''Moonlite'' is a 1910

bushranger Bushrangers were originally escaped convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who used the bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. By the 1820s, the term had evolved to refer to those who took up "robbery under ...

film about

Captain Moonlite Andrew George Scott (5 July 1842 – 20 January 1880), also known as Captain Moonlite, though also referred to as Alexander Charles Scott and Captain Moonlight, was an Irish-born New Zealand immigrant to the Colony of Victoria, a bushranger the ...

, played by

John Gavin John A. Gavin (born Juan Vincent Apablasa; April 8, 1931 – February 9, 2018) was an American actor who was the president of the Screen Actors Guild (1971–73), and the United States Ambassador to Mexico (1981–86). Among the films he appeared ...

, who also directed. It was also known as Captain Moonlite and 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 ...

. It followed on the success of ''Thunderbolt'' (1910), also made by Gavin and Forsyth.

Synopsis

In the early 1870s, a New Zealand army officer, Captain George Scott, is caught cheating at cards and brutally beats a fellow officer. Disgraced and discharged, he joins the clergy and falls in love with the beautiful Ruth Clarke, whose brother has embezzled a large amount of money and is going to be arrested. For her sake he robs the Edgerton Bank, and arranges to leave by boat to England. The police arrive as he gets on the boat the ''Lady Isabelle'' and although he attempts to swim away he is wounded and arrested. Constables Ryan and Mae have their first case. Scott later escapes from gaol by strangling a warden and releasing another prisoner. He becomes a bushranger under the name of "Moonlite", forming a gang which includes Ruth's brother. He saves an aboriginal "gin" called Bunda Bunda from drowning, then goes on to rob the gold escort, distributing some of this money to the poor. Moonlite and his gang go on to stick up a country pub and the police send Inspector Carroll and his men after him. Moonlite's gang hold up Wantabadgery Station, and Carroll gives chase but they are fought off and Bunda Bunda saves Moonlite's life. Ryan and Mac make a capture, and Bunda Bunda shoots the tracker after Moonlite. Eventually Moonlite is captured at McCreedy's farm after a shootout by Inspector Carroll in which Bunda Bunda is killed. He is taken away to gaol for the last time to be executed. All Ruth is left with is his cross. The chapter headings were as follows: # The Great Military Scene # Scott as a Minister # Scott Robs the Egerton Bank # Ryan and Mac's First Case # Scott's Great Escape from the Boat Lady Isabel # Scott's Swim: Arrest and Escape from Gaol # The Forming of the Gang # To the Bush ; Scott Saves Bunda Bunda; Bunda Bunda's Swim # Gold Escort Robbery # Scott's Kindness to the Poor # Sticking Up the Roadside Pub # Troopers Drilling Under Inspector Carrol # Sticking Up Wantabadgery Station # Great Police Chase # Scott's Strategy and Defeat of Inspector Carrol # Ryan and Mac Make a Capture # Ryan and Mac Drilling for Duty # Young Clarke, the Bushranging bareback Rider # Bunda Bunda Shoots the Tracker # The Great Fight at McCready's Farm # Moonlite's last Journey to Gaol # The Cross is All that is Left to Ruth.

Cast

as Captain George Scott/

* H. A. Forsyth * Ruby Butler *

Agnes Gavin Agnes Gavin (1872–1947), was an Australian actor and screenwriter in the silent film era. She worked in collaboration with her husband John Gavin throughout her career. She wrote the majority of his films and was arguably the first specialist s ...

as Bunda Bunda

Production

The plot appears to have been heavily influenced by the classic novel ''

Robbery Under Arms ''Robbery Under Arms'' is a bushranger novel by Thomas Alexander Browne, published under his pen name Rolf Boldrewood. It was first published in serialised form by ''The Sydney Mail'' between July 1882 and August 1883, then in three volumes in ...

''. Gavin later said the film was the first script written by his wife Agnes. Female lead Ruby Butler won a beauty contest. The film was shot at Victoria Barracks in Sydney and in the bush around Lithgow, with a budget of over £1,000. over 200 people were reportedly involved in the film. Gavin was almost attacked by a shark while shooting an escape sequence near

Glebe Island Glebe Island was a major port facility in Sydney Harbour and, in association with the adjacent White Bay facility, was the primary receiving venue for imported cars and dry bulk goods in the region until 2008. It is surrounded by White, Johnsto ...

– producer H.A. Forsyth had to throw a dog overboard to distract the shark and save Gavin.

Release

Screenings of the film were usually accompanied by a lecturer. Many advertisements for the film would mention Forysth but not Gavin. The first public screening was a sellout. According to Gavin, the film was a massive success at the box office. However, he then ended his association with H. A. Forsyth and instead was commissioned to make several films for Stanley Crick and

Herbert Finlay Herbert Finlay was an Australian producer, photographer and exhibitor. He initially worked in films as a photographer and exhibitor of news items in Melbourne in the late 1890s. He helped tour ''The Story of the Kelly Gang'' (1907) and joined Path ...

, starting with '' Ben Hall and his Gang'' (1910). According to some reports the film went for 11,000 feet (over 80 minutes). However most reports put the length of the film at 4,000 feet. According to the ''Truth'' "the film is remarkable for its clearness, and is sure to become a great success throughout Australia."

References

External links

*
''Moonlite''
at the

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 ...

* {{W. J. Lincoln 1910 films 1910 Western (genre) films 1910 lost films Australian black-and-white films Bushranger films Films directed by John Gavin Lost Australian films Lost Western (genre) films Silent Australian Western (genre) films