Gaston Mervale (1866–1959) was an English-born director and actor who worked on the English, Australian and US stage and directed Australian films. Born Gaston Mistowski in Torquay, Devon, England in 1866, after performing on stage in the UK he came to Australia in late 1897 to work for J.C. Williamson's. After returning to England he then appeared on stage for several years in New York. He returned to Australia in 1904 with the Tittell Brune Company. Early in 1911 he was employed to direct several films for the Australian Life Biograph Company, which featured actors

Louise Lovely Louise Lovely (born Nellie Louise Carbasse; 28 February 1895 – 18 March 1980) was an Australian film actress of Swiss-Italian descent. She is credited by film historians as being the first Australian actress to have a successful career in ...

and

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 Tale ...

. He worked in the US for the five years 1912-1917, on stage, acted in several films and was director of The Stubbornness of Geraldine in 1915. He returned to Australia in 1917 to produce plays. He died in Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia in 1959.Victoria, Births Deaths & Marriages, Gaston Mervale Death Certificate, 15125/1959

Partial filmography as director

*''

One Hundred Years Ago ''One Hundred Years Ago'' is a 1911 Australian silent film directed by Gaston Mervale. It features an early screen performance from Louise Lovely (billed as "Louise Carbasse") and is considered a lost film. Plot The movie was billed as "an Anglo ...

'' (1911) *'' A Ticket in Tatts'' (1911) *''

The Colleen Bawn ''The Colleen Bawn, or The Brides of Garryowen'' is a melodramatic Play (theatre), play written by Irish people, Irish playwright Dion Boucicault. It was first performed at Laura Keene's Theatre, New York City, New York, on 27 March 1860 with ...

'' (1911) *'' A Tale of the Australian Bush'' (1911) *'' Hands Across the Sea'' (1912) *'' A Daughter of Australia'' (1912) *'' Conn, the Shaughraun'' (1912) *'' The Wreck of the Dunbar or The Yeoman's Wedding'' (1912) *'' The Ticket of Leave Man'' (1912) *'' The Stubbornness of Geraldine'' (1915)

References

*Veronica Kelly, "Australia's Svengali: Gaston Mervale in Theatre and Film", ''Australasian Drama Studies'', 58, Apr 2011, 107-125

External links

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Gaston Mervale
at

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting, and providing access to a national c ...

Gaston Mervale Australian theatre credits
at

AusStage AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia, providing records of productions from the first recorded performance in Australia (1789, by convicts) up unt ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mervale, Gaston 1910s in Australian cinema Australian film directors Australian male film actors 1866 births 1959 deaths 20th-century Australian male actors