"The Woman Suffers While The Man Goes Free" released in 1918 and showed successfully throughout all the states in Australia before being banned in New South Wales ( On the 2
2nd Oct 1918. Was it forced by Overseas Interests into the movie industry in Australia, as it was a very successful movie?) . It was produced by Raymond Longford and starred Lottie Lyell; she was billed as "Australia's Film Star".
It was produced by Southern Cross Feature Films based in Adelaide, South Australia. It is South Australia's First Feature Film and what a great first feature it is. Filmed in and around Adelaide, including the use of Morphettville Race Course for the Melbourne Cup sequence of the movie, a great use of original film from the Melbourne Cup. blended with the drama.
The Premiere was held on March 23rd , 1918 at The Theatre Royal in Adelaide. The review the The Adelaide Advertiser dated Monday March 25 1918 was positive "Justifiable pride was felt by the crowded house at the Theatre Royal on Saturday at the success of the first South Australian dramatic film presented". It goes on to say "A special tribute should be paid to the high class cinematographic photography" and "the acting was first class".
The plot deals with betrayal of women by men and the consquences of the the ruining of their reputations. This is a strong dramatic piece and deals with alcoholism, seduction, suicide, revenge and unwed mothers. There is also a belief that an attempted abortion scene was to be part of the story, but this did not make it to the completed film, whether it was filmed or not is not known either.
Raymond Longford and Lottie Lyell were collaborators on many films including The Sentimental Bloke (1919) and On Our Selection (1920) with Lyell not just stepping in front of the camera but also involved in the screenwriting of several productions including the lost "The Blue Mountains Mystery" from 1921 from a novel. It is not known is The Woman's Suffers was an original screenplay or an adaption of a novel or story of the time. The way the movie was presented to the public was very interesting, "Lost!, her good name - her respect of herself - the respect of others - the love of a man she had trusted too much! Gone because she was a woman! Because her brother had ruined another girl - and that girl's brother had wreaked his vengance upon her! An eye for an eye, life for life, honor for honor" and people were invite to write to their newspapers with their responses to the movies moral questions.
I watched The Woman Suffers today and was incredibly impressed. The acting was "first class". The set design was lavish and first rate and the photography was excellent. The actress that played Joan I thought was very beautiful (Evelyn Black) , the supporting artists were kindly loaned by Mr William Anderson Esq of the Tivoli Theatre in Adelaide. I loved the house used for the Manton's Suburban House, does anyone recognise it? I assume the waterfall scene was filmed at Waterful Gully, or perhaps Morialta Falls, again anyone know?
The restoration of this movie took 5 years to complete and was overseen by Marilyn Dooley of the National Film and Sound Archive, part of this restoration was to have a new soundtrack written , this was done by Dr Donald Hollier and it is excellent. The silent movie was restored in 1992 using all surviving footage and stills. The first ten minutes and towards the end of the movie are stills interspaced between intertitle cards. In it current format is is seen at Silent Speed of 16 Frames Per Second, there is also use of colour tinting in this movie.
So was this Australian's first Feminist Film?
2nd Oct 1918. Was it forced by Overseas Interests into the movie industry in Australia, as it was a very successful movie?) . It was produced by Raymond Longford and starred Lottie Lyell; she was billed as "Australia's Film Star".It was produced by Southern Cross Feature Films based in Adelaide, South Australia. It is South Australia's First Feature Film and what a great first feature it is. Filmed in and around Adelaide, including the use of Morphettville Race Course for the Melbourne Cup sequence of the movie, a great use of original film from the Melbourne Cup. blended with the drama.
The Premiere was held on March 23rd , 1918 at The Theatre Royal in Adelaide. The review the The Adelaide Advertiser dated Monday March 25 1918 was positive "Justifiable pride was felt by the crowded house at the Theatre Royal on Saturday at the success of the first South Australian dramatic film presented". It goes on to say "A special tribute should be paid to the high class cinematographic photography" and "the acting was first class".
The plot deals with betrayal of women by men and the consquences of the the ruining of their reputations. This is a strong dramatic piece and deals with alcoholism, seduction, suicide, revenge and unwed mothers. There is also a belief that an attempted abortion scene was to be part of the story, but this did not make it to the completed film, whether it was filmed or not is not known either.Raymond Longford and Lottie Lyell were collaborators on many films including The Sentimental Bloke (1919) and On Our Selection (1920) with Lyell not just stepping in front of the camera but also involved in the screenwriting of several productions including the lost "The Blue Mountains Mystery" from 1921 from a novel. It is not known is The Woman's Suffers was an original screenplay or an adaption of a novel or story of the time. The way the movie was presented to the public was very interesting, "Lost!, her good name - her respect of herself - the respect of others - the love of a man she had trusted too much! Gone because she was a woman! Because her brother had ruined another girl - and that girl's brother had wreaked his vengance upon her! An eye for an eye, life for life, honor for honor" and people were invite to write to their newspapers with their responses to the movies moral questions.
I watched The Woman Suffers today and was incredibly impressed. The acting was "first class". The set design was lavish and first rate and the photography was excellent. The actress that played Joan I thought was very beautiful (Evelyn Black) , the supporting artists were kindly loaned by Mr William Anderson Esq of the Tivoli Theatre in Adelaide. I loved the house used for the Manton's Suburban House, does anyone recognise it? I assume the waterfall scene was filmed at Waterful Gully, or perhaps Morialta Falls, again anyone know?
The restoration of this movie took 5 years to complete and was overseen by Marilyn Dooley of the National Film and Sound Archive, part of this restoration was to have a new soundtrack written , this was done by Dr Donald Hollier and it is excellent. The silent movie was restored in 1992 using all surviving footage and stills. The first ten minutes and towards the end of the movie are stills interspaced between intertitle cards. In it current format is is seen at Silent Speed of 16 Frames Per Second, there is also use of colour tinting in this movie.
So was this Australian's first Feminist Film?
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