|
|
|
Home::Entertainment
Women's History Month Meets Cinematic Fever
Author : Michelle Sweeney
Love it or hate it - every February the "Oscar" fever hits the
media and you can rarely turn on the television or open the
newspaper without hearing a mention of an actor, director or
movie which is up for nomination. Australia of course has its
own award ceremony in the form of the Australian Film Awards
which was founded in 1958, 29 years after the first Annual
Academy Awards were held.
But Australia actually played a large role in early cinematic
history. A little known but important achievement was that the
Australian Film Industry produced what was thought to be the
world's first full length feature film in 1906. The Story of the
Kelly Gang was a success in both Britain and Australia and
spawned the bushranger genre.
Australian cinema thrived during the silent era particularly due
to Raymond Longford who is recognised as the leading director of
early Australian cinema and his long term association with
Lottie Lyell. Lottie Lyell is thought to be the most significant
woman during the first 100 years of Australian feature film
making and her career covered all aspects of film making both on
screen and behind the camera.
The Sentimental Bloke which was originally a verse penned by CJ
Dennis in 1915 was directed by Longford and co-starred Lyell and
was undoubtedly her best known role. It opened in 1919 and broke
existing box office records. Lyell not only co-starred as Doreen
but she is also believed to have co-written the screenplay and
titles, was involved in editing, art direction and also in the
overall production of the film.
Lottie Lyell starred in 24 movies and was involved in the
writing of at least 11 movies in her short but successful
career. Lottie Lyell sadly died at the age of 35 due to
tuberculosis.
The trade magazine "Everyones" published an obituary of Lottie
in 1925 which referred to her death as "a distinct blow to the
major picture industry" and "the loss of one who has left her
mark of her genius on Australia's screen progress".
After Lyell's death, Longford did not direct or produce another
successful film and her death seemed to be something which
Longford carried throughout the rest of his life.
Related articles
|
|
|
