AustLit
Rufus Dawes (George Fisher) learns the truth of his parentage from his mother in the early scenes of For The Term of His Natural Life
Adaptation of
His Natural Life
1870-1872
single work
novel
Issue Details:
First known date:
1927...
1927
For the Term of His Natural Life
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Film Details - Australasian Films , 1927
Producers:
Norman Dawn
Production Companies:
Australasian Films
Director of Photography:
Norman Dawn
Editors:
Katherine Dawn
Norman Dawn
Mona Donaldson
Production Designers:
Norman Dawn (as Art Director)
Dorothy Gordon (as Art Director)
Cast:
Incl. George Fisher (Rufus Dawes / John Rex), Eva Novak (Sylvia Vickers), Dunstan Webb .(Maurice Frere), Jessica Harcourt (Sarah Purfoy), Arthur McLaglen (Gabbett), Katherine Dawn (Mrs. Vickers), Gerald Kay Souper (Major Vickers), Marion Marcus Clarke (Lady Devine), Arthur Tauchert (Warden Troke), Beryl Gow (Sylvia Vickers as child), Compton Coutts (Reverend Meekin), Mayne Lynton (Reverend North), Carlton Stuart (Commandant Burgess), William O'Hanlon (The Crow), Arthur Greenaway (Lord Bellasis), Edward Howell (Kirkpatrick), Fred Twitcham (Surgeon Pine), Charles Weatherby (Captain Blunt), Steve Murphy (Jeremy Vetch), Claude Turton (Convict), Jimmy McMahon (Convict Boy 1), Hartney J. Arthur (Convict Boy 2), William Whornton (Aide-de-Camp), George Lloyd (uncredited)
Release Dates:
1. 20 June 1927 (Theatre Royal, Newcastle, NSW - premiere). It was released in the USA on 4 June 1929. The film was re-released in Australia beginning 9 March 1984.
2. A reconstructed version of the film was released on videocassette form in 1981 by the National Film and Sound Archive.
Location:
- Filmed largely on location in Tasmania (including Port Arthur) and New South Wales (Berrima and Sydney Harbour). Interior scenes were shot in at the Australasian Films studio in Bondi.
Notes:
1. The production utilised three cameramen (all under the direction of Norman Dawn): Len Roos (principal cameraman), Bert Cross, and John William Trerise
2. For the Term of His Natural Life was conceived as a vehicle for launching Australia into the world movie market, but instead cost investors thousands when the new 'talkie' films made silent 'flicks' instantly outdated.
3. Further reference: Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper. Australian Film 1900-1977, A Guide to Feature Film Production (1980, q.v.), pp. 179-182
Settings:
- Port Arthur, Tasman Peninsula, Forestier Peninsula - Tasman Peninsula area, Southeast Tasmania, Tasmania,
- 1800-1899
- 1827
- 1833
- 1838
- 1846
