''A Tale of the Australian Bush'' is a 1911 Australian

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

directed by

Gaston Mervale Gaston Mervale (1882–1934) was an Australian director and actor who worked extensively on stage and in films. He directed several films for the Australian Life Biograph Company. After this wound up he went to New York and worked as an actor for ...

. Set in colonial Australia, it was also known as ''Ben Hall, the Notorious Bushranger'' and is considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing char ...

Plot

The story of the bushranger Ben Hall, including his duel with Melville, last stand and death. A contemporary review said that "unlike the usual bushranging films, instead of glorifying the villainy of the criminals of the bush, recorded a triumph of the law over the lawless."

Cast

* A.J. Patrick as Ben Hall *

Godfrey Cass Godfrey Cass (1867 – 14 May 1951) was an Australian actor in the silent era. Between 1906 and 1935 he acted in nineteen film roles. He played Ned Kelly three times, and also had roles in a number of other bushranger movies including '' A Ta ...

as Melville *

Harry Beaumont Harry Beaumont (10 February 1888 – 22 December 1966) was an American film director, actor, and screenwriter. He worked for a variety of production companies including 20th Century Fox, Fox, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation, Goldwyn, Metro Picture ...

as Gilbert * James Martin as Keightley *

Gilbert Emery Gilbert Emery Bensley Pottle (June 11, 1875 – October 28, 1945), known professionally as Gilbert Emery, was an American actor who appeared in over 80 movies from 1921 to his death in 1945. He was also a playwright, author of seven Broadway pla ...

as chief of police * Harrie Ireland as Mrs Keightley * Isma Owe and Robbie Hall * Louise Carbasse as Mrs Hall

Production

It was the first film from the production company

Australian Life Biograph Company The Australian Life Biograph Company was a short lived Australian film production company in the silent era. It funded many of the early films of Gaston Mervale and Louise Lovely. The company was formed in 1911 with capital of £6,000 and was bas ...

Release

The film was first released in Sydney as ''Ben Hall, the Notorious Bushranger'' before being screened nationally under the other title.

References

External links

* 1911 films 1911 Western (genre) films 1911 drama films 1911 lost films Australian black-and-white films Australian drama films Bushranger films Films set in colonial Australia Lost Australian films Lost Western (genre) films Lost drama films Silent Australian Western (genre) films Films directed by Gaston Mervale Silent drama films {{silent-film-stub