Within Our Gates, also known as Deeds that Won Gallipoli, is a 1915 Australian silent film about Australia's fight with the German Empire and the Ottoman Empire during World War I, including the landing at Gaba Tepe during the Gallipoli campaign. The story was partly based on a play The Man Who Stayed at Home.
| Within Our Gates | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Frank Harvey |
| Written by | W. J. Lincoln Frank Harvey Monte Luke[2] |
| Based on | The Man Who Stayed at Home by J. E. Harold Terry and Lechmore Worrall |
| Starring | Cyril Mackay Frank Harvey |
| Cinematography | Monte Luke Maurice Bertel |
Production company | |
Release date | 19 July 1915[1] |
Running time | 3,000 feet[4] or 5,000 feel (75 mins)[5] |
| Country | Australia |
| Languages | Silent English intertitles |
Plot edit
Max Huitzell (Leslie Victor), a German-American clerk in the War Office, is being blackmailed by a German spy (Norman Easty), transmitting information by wireless from his attic. The spy's adopted daughter Freda (Dorothy Cumming) falls in love with Edgar (Cyril Mackay), the son of the War Minister (John Ralston), and exposes her stepfather. Max and Edgar both enlist and meet in the Gallipoli campaign, where Max gives his life to save Edgar.[7][8]
Cast edit
- Cyril Mackay as Edgar Ferguson
- Leslie Victor as Max Huitzell
- Frank Harvey as Carl Heine
- Norman Estey as Heinrich Henschell
- John Ralston as Andrew Ferguson
- Dorothy Cummings as Freda Henschell
- Raymond Lawrence
- Charles Morse
- Frank East
Development edit
This was the first original feature film from the theatrical company J. C. Williamson Ltd. They had become concerned with reports of American films being made from plays which they were producing in Australia, and decided to move into film production themselves.
They bought the studios of Lincoln-Cass Films in Melbourne and hired two of its staff, Maurice Bertel and W. J. Lincoln. After making two play adaptations, Williamson then decided to produce original stories, starting with Within Our Gates.[9]
Although it was the third movie they made, it was the first of their movies to be released.[10][5]
Production edit
The cast were drawn from J. C. Williamson Ltd's theatrical stock company, many of whom appeared in a production of the play The Man Who Stayed at Home, on which the script was partly based.[11][12][13] The director was English actor Frank Harvey, who moved to Australia in 1914.
W. J. Lincoln later claimed making the film was his idea.[14]
The landing at Gaba Tepe was staged near Obelisk Bay near Sydney. Other location work was shot in Melbourne, and some interiors done at Melbourne's JCW Studio.[5][9]
Reception edit
Reviews were very positive and the film was a popular success at the box office.[5][15]
The Motion Picture News called it "a really good war story, which is exceptional... Frank Harvey... deserves all the credit that can be given him for making such an interesting picture."[16]
The Lone Hand said it "must be placed amongst the best Australian achievements" and Lincoln "succeeded in producing a strong story of German intrigue and cunning, of patriot-ism and valor all happening within our gates."[17]
The Bulletin called it "a laudable attempt to stimulate recruiting" where "the melodrama, devised by W. J. Lincoln, introduces a lot of military spectacle, and the storming of the Gallipoli cliffs tickled up the soldier section of the audience when the film was submitted to private view at Her Majesty’s (Melb.)."[18]
References edit
- ^ Mary Bateman, 'W. J. Lincoln', Cinema Papers, June–July 1980 p 214
- ^ ""WITHIN OUR GATES."". The Age. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 14 July 1915. p. 15. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ^ When J. C Williamson Ltd Made Pictures, Everyones Ltd, 16 December 1925, p. 28, retrieved 27 April 2019
- ^ "Band Concerts". Brighton Southern Cross. Vic.: National Library of Australia. 8 April 1916. p. 2. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
- ^ a b c d 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].
- ^ "Gallipoli of Film". National Film and Sound Archive. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
- ^ "AMUSEMENTS". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 27 July 1915. p. 11. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
- ^ "Amusements". The Northern Miner. Charters Towers, Qld.: National Library of Australia. 2 February 1916. p. 4. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
- ^ a b Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, p54
- ^ "AMUSEMENTS". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 24 July 1915. p. 12. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
- ^ "AMUSEMENTS". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 27 July 1915. p. 10. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
- ^ ""OUR BOYS IN ACTION."". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 31 July 1915. p. 14. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
- ^ "MUSIC AND DRAMA". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 24 April 1915. p. 12. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
- ^ "A PICTURE SUCCESS". The Mildura Cultivator. Vic.: National Library of Australia. 8 September 1915. p. 11. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
- ^ "DEEDS THAT WON GALLIPOLI". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 30 July 1915. p. 6. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
- ^ "Film News from Foreign Parts", Motion Picture News 11 March 1916 accessed 23 November 1916
- ^ "The MOVIES Australian Made Pictures", The Lone hand. (New Series Vol. 4 No. 5 (1 October 1915)), [Sydney: W. McLeod], 1907, nla.obj-413678138, retrieved 5 December 2023 – via Trove
- ^ "AT POVERTY POINT.", The Bulletin, John Ryan Comic Collection (Specific issues)., 36 (1849), Sydney, N.S.W: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald (published 1880), 22 July 1915, ISSN 0007-4039, nla.obj-661724286, retrieved 5 December 2023 – via Trove
