AustLit
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Advertisement, The Worker [Wagga], 3 September 1908, p.8
Adaptation of
His Natural Life
1870-1872
single work
novel
Issue Details:
First known date:
1908...
1908
For the Term of his Natural Life
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
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.
Exhibitions
7990306
7974092
8018691
8014658
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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"The Play goes on Eternally": Copyright, Marcus Clarke's Heirs and His Natural Life as Play and Film Part Two
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Intellectual Property Journal , December vol. 24 no. 1 2011; (p. 61-77) 'Today it is the heirs to the copyright in a literary work that will enjoy the benefits of that property right for the longer part of its duration, rather than the original author. Copyright can therefore be a valuable element of an author's estate and on that basis it appears that heirs (and purported heirs) are increasingly engaging in public campaigns and litigation to protect both that property and their individual rights to it. This two-part article approaches an analysis of the contemporary relationship between copyright and heirs from a comparative perspective, by utilising a case study on the heirs of Australian colonial author Marcus Clarke. It evaluates how Clarke's widow, Marian, and later their children navigated the gaps in the applicable colonial and federal statutes throughout the duration of copyright in Clarke's most prolific work, His Natural Life, with respect to dramatizations and film adaptations of that story. Part One reveals that, when the colonial copyright statutes failed to provide any exclusive right of dramatization, a "moral" right to royalties was created in Marian's favour by theatrical producers seeking to claim their version as the "authorised" play. Part Two considers Marian's use of new rights granted under the Copyright Act 1912 (Cth) and how, following their mother's death, the Clarke children also successfully exploited their copyright with respect to dramatizations, until its expiration in 1931. Both parts conclude with lessons that authors' heirs today can draw with respect to copyright law from the experiences of the Clarke family' (Publication abstract). -
"The Play goes on Eternally": Copyright, Marcus Clarke's Heirs and His Natural Life as Play and Film Part One
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Intellectual Property Journal , September vol. 23 no. 3 2011; (p. 268-287) 'Today it is the heirs to the copyright in a literary work that will enjoy the benefits of that property right for the longer part of its duration, rather than the original author. Copyright can therefore be a valuable element of an author's estate and on that basis it appears that heirs (and purported heirs) are increasingly engaging in public campaigns and litigation to protect both that property and their individual rights to it. This two-part article approaches an analysis of the contemporary relationship between copyright and heirs from a comparative perspective, by utilising a case study on the heirs of Australian colonial author Marcus Clarke. It evaluates how Clarke's widow, Marian, and later their children, navigated the gaps in the applicable colonial and Federal statutes throughout the duration of copyright in Clarke's most prolific work, His Natural Life, with respect to dramatisations and film adaptations of that story. Part One reveals that, when the colonial copyright statutes failed to provide any exclusive right of dramatisation, a "moral" right to royalties was created in Marian's favour by theatrical producers seeking to claim their version as the "authorised" play. Part Two considers Marian's use of new rights granted under the Copyright Act 1912 (Cth) and how, following their mother's death, the Clarke children also successfully exploited their copyright with respect to dramatisations, until its expiration in 1931. Both parts conclude with lessons that authors' heirs today can draw with respect to copyright law from the experiences of the Clarke family' (Publication Abstract). -
1907 Film Epic Was Kind to Me
1966
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 14 May 1966; (p. 22)
-
"The Play goes on Eternally": Copyright, Marcus Clarke's Heirs and His Natural Life as Play and Film Part One
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Intellectual Property Journal , September vol. 23 no. 3 2011; (p. 268-287) 'Today it is the heirs to the copyright in a literary work that will enjoy the benefits of that property right for the longer part of its duration, rather than the original author. Copyright can therefore be a valuable element of an author's estate and on that basis it appears that heirs (and purported heirs) are increasingly engaging in public campaigns and litigation to protect both that property and their individual rights to it. This two-part article approaches an analysis of the contemporary relationship between copyright and heirs from a comparative perspective, by utilising a case study on the heirs of Australian colonial author Marcus Clarke. It evaluates how Clarke's widow, Marian, and later their children, navigated the gaps in the applicable colonial and Federal statutes throughout the duration of copyright in Clarke's most prolific work, His Natural Life, with respect to dramatisations and film adaptations of that story. Part One reveals that, when the colonial copyright statutes failed to provide any exclusive right of dramatisation, a "moral" right to royalties was created in Marian's favour by theatrical producers seeking to claim their version as the "authorised" play. Part Two considers Marian's use of new rights granted under the Copyright Act 1912 (Cth) and how, following their mother's death, the Clarke children also successfully exploited their copyright with respect to dramatisations, until its expiration in 1931. Both parts conclude with lessons that authors' heirs today can draw with respect to copyright law from the experiences of the Clarke family' (Publication Abstract). -
"The Play goes on Eternally": Copyright, Marcus Clarke's Heirs and His Natural Life as Play and Film Part Two
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Intellectual Property Journal , December vol. 24 no. 1 2011; (p. 61-77) 'Today it is the heirs to the copyright in a literary work that will enjoy the benefits of that property right for the longer part of its duration, rather than the original author. Copyright can therefore be a valuable element of an author's estate and on that basis it appears that heirs (and purported heirs) are increasingly engaging in public campaigns and litigation to protect both that property and their individual rights to it. This two-part article approaches an analysis of the contemporary relationship between copyright and heirs from a comparative perspective, by utilising a case study on the heirs of Australian colonial author Marcus Clarke. It evaluates how Clarke's widow, Marian, and later their children navigated the gaps in the applicable colonial and federal statutes throughout the duration of copyright in Clarke's most prolific work, His Natural Life, with respect to dramatizations and film adaptations of that story. Part One reveals that, when the colonial copyright statutes failed to provide any exclusive right of dramatization, a "moral" right to royalties was created in Marian's favour by theatrical producers seeking to claim their version as the "authorised" play. Part Two considers Marian's use of new rights granted under the Copyright Act 1912 (Cth) and how, following their mother's death, the Clarke children also successfully exploited their copyright with respect to dramatizations, until its expiration in 1931. Both parts conclude with lessons that authors' heirs today can draw with respect to copyright law from the experiences of the Clarke family' (Publication abstract). -
1907 Film Epic Was Kind to Me
1966
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 14 May 1966; (p. 22)
Last amended 12 Mar 2015 10:09:26
