''The Double Event'' is a 1911 Australian feature-length film directed by

W. J. Lincoln William Joseph Lincoln (1870 – 18 August 1917) was an Australian playwright, theatre manager, film director and screenwriter in the silent film, silent era. He produced, directed and/or wrote 23 films between 1911 and 1916. One obituary calle ...

based on the

first 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 pu ...

Nat Gould Nathaniel Gould (21 December 1857 – 25 July 1919), commonly known as Nat Gould, was a British novelist. History Gould was born at Manchester, Lancashire, the only surviving child of Nathaniel Gould, a tea merchant, and his wife Mary, ''née' ...

, which had been adapted several times for the stage, notably by

Bland Holt Bland Holt (born Joseph Thomas Holt, (24 March 1851 – 28 June 1942)Dennis Shoesmith,, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 4, MUP, 1972, pp 413-414. Accessed 1 August 2009 was a comedian and theatrical producer, active in Australia. ...

. It was one of several films Lincoln made with the Tait family, who had produced ''

The Story of the Kelly Gang ''The Story of the Kelly Gang'' is a 1906 Australian bushranger film that traces the exploits of 19th-century bushranger and outlaw Ned Kelly and his gang. It was directed by Charles Tait and shot in and around the city of Melbourne. The origin ...

''. 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 ...

Plot

Jack Drayton discovers his brother is an attempted murderer but won't expose him out of fear of ruining the family name. He leaves England in secrecy and starts a new life in Australia under the name of Jack Marston. He falls in love with Edith the daughter of a Sydney bookmaker, John Kingdon. He enters his horse, Caloola, in the

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbou ...

and it wins, despite the attempts of evil Fletcher. Fletcher later shoots a lady he is trying to blackmail and is chased across town but is eventually cornered in

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

and falls to his death. Jack marries Edith and returns to England.

Cast

*The

Company *Martyn Hagen

Production

The story was based on an 1891 novel by

, ''The Double Event, or A Tale of the Melbourne Cup''. This had been successfully adapted for the stage in Australia in 1893 by

George Darrell George Frederick Price Darrell (1851–1921) was an Australian playwright best known for '' The Sunny South'' (1883), which was made into a film ''The Sunny South or The Whirlwind of Fate''. Darrell began his professional career with Simonsen's ...

and

. Holt's company had disbanded in 1909 and his actors performed in the movie. Several scenes were shot at

Flemington Racecourse Flemington Racecourse is a major horse racing venue located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is most notable for hosting the Melbourne Cup, which is the world's richest handicap and the world's richest 3200-metre horse race. The racecou ...

in Melbourne. Other scenes were shot at a studio in St Kilda. Assisting Lincoln was Sam Crew.

Release

The film was released in Melbourne on

Caulfield Cup The Caulfield Cup is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held under handicap conditions, although the Melbourne Racing Club is in the process of turning the race into weight for age (WFA) conditions. This is for all horses ...

Day 1911. In November 1911 ''The Bulletin'' wrote that "At the Glaciarium (Melb.). last week, the Taits unreeled a long photodrama of "The Double Event", adapted by W.J. Lincoln. This up-to-date local production seems intended to educate the guileless in the ways of horses and the wiles of villains."

References

External links

*
''The Double Event''
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 Double Event''
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 ...

Page on the book at Nat Gould's website
Australian black-and-white films Australian silent feature films Australian horse racing films Lost Australian films 1911 films 1910s sports films Films directed by W. J. Lincoln 1910s English-language films 1911 lost films Lost sports films Silent sports films English-language sports films {{Australia-silent-film-stub