''Neath Austral Skies'' is a 1913 Australian

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized 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) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

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 Australia ...

. It is considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

. It is referred to as '''Neath Australian Skies'' in newspapers of the day.

Plot

Captain Frank Hollis ( Martyn Keith) is engaged to Eileen Delmont (

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

). When her brother Eric commits a theft, Frank accepts the blame in order to protect her family's name. He leaves for Australia and joins the New South Wales mounted police. Eric confesses and Eileen and her father go to Australia to track down Frank. They buy a property, some of their cattle is stolen and request a trooper come to their aid – it is Frank. On the way out to see them, Frank is captured by the thieves and is thrown in the river, but Eileen comes to his aid and the lovers are reunited.

Cast

as Eileen Delmont *Robert Henry as Colonel Delmont *George Parke as Eric Delmont * Martyn Keith as Captain Frank Hollis * Charles Villers as Gidgee Dan *Mervyn Barrington as "Snowy", boundary rider *Walter Warr as Ah Lum, cook *T Archer as Monaro Jack

Production

''Neath Australian Skies'' was the name of a popular collection of poetry from E.B. Loughran published in 1894. The film was not widely screened and is not one of Longford's better known movies. The film opens in Surrey, England and then changes scene to feature Australian station-life. Mounted troopers and bushrangers also feature in the picture, adding to the drama. It was reported to have some "splendid views of Sydney and of the Australian bush".

Reception

The film was shown at the Melbourne Lyric Theatre in 1913. One contemporary critic said the film "has many exciting and sensational scenes, relieved with pure Australian comedy to hold the audience. The photography is very true." ''The Argus'' wrote about one screening being "well received." Raymond Longford's name was used extensively in advertising and was described in 1914 as "a great Australian picture production, claimed to be the greatest of all Australian photo-plays." He claimed the film was refused a release by "The Combine".

References

External links

* *
Neath Austral Skies
' 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 c ...

Complete script
at

National Archives of Australia The National Archives of Australia (NAA), formerly known as the Commonwealth Archives Office and Australian Archives, is an Australian Government agency that is the National archives, official repository for all federal government documents. It ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neath Austral Skies 1913 films Silent Australian drama films Australian silent feature films Australian black-and-white films Films directed by Raymond Longford Lost Australian drama films 1913 drama films 1913 lost films 1910s English-language films English-language drama films 1910s Australian films