''The Monk and the Woman'' is a 1917 Australian

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, 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) ...

directed by Franklyn Barrett. It is considered to be

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

Plot

In eighteenth century France, the evil Prince de Montrale (Harry Plimmer) falls in love with Liane (Maud Fane), but she runs away from him and seeks refuge in a monastery. The prince finds her and orders the abbot to keep her in custody. A young novice, Brother Paul (Percy Marmont), is placed in charge of Liane and falls in love with her, despite having just taken his vows of celibacy. The king (

Monte Luke Monte Luke born Charles Robert Montague Luke, (1885–1962) was an Australian photographer, actor and director. Biography Born in Geelong he worked as an actor on stage before developing an interest in stills photography. He was appointed offici ...

) commands that Liane marry the Prince. A wedding is prepared but Paul defeats the prince in a duel, steals his cloak and takes his place at the wedding. The impersonation is discovered and Paul is taken away to be executed. De Montrale leads a revolt against the king but Paul keeps fighting off the attack until loyalists arrive. Paul then returns to the monastery forever.

Cast

* Maud Fane as Countess Liane *

Percy Marmont Percy Marmont (25 November 1883 – 3 March 1977) was an English film actor. Biography Marmont appeared in more than 80 films between 1916 and 1968. A veteran film actor by 1923, he scored a big hit that year in ''If Winter Comes'', later rem ...

as Brother Paul * Harry Plimmer as Prince de Montrale *

as the king * Alma Rock Phillips as de Vernet *Ruth Wainwright as Mme de Vigne, the king's favourite *Hugh Huntley as Armande *Charles Beetham *George Young *Mattie Ive as page boy

Original play

The play was first produced in England in 1912 where it ran for a year. Theatre entrepreneur George Marlow bought the Australian rights and presented it in 1912. It was controversial and received protests from church groups, being condemned by the Australian Catholic Federation. The film version changed the ending so that Brother Paul renounced his loved one and returned to the monastery, whereas in the play the two lovers stayed together.Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 71

Production

The film adaptation was likely made in response to the 1917 film '' The Church and the Woman''. Shooting began in August 1917 and took place on the stage of the Theatre Royal in Sydney, and on location in French's Forest, Sydney, with some additional scenes shot at W.D. Dailey's castle in Manly.

, Hugh Huntley and Maud Fane were all British stage stars then touring Australia; this was Marmont's film debut. It was produced by noted stage actor George Marlow.

Release

Despite changing the ending, the film was still seen as controversial by the Catholic Federation, who objected to its depiction of Catholicism. However, it was still passed by the censor. Advertisements heavily played up the controversy and the movie was a major success at the box office. It was still screening in cinemas in 1922.

Critical

In the words of the ''Sunday Times'' "costume plays are notoriously at once difficult and expensive of production, and the utmost care must be exercised in order to escape anachronism. In this direction the pitfalls seem to have been avoided in the skilled hands o£ Mr W. Franklyn Barrett, who adapted the play to photography and produced; of Mr. D. H. Souter, who is responsible for the artistic titles; and of Mr. Rock Phillips, who undertook the art production."

Legal Issues

George Marlow sued the makers of '' The Church and the Woman'' (1917) and got a court injunction forcing the producers of the latter to advertise their film specifically saying it was different from ''The Monk and the Woman''. This was done.

References

External links

*
''The Monk and the Woman''
at National Film and Sound Archive
''The Monk and the Woman'' at SilentEra
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monk and the Woman 1917 films Australian silent feature films Australian black-and-white films Australian films based on plays Lost Australian films 1917 drama films 1917 lost films Lost drama films Films directed by Franklyn Barrett Silent Australian drama films