It Is Never Too Late to Mend
| It Is Never Too Late to Mend | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | W. J. Lincoln[1] |
| Produced by | John Tait Nevin Tait Millard Johnson William Gibson |
| Written by | W. J. Lincoln[2] |
| Based on | the novel by Charles Reade adapted into a play by Charles Reade |
| Starring | Stanley Walpole |
| Cinematography | Orrie Perry[3] |
|
Production
company |
Johnson and Gibson
|
| Distributed by | J & N Tait (Australia) Sawyer's Pictures (USA) |
|
Release dates
|
7 January 1911 (Sydney)[4] August 1914 (USA)[5] |
|
Running time
|
4,000 feet[6] |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | Silent film English intertitles |
It Is Never Too Late to Mend is an Australian feature-length film directed by W. J. Lincoln. It was based on a stage adaptation of the popular 1865 novel It Is Never Too Late to Mend by Charles Reade about convict Australia. The novel has been credited with exposing cruelties in the Australian prison system and having helped end the convict system.[7]
It is considered a lost film.
Contents
Plot
George Fielding travels to Australia to make enough money to marry his cousin, Susan Meadows, who is desired by the evil John Meadows. George discovers gold and a bushranger gang tries to rob him but the other miners come to George's rescue.
There is a subplot about a thief acquaintance of George, Tom Robinson, who is sent to gaol and suffers brutal treatment at the hands of the guards. Susan is about to marry the evil Meadows but he is unmasked at the wedding by Isaac Levy. The wedding goes ahead with Susan marrying George instead.
The film consisted of 60 scenes.[8] It was issued with a summary of the story and featured chapter titles which prepared the audiences for incidents before they happened.[9] It was also often accompanied by a lecturer.
According to The Age "Interesting phases of early Australian life are revealed, including the fascinating stories of the gold discoveries... in the construction of the story for picture purposes, the salient features of th novel have been retained and a descriptive address accompanies the production."[10]
Cast
Production
Stage adaptations of the novel had been popular since 1865.[12]
The film was shot in Melbourne and "enacted by a specially-selected company of Victorian artists"[13] who were "a selected metropolitan company of 60 performers."[8]
Reception
Box Office
The movie debuted at the Olympia Theatre in Haymarket, Sydney in January 1911.[14] A lecturer accompanied screenings and would explain the action that took place.
The movie broke box office records at the Olympia.[15][16] It later drew strong crowds in Melbourne as well.[17][18]
Critical
The Sydney Sunday Times said there "was special performances by a company of Australian actors."[19]
Melbourne's Table Talk called it "a most gratifying success in all ways. The pictures are clear and the acting is adequate, while to our ideas it is more natural, for it has not the Gallic mannerisms and excessive gesture noticeable in some of the imported pictorial dramas, which are usually interpreted by French artists."[20]
The Riverine Herald stated "the cast was well chosen and well balanced, and the dramatic action of the play was finely brought out."[21]
The Launceston Examiner said "in its construction the adapter has endeavoured to retain all the main and most salient features of the novel, allowing for the bridging over of many incidents, to make a natural sequence and clear-cut story."[22]
The Launceston Daily Telegraph said the novel had been "exceedingly well adapted by W.J. Lincoln... [a] magnificent pictorial representation, so full of strong human interest".[17]
USA Release
The film was released in the USA in August 1914.[5]
Legacy
The box office success of the film encouraged the Tait brothers and Millard and Johnson to appoint Lincoln as the main director for their new company, Amalgamated Pictures, which operated for over a year.[23]
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Mary Bateman, 'W. J. Lincoln', Cinema Papers, June–July 1980 p 174
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 http://lantern.mediahist.org/catalog/movingpicturewor21newy_0545
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 'POWERFUL BOOKS. And the Miracles They Performed.' Camperdown Chronicle, Tuesday 20 February 1934 p 3
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Graham Shirley and Brian Adams, Australian Cinema: The First Eighty Years, Currency Press, 1989, p42
