The Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole

The Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole, generally referred to as Margaret Catchpole, is a 1911 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford and starring Lottie Lyell. It is based on the true story of Margaret Catchpole, an adventurer and convict.

The Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole
Lottie Lyell as Margaret Catchpole
Directed byRaymond Longford
Written byRaymond Longford
Based onthe play An English Lass by Alfred Dampier & C.H. Krieger
book The History of Margaret Catchpole: A Suffolk Girl by Richard Cobbold[1]
Produced byCharles Cozens Spencer
StarringLottie Lyell
CinematographyErnest Higgins
Edited byErnest Higgins
Production
company
Spencer's Pictures
Distributed bySawyer Inc (US)
Release dates
7 August 1911[2]
1913
Running time
3,000 feet (approx 50 mins)
CountryAustralia
Languages

Only part of the film survives today.

Synopsis

In the south coast of England, a young woman, Margaret Catchpole (Lottie Lyell), is pursued by two men, the smuggler Will Laud (Raymond Longford) and the coastguard officer Lieutenant Barry (Augustus Neville). Laud is killed in a fight with coast guards and Margaret is sentenced to Botany Bay for horse stealing. She later marries Barry, who has since moved to Sydney, and becomes well-regarded for her hospital work.[3]

Cast
  • Lottie Lyell as Margaret Catchpole
  • Raymond Longford as Will Laud
  • Augustus Neville 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
The History of Margaret Catchpole: A Suffolk Girl
AuthorRichard Cobbold
CountryEngland
LanguageEnglish
Publication date
1845
An English Lass
Written byAlfred Dampier
C.H. Krieger
Date premiered16 February 1887[4]
Place premieredRoyal Standard Theatre, Sydney
Original languageEnglish
GenreMelodrama

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,[5] and made dull reading.[6]

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.[7] A later adaptation An English Lass by Alfred Dampier and C. H. Krieger, was played at the Standard Theatre, Sydney in 1887.[8] The play was revived in 1893.[9]

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 produced a play on Catchpole which premiered in 1911.[10]

Production

Spencer had produced three films based on plays by Alfred Dampier under the direction of Alfred Rolfe and wanted to make a fourth. However Rolfe left Spencer to run the Australian Photo-Play Company so Raymond Longford, who had worked on the earlier films as an actor, stepped in as director.[11]

The film was shot in July 1911.[12] No screenwriter was credited.[13]

It enabled Lottie Lyell to demonstrate her skills as a horsewoman.[14] Spencer's own horse "Arno", specially imported from England, appears.[1]

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 Raymond Longford.[15]

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.[16]

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.[17]

References
  1. "Raymond Longford", Cinema Papers, January 1974 p51
  2. "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 7 August 1911. p. 2. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  3. "Theatre Royal". The Daily News (Perth, WA : 1882 – 1950). Perth, WA: National Library of Australia. 9 November 1911. p. 2. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  4. "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 19 February 1887. p. 2. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  5. "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 10 July 1845. p. 3. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  6. "Margaret Catchpole on the Stage". Australian Town and Country Journal. New South Wales, Australia. 2 August 1911. p. 21. Retrieved 22 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "Amusements". The Star. Vol. IV, no. 277. Victoria, Australia. 21 November 1859. p. 3. Retrieved 22 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "Amusements. Royal Standard Theatre". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 21 February 1887. p. 8. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  9. "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 5 September 1893. p. 2. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  10. "London Gaieties". The Mercury. Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 29 June 1911. p. 6. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  11. Richard Fotheringham, "Introduction", Robbery Under Arms by Alfred Dampier and Garnet Walch, Currency Press 1985 p58
  12. "The Lyceum". Truth (Sydney, NSW : 1894 – 1954). Sydney, NSW: National Library of Australia. 16 July 1911. p. 3. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  13. "The Stage". Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 – 1931). Sydney, NSW: National Library of Australia. 12 August 1911. p. 13. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  14. Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 22
  15. The Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole at National Film and Sound Archive
  16. ""Margaret Catchpole" at the Lyceum". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 8 August 1911. p. 10. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  17. "Motion Picture News - Lantern: Search, Visualize & Explore the Media History Digital Library".
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