfy me, that the company was a swindle", said Justice McNaughten in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. "An investigation is necessary...There was a gross fraud on the part of one of the promoters. All they did was to produce one abortive film. There is no doubt that this is a case for the most searching investigation." The petition to wind up the company was made by James Duhig, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane. Litigation concerning the company was still going on in 1928.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0343607, Dope
''Dope''
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 ...

1924 films Silent Australian drama films Australian black-and-white films Lost Australian films 1924 drama films 1924 lost films Lost drama films Films directed by Dunstan Webb 1920s Australian films Films set on Thursday Island