Marmaduke Arundel "Duke" Wetherell (1883 – 25 February 1939) was a British–

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

n actor, screenwriter, producer, film director and big-game hunter. He was responsible for the hoax " surgeon's photograph" of the

Loch Ness Monster The Loch Ness Monster ( gd, Uilebheist Loch Nis), affectionately known as Nessie, is a creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or mor ...

Biography

Born in

Bodmin, Cornwall Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordere ...

, Wetherell acted in both British and South African films during the silent era. In the 1920s he branched out to producing and directing films but they were not a success. He produced, directed and played the lead role in his productions of '' Livingstone'' (1925) and ''

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tra ...

'' (1927). A planned biography of

Lawrence of Arabia Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–191 ...

called ''Revolt in the Desert'' to be photographed by

Freddie Young Frederick A. Young (9 October 1902 – 1 December 1998) was a British cinematographer. He is probably best known for his work on David Lean's films ''Lawrence of Arabia'' (1962), ''Doctor Zhivago'' (1965) and ''Ryan's Daughter'' (1970), all th ...

who had photographed his war films ''

The Somme The Battle of the Somme (French language, French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. I ...

'' (1927) and ''

Victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...

'' (1928) did not eventuate. Wetherell was the father of actor

Ian Colin Ian Colin (1912–1987) was a British film and television actor. During the 1930s, Colin was a leading man in Quota quickies. He later acted predominantly in television shows such as ''The Quatermass Experiment'', '' Emergency-Ward 10'' and '' C ...

. In the 1930s, Marmaduke went to

Loch Ness Loch Ness (; gd, Loch Nis ) is a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately southwest of Inverness. It takes its name from the River Ness, which flows from the northern end. Loch Ness is best known for claim ...

to look for the

. Wetherell claimed to have found footprints, but when casts of the footprints were sent to scientists for analysis they turned out to be from a hippopotamus; a prankster had used a hippopotamus-foot umbrella stand. As a result, Wetherell was publicly ridiculed by his employer, the ''Daily Mail''. To get revenge on the ''Mail'', Wetherell perpetrated the hoax " surgeon's photograph" of the Loch Ness Monster with his son Ian (who bought the material for the fake and took the photos), son-in-law Christian Spurling (a sculpture specialist), and Maurice Chambers (an insurance agent), taking a picture of a toy submarine made of plastic wood and passing it off as the monster. Chambers gave the photographic plates to surgeon Robert Kenneth Wilson, a friend of his who enjoyed "a good practical joke". Wilson had the plates developed and sold the first photo to the ''Daily Mail''; the ''Mail'' would then announce that the monster had been photographed.''The Mammoth Encyclopedia of the Unsolved'' The photo had been described as a hoax as early as 1975,Book review of Nessie – The Surgeon's Photograph – Exposed
Douglas Chapman. but this was not common knowledge among the general public until 1994.

Selected filmography

Actor * '' The Rose of Rhodesia'' (1918) * '' Isban: Or the Mystery of the Great Zimbabwe'' (1920) * '' The Madcap of the Veld'' (1921) * '' Wee MacGregor's Sweetheart'' (1922) * '' Man and His Kingdom'' (1922) * '' His Wife's Husband'' (1922) * ''

Darkness Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low ...

'' (1923) * '' Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight'' (1923) * ''

Women and Diamonds ''Women and Diamonds'' is a 1924 British silent crime film directed by F. Martin Thornton and starring Victor McLaglen, Madge Stuart and Florence Turner. Cast * Victor McLaglen as Brian Owen * Madge Stuart as Olive Seaton * Florence Tu ...

'' (1924) Director * '' Livingstone'' (1925) * ''

'' (1927) * ''

'' (1928) * '' A Moorland Tragedy'' (1933) * '' Hearts of Oak'' (1933) * ''

Wanderlust Wanderlust is a strong desire to wander or travel and explore the world. Etymology The first documented use of the term in English occurred in 1902 as a reflection of what was then seen as a characteristically German predilection for wandering ...

'' (1933) * '' Safari'' (1937) Producer * ''

Roses of Picardy "Roses of Picardy" is a popular British song with lyrics by Frederick Weatherly and music by Haydn Wood. Published in London in 1916 by Chappell & Co, it was one of the most famous songs of the World War I, First World War and has been recorded ...

'' (1927)

Bibliography

* Low, Rachael. ''History of the British Film, 1918–1929''. George Allen & Unwin, 1971.

References

External links

* *Marmaduke Wetherell on Encyclopaedia of South African Theatre, Film, Media and Performance (ESAT) https://esat.sun.ac.za/index.php/M.A._Wetherell {{DEFAULTSORT:Wetherell, Marmaduke Arundel 1883 births 1939 deaths British male film actors British film producers British film directors South African male film actors South African film producers South African film directors 20th-century British male actors Male actors from Cornwall