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Source: Australian Variety Theatre Archive
E. J. Carroll E. J. Carroll i(A126353 works by) (a.k.a. Edward John Carroll)
Born: Established: 28 Jun 1868 Gatton, Gatton area, Rosewood - Laidley - Gatton area, South East Queensland, Queensland, ; Died: Ceased: 28 Jul 1931 Lewisham, Marrickville - Camperdown area, Sydney Southern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,
Gender: Male
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1 3 form y separately published work icon For the Term of his Natural Life Charles MacMahon , 1908 Australia : MacMahon's Exquisite Pictures E. J. Carroll , 1908 Z1293309 1908 single work film/TV

The first of several cinematic adaptations of Marcus Clarke's classic and complex story, first published as His Natural Life, this version is essentially a collection of highlights. The screenplay is also heavily based on the popular stage version from a few years earlier. The Bulletin records in this respect that while the storyline had been 'severely edited, [the] boiling-down was evidently done by a man who knew his business, for the continuity of the yarn is quite unbroken' (ctd. in Pike and Cooper p.11).

The screenplay begins in England with the murder for which Rufus Dawes is wrongfully arrested, tried, and eventually found guilty. He is then sentenced to life as a convict in Van Diemen's Land, and it is from this point on that the story sees the bitter and harsh life that he is forced to endure. He later escapes and embarks on a voyage to freedom, while also encountering his long-lost love, Sylvia. The boat sinks, however, and the pair drown while holding each other in an eternal embrace.

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