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The Life and Adventures of John Vane, the Notorious Australian Bushranger is a 1910 Australian silent film about the bushranger John Vane, who was a member of Ben Hall's gang. It was the first dramatic film from Cosens Spencer who was a key producer of early Australian movies.

It is considered a lost film.

Synopsis

The film starts with John Vane accepting a wager that he wouldn't bail up a Chinese man. Then Vane wins his bet by robbing a Chinese man, leading to headlines which say "Robbery Under Arms by John Vane" and Vane fleeing to the bush with his sweetheart. Later adventures include his capture and release of his sweetheart; the sticking up of the Keightley Homestead; the shooting of Michael Burke, which leads to Vane joining the Ben Hall gang; Vane's change of heart and surrender to Father McCarthy. He serves fifteen years in prison and after release retires comfortably.

The chapter headings were:

1. The beginning of a downward career
2. bailing up a Chinaman
3. His capture and release by his sweetheart
4. Michael Bourke horse stealing
5. The Reward for his Capture
6. Sticking up the Bank at Carcoar
7. Police Surprised by the Gang
8. "That's My Watch."
9. Sticking up at Bathurst
10. Police in Pursuit
11. The Bushranging Camp; the Warning
12. When Rogues Fall Out
13. Vane Joins Ben IHali for Raid on Keightley Homestead
14. The Bush; the Gang's Demand
15. Next Morning; the Demand Satisfied
16. The Quarrel; Vane's Remorse and Farewell to the Gang
17. Notice of Reward
18. A Mother's Devotion
19. Surprised, and Surrender of Vane to Father McCarthy
20. Vane in the Hands of the Police on his Way for Trial
21. Sentenced to 15 Years
22. Six Years Elapse: Released for Good Conduct; Thank God, "Free."
23. Thirty Years Elapse; Vane Surrounded by his Family; " Peace at Last."
24. " Often from Evil Cometh Good."

According to a contemporary report "the comic element is not forgotten, for the scene in which Vane is shown bailing up a Chinaman and discovers the booty hidden in the horse's tail, and the various intercits of the Celestial to avoid detection of the plant are not without their humorous side. Most attention however, is paid to the sensational."

Cast

• Jim Gerald
• Lance Vane
• Max Clifton
• Raymond Longford
• Miss Watts Phillips

Production

John Vane was the last surviving member of Ben Hall's gang. His memoirs had been published posthumously in 1908.

It was the first dramatic film from Cosens Spencer, who established a production unit in June 1908 to make newsreels and scenic short films. This unit was headed by Ernest Higgins who shot John Vane. Raymond Longford reportedly features in a lead role.

The film was reportedly shot at Brookvale and Manly in Sydney. According to The Bulletin:

Brookvale, along the ocean past Manly, figures largely in Spencer’s film of "John Vane, Bushranger," pictured not so long ago, wherein the feminine "comic relief" is pantomimed by Miss Watts-Phillips, who "gives way" under the influence of a loaded revolver held at her head by the hero-villain, a thing most of us would be guilty of in the same circumstances.

Reception

The film was advertised as "Our Own Production".

Critical

The critic from the Argus praised the "splendid backgrounds of the sunny New South Wales bush" and said the movie compares "very favourably with the best foreign films".

The Evening News called it "a first-class piece of photographic art".

Table Talk wrote, the film "is depicted in a wonderfully-realistic manner, .What makes this particular picture doubly interesting is that the work is all Australian, Australian artists who know the bush; most of them fine horsemen, have been fitted, into glimpses of the sketches of grand and' wild Australian scenery, and the result is a refreshing, wholesome drama of Australian early history."

The Sydney Morning Herald wrote "for scenes of wild excitement and daring leaves nothing to be desired." The Daily Telegraph said "The story is of purely Australian interest and coloring, and is worked out Dy capital photography, skilful selection of incidents, and uncommonly clear production."

The Herald called it "a credit to all concerned... the story is excellent."

Box office

Box office response was popular throughout Australia. The Lithgow Mercury said " it caused a sensation" on its initial release at the Lyceum in Sydney. The Sydney Morning Herald said the film was held on at that cinema "owing to its popularity."

Although Spencer was purportedly dissatisfied with the final product, he went on to become a notable backer of early Australian movie production.

References

1. ^ "Raymond Longford", Cinema Papers, January 1974 p51
2. "Amusements". The Evening News. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 8 March 1910. p. 8. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
3. ^ "Spencer's Theatrescope". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 12 March 1910. p. 20. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
4. "Advertising". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 30 July 1910. p. 2. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
5. "Advertising". Queensland Times. Ipswich, Queensland: National Library of Australia. 24 September 1910. p. 1 Edition: DAILY. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
6. "Entertainments". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 4 August 1910. p. 6. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
7. John Vane biography. Retrieved 4 September 2013
8. "John Vane, Bushranger". The Sydney Stock and Station Journal. NSW: National Library of Australia. 6 November 1908. p. 4. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
9. ^ Graham Shirley and Brian Adams, Australian Cinema: The First Eighty Years, Currency Press, 1989 p28
10. "Production of Moving Pictures — In America and Australia". Australian Town and Country Journal. Vol. XCVIII, no. 2555. New South Wales, Australia. 18 December 1918. p. 20. Retrieved 21 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
11. "A Woman's Letter", The Bulletin, Sydney, N.S.W: John Haynes and J. F. Archibald, 19 January 1911, nla.obj-648402646, retrieved 11 July 2024 – via Trove
12. "Advertising". The Sunday Times. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 13 March 1910. p. 1. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
13. "Mme Slapoffski". The Evening News. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 15 March 1910. p. 3. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
14. "Spencer's Theatrescope". Table Talk. 17 March 1910. p. 21. Retrieved 11 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
15. "Spencer's Theatrescope". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 22, 521. New South Wales, Australia. 21 March 1910. p. 13. Retrieved 11 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
16. "The Lyceum". The Daily Telegraph. No. 9607. New South Wales, Australia. 14 March 1910. p. 4. Retrieved 11 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
17. "Spencer's Theatrescope Co". The Herald. No. 10, 725. Victoria, Australia. 14 March 1910. p. 2. Retrieved 11 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
18. "Advertising". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 26 November 1910. p. 1. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
19. "John Vane, Bushranger". Lithgow Mercury. New South Wales, Australia. 22 April 1910. p. 4. Retrieved 11 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
20. "Lyceum — Spencer's Theatrescope". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 22, 520. New South Wales, Australia. 19 March 1910. p. 16. Retrieved 11 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
21. Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 9

External links

• The Life and Adventures of John Vane, the Notorious Australian Bushranger at IMDb
• The Life and Adventures of John Vane at Letterbox DVD
• The Life and Adventures of John Vane, the Notorious Australian Bushranger at AusStage
• Complete text of original book at National Library of Australia

• 1910 films
• 1910 Western (genre) films
• 1910 lost films
• Australian black-and-white films
• Bushranger films
• Lost Australian Western (genre) films
• Silent Australian Western (genre) films
• 1910s Australian films