''Struck Oil'' is an 1874 play set during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

and a 1919 Australian silent film, now considered lost. The play, which introduced

Maggie Moore Maggie Moore (April 10, 1851 – March 15, 1926) was an American-Australian actress born as Margaret Virginia Sullivan. She met and married producer J. C. Williamson in the U.S. and became popular as an actress in their production of '' Struc ...

to Australian theatre-goers, was popular with the Australian public and the basis of

J. C. Williamson James Cassius Williamson (26 August 1845 – 6 July 1913) was an American actor and later Australia's foremost impresario, founding the J. C. Williamson's theatrical and production company. Born in Pennsylvania, Williamson moved with his fami ...

's success as a theatre entrepreneur. A film based on the play and directed by

Franklyn Barrett Walter Franklyn Barrett (1873 – 16 July 1964), better known as Franklyn Barrett, was an Australian film director and cinematographer. He worked for a number of years for West's Pictures. It was later written of the filmmaker that "Barrett's visu ...

was produced in 1919.

Plot

John Stofel is a Dutch shoemaker who has settled in America, and has a daughter, Lizzie. During the US Civil War, John goes off to fight, in the place of a cowardly deacon who gives him the title deed of a farm. John returns from the war wounded and insane. Oil is discovered on the farm and the deacon tries to take the land back. However, John regains his memory, finds the hidden title deed and the deacon is forced to give up his claim to the Stofels.

The play

Origins

was an American leading actor who had toured Australia and just married

when he read a one-act play called ''The Dead, or Five Years Away'' by Irish miner and amateur playwright Sam Smith. It was originally a one-man piece about John Stofel, similar to '' Rip Van Winkle''. Williamson bought the play outright for $100, had it rewritten by his friend

Clay M. Greene Clay Meredith Greene (March 12, 1850 – September 5, 1933) was an American playwright. Biography He was born on March 12, 1850, in San Francisco, California, to William Harrison Greene (1812–1871) and Anne Elizabeth Fisk (1830–1901). He stu ...

, and retitled it ''Struck Oil''. He then took the play to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

where Williamson claims to have re-written the last act himself.

Popularity

Williamson and Moore appeared in the play when it made its debut on 23 February 1874. It was a hit and they then took it to Australia where it debuted in Melbourne at the Theatre Royal on 1 August 1874. The play was a great success, ultimately selling 93,000 tickets in a city of 110,000 people, and proved equally popular around the rest of the country. What was meant to be a 12-week tour of Australia ended up lasting for fifteen months and netting Williamson £15,000. Williamson used this money to launch his career as a theatre manager and Maggie Moore became one of the most popular performers on the Australian stage. In 1880

L. M. Bayless Mary Gladstane (born 1830) was an Irish-American actress of the 19th-century who had a considerable career in Australia, along with her husband and manager, L. M. Bayless. History According to one researcher, Gladstane was born Mary Jane Carson, ...

, a rival theatre manager, mounted a production of ''Struck Oil'' at the

Academy of Music, Adelaide The Academy of Music was a live performance venue in Adelaide, South Australia, remembered as the scene of three major fires within a decade. History In 1878 Saul Solomon and Robert C. Castle negotiated with T. G. Waterhouse for a 50-year lease ...

, but was deterred by Williamson's threat of legal action although he may have been breaking no (South Australian) law. Williamson and Moore toured with the play in India, the US, Europe and Britain, as well as frequently reviving it in Australia. In 1894 Moore left Williamson and formed her own theatre company; they divorced in 1899. Williamson tried to stop her from appearing in the play but was unsuccessful and she continued to revive it throughout her career until her death in 1926.

The film

''Struck Oil'' is a 1919 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

, based on the stage play. 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 ...

Cast

as Lizzie Stofel *Harry Roberts as John Stofel *Percy Walshe as Deacon Skinner *Boyd Irwin *David Edelsten Maggie Moore married Harry Roberts in 1902 and he became her acting and business partner, appearing with her in several productions of ''Struck Oil''. By the time she appeared in the film version of the play she was well into her sixties.

Production

The film was shot in Sydney in August and September 1919. It is likely the budget was low.

Reception

The film was not a success at the box office, which may be explained by the lack of access Caroline Pugliese and

Humbert Pugliese Humbert Pugliese (1884–1955) was an Australian film exhibitor and producer. A chain of cinemas had been established by his father Antonio and wife Caroline and Humbert became general manager when his father died in 1916. His chain was often ...

had to other theatres around Australia.Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 92 '' Variety'' gave the film a scathing review saying "the redeeming feature is the photography, otherwise the entire film should be scrapped."

References

External links

*
''Struck Oil''
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 ...

Copy of film script
at

National Archives of Australia The National Archives of Australia (NAA), formerly known as the Commonwealth Archives Office and Australian Archives, is an Australian Government agency that serves as the national archives of the nation. It collects, preserves and encourages ...

{{Franklyn Barrett 1919 films Australian drama films Australian black-and-white films Australian silent feature films Lost Australian films 1919 drama films 1919 lost films Lost drama films Silent drama films 1910s English-language films 1910s Australian films Australian films based on plays