''Environment'' is a 1927 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 woman who poses for a revealing painting. It was one of two films produced by Vaughan C. Marshall, the other one being ''
Caught in the Net'' (1928).
Unlike many Australian silent films, a copy of it survives today.
[Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 140.]
Plot
Mary Garval is forced by poverty into posing semi-nude for a painting, ''L'Environment''. The painter's assistant, Arthur, tries to seduce her but she runs away after finding out he is married.
Mary seeks refuge in the country and falls for a farmer, Jimmy. They get married but Arthur, seeking revenge, sends a Jewish friend to spy on them. He sends Jimmy a copy of the painting as a wedding present. Jimmy eventually forgives Mary and decides to destroy the painting, but discovers a lost will in the frame, which reveals Mary to be the heiress to a lost fortune.
Cast
*Beth Darvall as Mary Garval
*Hal Percy as James Denison
*Colin Campbell as Arthur Huston
*Alf Scarlett as James Masterton
*Arthur Bruce as James Garval
*Jim Joyce as Wilfred Garval
*Dorothy May as Mrs Huston
*Max Sorelle as Mr Eltham
*Kitty Mostyn as Mrs Eltham
*Viva Vawden as Mrs Harrop
*Charles Brown as Henry Harrop
*George Gilbert as Hal Hawkins
*Edward Landor as Abe Halstein
*Phyllis Best as Biddy O'Rooke
Production
The movie was shot in early 1927 in and around Melbourne, particularly in the suburb of
Hawthorn
Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to:
Plants
* '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae
* ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...
. Marshall tried to woo Melbourne society while making the film, looking for investment. The director, Gerald Haye, made industrial films in Melbourne for several years.
Reception
The film appears to have only been screened in Victoria.
References
External links
*
''Environment''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 ...
1927 films
Australian drama films
Australian silent feature films
Australian black-and-white films
1927 drama films
Films directed by Gerald M. Hayle
Silent drama films
1920s English-language films
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