The Day (1914 film) explained

The Day
Director:Alfred Rolfe
Producer:Archie Fraser
Colin Fraser
Based On:poem by Henry Chappell
Studio:Fraser Film Release and Photographic Company
Language:Silent film
English intertitles
Country:Australia

The Day is a 1914 Australian silent film directed by Alfred Rolfe.[1] It is a propaganda film about German brutality in Europe during World War I. It is considered a lost film.[2]

Archie Fraser, who produced, called it "Der Tag, a little one-act scene, to be played whilst the celebrated poem by the English railway porter on The Day was being recited."[3]

Production

The Fraser brothers were two distributors and exhibitors who occasionally dabbled in production. They had just made a number of films with Raymond Longford but he had left and Alfred Rolfe became their in-house director instead.

The script was adapted from a popular poem by railway porter Henry Chappell. The screenplay was written by actor Johnson Weir. Weir would recite the poem during screenings.[2]

Actor Jame Martin played a Belgian civilian attacked by two German soldiers. During filming he was struck by a bayonet and had to be treated at St Vincents Hospital.[4]

The Referee wrote that the film " is a theme patriotic from opening to end, and it promises to prove a crowded house magnet."[5]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Vagg, S., & Reynaud, D. (2016). Alfred Rolfe: Forgotten pioneer Australian film director. Studies in Australasian Cinema, 10(2),184-198. doi:10.1080/17503175.2016.1170950
  2. Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, p 52
  3. News: PRODUCTION OF MOVING PICTURES-- IN AMERICA AND AUSTRALIA. . . XCVIII . 2555 . New South Wales, Australia . 18 December 1918 . 21 November 2023 . 20 . National Library of Australia.
  4. News: WORLD OF RECREATION. . . Brisbane . 26 November 1914 . 29 March 2012 . 12 . National Library of Australia.
  5. News: MOVING PICTURES. . The Referee. Sydney . 11 November 1914 . 21 February 2015 . 15 . National Library of Australia.