''The Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole'', generally referred to as ''Margaret Catchpole'', is a 1911 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

Raymond Longford Raymond Longford (born John Walter Hollis Longford, 23 September 18782 April 1959) was a prolific Australian film director, writer, producer and actor during the silent era. Longford was a major director of the silent film era of the Australian ...

and starring

Lottie Lyell Lottie Lyell (born Charlotte Edith Cox, 23 February 1890 – 21 December 1925) was an Australian actress, screenwriter, editor and filmmaker. She is regarded as Australia's first film star, and also contributed to the local industry during the ...

. It is based on the true story of

Margaret Catchpole Margaret Catchpole (14 March 1762 – 13 May 1819) was a Suffolk servant girl, chronicler and deportee to Australia. Born in Suffolk, she worked as a servant in various houses before being convicted of stealing a horse and later escaping from Ip ...

, an adventurer and convict. Only part of the film survives today.

Synopsis

In the south coast of England, a young woman,

(

), is pursued by two men, the smuggler Will Laud (

) and the coastguard officer Lieutenant Barry (

Augustus Neville Augustus Neville was a New Zealand-born actor who appeared in a number of the early films for director Raymond Longford but was best known for his stage career in Australia, particularly in works by William Shakespeare. He worked for many years wit ...

). Laud is killed in a fight with coast guards and Margaret is sentenced to

Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...

for horse stealing. She later marries Barry, who has since moved to Sydney, and becomes well-regarded for her hospital work.

Cast

as Will Laud *

as Lieutenant Barry *Sybil Wilde as Little Kitty *William Coulter as Lord Chief Justice *E. Melville as Justice Heath *Fred Hardy as Chaloner Archdeckne *J. Eldridge as Landlord of the Bull Inn *Jack Goodall as Edward Catchpole *J. Howard as Reverend O'Gharty *H. Parker as Lieutenant Bourne *C. Swain as Landlord of the Chester Inn *Fred Twitcham as Mr. Cobbold *Walter Vincent as Captain Luff, a smuggler

Source material

In 1845 Richard Cobbold's historical novel ''The History of Margaret Catchpole: A Suffolk Girl'' was published, which helped make Catchpole famous, even if it did distort history, and made dull reading. The novel was dramatised in the play ''Margaret Catchpole, the Heroine of Sussex'' (1845) by Edward Sterling, played at the Charlie Napier Theatre, Ballarat, in November 1859. A later adaptation ''An English Lass'' by

Alfred Dampier Alfred Dampier (28 February 1843? 1847? – 23 May 1908) was an English-born actor-manager and playwright, active in Australia.John Rickard,Dampier, Alfred (1843–1908), ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Vol. 4, Melbourne University Pres ...

and C. H. Krieger, was played at the Standard Theatre, Sydney in 1887. The play was revived in 1893. The structure of the play was as follows: *ACT 1 – Birthplace of Margaret Catchpole at Naeton, Suffolk. A May Day Morning. *ACT 2 – Temptation. The conflict between Right and Wrong. *ACT 3 – Scene 1 : Ipswich Gaol, Under Sentence of Death. *ACT 3 – Scene 2: A street in Ipswich. The Escape. The Pursuit. *ACT 3 – Scene 3 : The Ruins of Walton Castle. Death of Laud. *ACT 4 – The Assigned Convict Servant. *ACT 5 – Lost in the Bush. Heroism of Margaret. Laurence Irving, son of Sir

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

produced a play on Catchpole which premiered in 1911.

Production

Spencer had produced three films based on plays by

under the direction of Alfred Rolfe and wanted to make a fourth. However Rolfe left Spencer to run the

Australian Photo-Play Company The Australian Photo-Play Company was a short-lived but highly productive Australian film production company which operated from 1911 to 1912. Establishment Stanley Crick, who was Pathe Freres manager in Australia, and Herbert Finlay had enjoyed ...

so Raymond Longford, who had worked on the earlier films as an actor, stepped in as director. The film was shot in July 1911. No screenwriter was credited. It enabled

to demonstrate her skills as a horsewoman. Spencer's own horse "Arno", specially imported from England, appears. The first half of the film, the section set in England, survives today. Comprising 1,596 feet at 24 minutes it is the earliest surviving example of the work of Lyell and

Release

The film was successful at the box office and received strong reviews. The critic from ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' stated that:

Mr Spencer has now produced several Australian taken and manufactured pictures, all of which have been of highest class, but it is questionable if he has done anything better than his latest effort. From the first scene to the last the pictures are good, the flicker being reduced to a minimum... Set among charming old-world scenery with the quaint costumes of our great grandparents the opening scene of the May-day dance is a jewel picture, and the promise of the opening scene is fulfilled throughout. The cliff and water scenery one can safely say, has never been surpassed in Australian picture shows. Through all her varying tones, from peaceful home in England to happiness in Australia, Margaret is charming, and carries the sympathy of the audience with her. Last in the cast of characters, but far from last in the hearts of the audience, are the splendid horses that play so important a part in the story.

American release

It was one of a number of Spencer films bought for release in the United States. Its title was changed to ''The Queen of the Smugglers''.

References

External links

*
25 minute extract of film
at National Film and Sound Archive YouTube channel
''The Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole''
at National Film and Sound Archive
Copies of film
at

Trove Trove is an Australian online library database owned by the National Library of Australia in which it holds partnerships with source providers National and State Libraries Australia, an aggregator and service which includes full text documen ...

Biography of Margaret Catchpole
at Australian Dictionary of Biography
Margaret Catchpole collection
at State Library of New South Wales
Full text of ''The History of Margaret Catchpole: A Suffolk Girl'' by Richard Cobbold
at

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...

''The Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole''
at AustLit
''The History of Margaret Catchopole: A Suffolk Girl''
at AustLit {{DEFAULTSORT:Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole, The 1911 films Australian drama films Australian silent feature films Australian black-and-white films Films directed by Raymond Longford 1911 drama films Silent drama films