''Hills of Hate'' is a 1926 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 ...

directed by

Raymond Longford Raymond Longford (born John Walter Hollis Longford, 23 September 18782 April 1959) was a prolific Australian film director, writer, producer and actor during the silent era. Longford was a major director of the silent film era of the Australian ...

, based on the

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

by E. V. Timms, who also did the screenplay. 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 ...

Synopsis

A feud exists between two outback families, the Blakes and the Ridgeways, caused by Sam Ridgeway having married a woman Jim Blake was in love with. The feud goes on for over thirty years. Blake's eldest son, also called Jim (

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 ...

) returns from being away for ten years and falls in love with Ridgeway's daughter Ellen ( Dorothy Gordon). Matters are complicated by Sam Ridgeway's villainous overseer, Cummins (Big Bill Wilson).

Cast

*Dorothy Gordon as Ellen Ridgeway *

as Jim Blake *Big Bill Wilson as Black Joe Cummins *Clifford Toone as Jim Blake Snr *Kathleen Wilson as Peggy Blake *Stanley Lonsdale as Stanley Ridgeway

Original Novel

E. V. Timms' original novel was published in 1925. The ''Bulletin'' called it "A virile Australian story, though rough-cut and without pretence to literary quality."

Production

Master Pictures bought the screen rights in January 1926 and Timms was hired to write the script. ''Everyone's'' said it "presents a new type of Australian character set amid the wide open spaces, and should make an excellent photo play. " The studio would make it after two other outdoors adventures, ''The Pioneers'' and ''Tall Timber''. Raymond Longford, who directed both ''Pioneers'' and ''Hills of Hate'' later said at the 1927 Royal Commission that both films "were selected by the directors of the combine; they were produced at an inadequate expense an in many cases the cast was chosen despite my protests. During the filming of these pictures I recognised that these pictures were absurdly cheap and inadequate to secure even an English market." The films stars were Dorothy Gordon and Gordon Collingrdige, who ''Everyones'' said was "well known to fans" having "established him self by his remarkable work opposite Lotus Thompson and now, as a leading man he is greatly in demand." Kevin Gallagher was a recent arrival from Ireland. Gordon had worked in Hollywood for six years and did art direction on ''

For the Term of His Natural Life ''For the Term of His Natural Life'' is a story written by Marcus Clarke and published in ''The Australian Journal'' between 1870 and 1872 (as ''His Natural Life''). It was published as a novel in 1874 and is the best known novelisation of life ...

'' (1927). She and later became a radio commentator and newspaper columnist under the name of Andrea. 'Big' Bill Wilson was a professional boxer before being discovered by a casting agent at the Sydney Stadium and cast in '' Tall Timber'' (1927).

Shooting

In late March 1926 the unit left for Gloucester, New South Wales for a six week shoot near Avon. Filming was delayed by weather. Willian Thornton, juvenile lead, was injured on location but recovered by May. Studio work in Bondi started in late April and was finished by May. Raymond Longford's son Victor served as associate producer."Raymond Longford", ''Cinema Papers'', January 1974 p51

Reception

The ''Northern Times'' said Collingridge played his role "with a skill remarkable in such a young actor, whilst Dorothy Gordon's portrayal is a powerfully competing proof of her ability." ''Everyones'' said it was "chiefly remarkable for some excellent photography... There is plenty of fast action and some hard riding in this typical outback Australian story." The film was not a success at the box office – although it was screening in cinemas as late as 1933 – and it was several years before Longford managed to direct another feature, ''

The Man They Could Not Hang ''The Man They Could Not Hang'' is a 1939 American horror film directed by Nick Grinde from a screenplay by Karl Brown. It stars Boris Karloff as Dr. Henryk Savaard,Stephen Jacobs, ''Boris Karloff: More Than a Monster'', Tomahawk Press 2011 pp. ...

'' (1934). This turned out to be his last movie as director. In July 1926 Australasian Pictures decided to move into bigger budgeted territory making a version of ''For the Term of His Natural Life''.

References

External links

*
''Hills of Hate''
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 ...

''The Hills of Hate'' novel
at

AustLit AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource (also known as AustLit: Australian Literature Gateway; and AustLit: The Resource for Australian Literature), usually referred to simply as AustLit, is an internet-based, non-profit collaboration betwee ...

''The Hills of Hate'' film
at

Complete abridged version of original story
at ''

Australian Women's Weekly ''The Australian Women's Weekly'', sometimes known as simply ''The Weekly'', is an Australian monthly women's magazine published by Mercury Capital in Sydney. For many years it was the number one magazine in Australia before being outsold by th ...

'' in 1936 *Serialised version of story from 1927 �
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{{E. V. Timms 1926 films Australian silent feature films Australian black-and-white films Films directed by Raymond Longford Lost Australian drama films Films from Australasian Films 1926 drama films 1926 lost films Silent Australian drama films 1920s English-language films English-language drama films