''The Hordern Mystery'' is a 1920 Australian film directed by
Harry Southwell
Harry Southwell (born 1882, date of death unknown) was an Australian actor, writer and film director best known for making films about Ned Kelly. He was born in Cardiff, Wales and spent a couple of years in America, where he adapted some short st ...
based on an 1889 novel by Edmund Finn (son of
Edmund Finn
Edmund 'Garryowen' Finn (13 January 1819 – 4 April 1898) was an Australian journalist and author who wrote many colorful descriptions of the life and people in early Melbourne.
Finn was born in Tipperary, Ireland, the son of William Finn and h ...
). Unlike many Australian silent films, it still survives today.
Plot
Money-hungry Gilbert Hordern is married to an adoring wife and has a child. He pretends to be his own evil twin brother so he can marry a millionaire's daughter. He succeeds but is wracked with guilt and confesses. He wakes up and realises it was all a dream.
Cast
*Claude Turton as Gilbert Hordern
*Flo Little as Midge Hordern
*Floris St George as Laura Yellaboyce
*
Godfrey Cass
Godfrey Cass (1867 – 14 May 1951) was an Australian actor in the silent era. Between 1906 and 1935 he acted in nineteen film roles. He played Ned Kelly three times, and also had roles in a number of other bushranger movies including '' A Tale ...
as Dan Yellaboyce
*Thomas Sinclair as Peter Mull
*Beatrice Hamilton as Mrs Mull
*David Edelsten
Production
The film was shot in suburban Sydney in mid 1920 under the title ''The Golden Flame''. Commercial reception appears to have been poor.
[Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 102.]
References
External links
*
''The Hordern Mystery''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 ...
1920 films
Australian black-and-white films
Australian silent feature films
Films directed by Harry Southwell
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