Rip Van Winkle (1912 film)

Rip Van Winkle
Directed byW. J. Lincoln
Based onstage adaptation by Joseph Jefferson and Dion Boucicault
of Rip Van Winkle
by Washington Irving
Produced byWilliam Gibson
Millard Johnson
John Tait
Nevin Tait
StarringArthur Styan
CinematographyOrrie Perry
Production
company
Distributed byTait's Pictures
Release date
  • 6 April 1912 (1912-04-06) (Melbourne)[1]
[2]
CountryAustralia
LanguagesSilent film
English intertitles

Rip Van Winkle is a 1912 Australian feature-length film directed by W. J. Lincoln about Rip Van Winkle.[3] It was arguably Australia's first fantasy film.[4]

It is considered a lost film.

Plot

Rip Van Winkle is a lazy man who likes to wander around with his dog, Wolf. One day, he ventures into the Kaatskill mountains, where he encounters a strange group of men drinking and playing bowls. He drinks their mysterious brew and falls asleep. When he wakes up, he is shocked to discover that 20 years have passed, and everything has changed.

The story is a charming tale that depicts how America changed during the Civil War, but in a more subtle way. Rip's experiences show how the war affected the people and the country. It also portrays the changing values and attitudes towards work and leisure time.

Cast

Production

The film was made in the wake of a successful Australian season of Joseph Jefferson and Dion Boucicault's theatre adaptation of Washington Irving's 1819 short story "Rip Van Winkle".[7]

Assisting Lincoln was Sam Crews.[8]

Reception

The film debuted in Melbourne in April 1912. A version of the story screened in Sydney in December of that year but that may have been a different movie.[9][10]

Critical

The Bendigo Advertiser said that "the famous story is most effectively explained in the picture production."[11]

One reviewer of the Prahran Telegraph wrote that star Arthur Styan "has figured in several of the previous productions of the Amalgamated Pictures Ltd., and who makes quite a success of this."[12]

Table Talk called it "a long and striking adaptation of the famous story. The pictures were taken by Amalgamated Pictures Ltd., and, as a local production, are a credit to the producers."[13] Another review from that paper said "the costumes and scenery are beautiful."[14]

In April 1912 The Bulletin said "Rip Van Winkle is biographed in Melbourne excellently, by an Australian company, with Styan as Winkle."[15]

References

  1. ^ Mary Bateman, 'W. J. Lincoln', Cinema Papers, June–July 1980 p 214
  2. ^ "Advertising". The Age. No. 17802. Victoria, Australia. 8 April 1912. p. 10. Retrieved 21 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "St. Kilda Theatre". The Prahran Telegraph (Vic. : 1889 - 1930). Vic.: National Library of Australia. 20 April 1912. p. 5. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  4. ^ Rip Van Wikle at AustLit
  5. ^ "St. Kilda Theatre". The Prahran Telegraph (Vic. : 1889 - 1930). Vic.: National Library of Australia. 20 April 1912. p. 5. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  6. ^ "WAHNEETAH". The Prahran Telegraph. Vol. 50, no. 2643. Victoria, Australia. 15 June 1912. p. 5. Retrieved 21 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, p34
  8. ^ "Sam Crew Enters 'When London Sleeps' Controversy". Everyones. 12 October 1932. p. 19.
  9. ^ ""RIP VAN WINKLE."". Evening News. No. 14, 196. New South Wales, Australia. 6 December 1912. p. 12. Retrieved 22 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 23, 371. New South Wales, Australia. 6 December 1912. p. 2. Retrieved 22 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "MASONIC HALL". Bendigo Advertiser. Vic.: National Library of Australia. 1 May 1912. p. 7. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  12. ^ "St. Kilda Theatre". The Prahran Telegraph (Vic. : 1889 - 1930). Vic.: National Library of Australia. 20 April 1912. p. 5. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  13. ^ "Family Notices". Table Talk. No. 1395. Victoria, Australia. 18 April 1912. p. 7. Retrieved 21 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "ST. KILDA THEATRE". Table Talk. No. 1395. Victoria, Australia. 18 April 1912. p. 21. Retrieved 21 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ "AT POVERTY POINT". The Bulletin. 18 April 1912. p. 11.
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