For Australia

For Australia is a 1915 Australian silent film directed by Monte Luke.

For Australia
Directed byMonte Luke
assistant
Martyn Keith
Written byMartyn Keith
StarringBoyd Irwin
Charles Villers
CinematographyMaurice Bertel
Production
company
J. C. Williamson Ltd
Release dates
18 October 1915 (preview in Melbourne)
6 December 1915[1]
Running time
4,000 feet
CountryAustralia
LanguagesSilent film
English intertitles

Plot

A newspaper journalist, Stanley Lane (Boyd Irwin), discovers a German spy ring in Sydney led by Carl Hoffman (Charles Villiers). Lane is captured and imprisoned by Germans on an uncharted Pacific Island.

With the help of half-caste Samoan girl Kana (Alma Rock Phillips) he escapes and destroys a German wireless station in Samoa. He is re-captured and tied to a tree in a crocodile-infested swamp, but Kana saves him again. Later, HMAS Sydney invades the island and Hoffman runs into the swamp and is eaten by crocodiles.[2]

Cast

Production

The film was made with the co-operation of the Australian government.[3][4] It was mostly shot in and around Sydney with some scenes at an aboriginal mission at Brewarrina in northern New South Wales.[5][6]

Release

The film was previewed in Melbourne on 18 October 1915. The Winner stated that:

The picture is a distinctly good example of what can be accomplished in locally-made films. The story is interesting... and has the right grip for picture purposes. Some fine natural scenery has been secured for many of the sections, and the Sydney-Emden fight has been cleverly worked out. On the whole, Mr Monte Luke, the director, and all associated with him in the production, have every reason to be proud of their work.[7]

However the film was not a success at the box office.[2][5]

For the Honour of Australia

The movie was combined with another film, How We Beat the Emden (1915), and the documentary How We Fought the Emden, to make a new movie for release in Britain called For the Honour of Australia (1916). A copy of this survives today.[8]

References
  1. "Classified Advertising". The Argus. Melbourne. 9 December 1915. p. 14. Retrieved 13 June 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, p 55
  3. "THE DANDIES". The Barrier Miner. Broken Hill, NSW. 2 May 1916. p. 3. Retrieved 13 June 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "SYDNEY-EMDEN FIGHT" AT THE ROYAL". The Barrier Miner. Broken Hill, NSW. 4 May 1916. p. 3. Retrieved 13 June 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. Marsden, Ralph. 'The Old Tin Shed in Exhibition Street': The J. C. Williamson Studio, Melbourne's Forgotten Film Factory [online]. Metro Magazine: Media & Education Magazine, No. 157, 2008: 144-153. Availability: <http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=519108300276483;res=IELAPA> ISSN 0312-2654. [cited 15 Nov 14].
  6. "MOVIE "HEAVY" CHATS LIGHTLY". The Winner. Melbourne. 22 December 1915. p. 12. Retrieved 15 November 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "THE PICTURE SHOWS". The Winner. Melbourne. 20 October 1915. p. 10. Retrieved 15 November 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. Paul Byrnes, For the Honour of Australia at Australian Screen Online
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