W. J. Lincoln
Encyclopedia
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
in the silent era
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
. He produced, directed and/or wrote 23 films between 1911 and 1916.
Life
W. J. Lincoln was born in Melbourne and was bought up in St Kilda. He worked as a playwright and a stage actor in Melbourne, his early plays including The Power of Wealth and The Bush King for the Alfred DampierAlfred Dampier
Alfred Dampier was an English-born actor-managerand playwright, active in Australia. Dampier was born in Horsham, Sussex, England, the son of John Dampier, builder, and his wife Mary, née Daly.. Dampier had a stage career in Manchester before moving to Melbourne, Australia in 1873. Dampier soon...
Company. In 1904 and 1905 he managed film tours around Australia and New Zealand for J.C. Williamson Ltd with much success. In 1908 he was manager of the Paradise of Living Pictures movie theatre in St Kilda
St Kilda, Victoria
St Kilda is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, and had begun to write and direct films for show in the theatre.
Lincoln made his film debut as director and writer with It Is Never Too Late to Mend
It Is Never Too Late to Mend
It Is Never Too Late to Mend is an Australian feature length film directed by W.J. Lincoln. It was based on a stage adaptation of popular novel It Is Never Too Late to Mend by Charles Reade about convict Australia...
(1911) for the Tait brothers. They apppointed him director of their new company, Amalgamated Pictures
Amalgamated Pictures
Amalgamated Pictures was a short-lived Australian film production company formed in March 1911 John and Neville Tait and Millard Johnson and William Gibson...
, for whom he made six films over the next year. The Taits withdrew from film production and in 1913 Lincoln become owner of the "Paradise", and then partnered with Godfrey Cass
Godfrey Cass
Godfrey Cass 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 of the Australian Bush and Moondyne .-Biography:The son of the Governor of...
to make films as the Lincoln-Cass Film Company. The company survived for only one year, but in that time it made eight films.
Lincoln later worked for J.C. Williamson Ltd when they moved into film production. He was originally supposed to write and direct but by this stage his alcoholism had gotten out of control, causing him to be removed as director of Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford (1916). He later formed Lincoln-Barnes Productions in partnership with G.H. Barnes, continuing to make films until 1916. His drinking got worse and he died in Sydney in August 1917. At the time of his death he was working on an adaptation of the stage play The Worst Woman in London called The Worst Woman in Sydney.
Filmography
- MoonliteMoonliteMoonlite is a 1910 bushranger film about Captain Moonlite, played by John Gavin, who also directed.-Synopsis:Moonlite is arrested by the Victorian police, escapes from gaol and robs various banks. He his helped by an aboriginal "gin" called Bunda .-Cast:*John Gavin as Captain Moonlite*H.A...
(1910) - based on his play Captain Moonlite - Captain Midnight, the Bush KingCaptain Midnight, the Bush KingCaptain Midnight, the Bush King is a 1911 Australian silent film about the fictitious bushranger Captain Midnight which was the directorial debut of actor Alfred Rolfe.-Synopsis:...
(1911) - based on his play - It Is Never Too Late to MendIt Is Never Too Late to MendIt Is Never Too Late to Mend is an Australian feature length film directed by W.J. Lincoln. It was based on a stage adaptation of popular novel It Is Never Too Late to Mend by Charles Reade about convict Australia...
(1911) - based on his stage adaptation of novel, writer, director - The Mystery of a Hansom CabThe Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1911 film)The Mystery of the Hansom Cab is an Australian feature length film directed by W.J. Lincoln based on the popular novel, which had also been adapted into a play...
(1911) - director - The Luck of Roaring CampThe Luck of Roaring Camp (1911 film)The Luck of Roaring Camp is a 1911 Australian feature length film directed by W.J. Lincoln based on a stage adaptation of the story by Francis Bret Harte....
(1911) - writer, director - Called BackCalled Back (1911 film)Called Back is a 1911 Australian feature length film directed by W.J. Lincoln based on a play which was adapted from a novel by Hugh Conway. Although the movie was a popular success it is now considered a lost film....
(1911) - writer, director - The Lost ChordThe Lost Chord (1911 film)The Lost Chord is a 1911 Australian feature length film directed by W.J. Lincoln based on the famous song The Lost Chord by Sir Arthur Sullivan....
(1911) - director - The BellsThe Bells (1911 film)The Bells is a 1911 Australian feature length film directed by W.J. Lincoln. It is based on the famous stage melodrama by Erckmann-Chatrian adapted by Leopold Lewis, which had been adapted for the Australian stage by Lincoln.-External links:...
(1911) - based on his stage adaptation of the play, writer, director - The Double EventThe Double Event (1911 film)The Double Event is a 1911 Australian feature length film directed by W.J. Lincoln based on the first novel by Nat Gould. It is set in the world of horse racing.-External links:* at National Film and Sound Archive*...
(1911) - writer, director - After SundownAfter SundownAfter Sundown is a 1911 Australian film directed by W.J. Lincoln set in the Australian bush. It was the first film from Amalgamated Pictures and was shot at their studios in St Kilda as well as on location at Healesville, outside Melbourne, and Coranderrk Mission Station. Only six minutes of the...
(lost, c. 1911) - director - Breaking the News (1912) - writer, director
- Rip Van WinkleRip Van Winkle (1912 film)Rip Van Winkle is a 1912 Australian feature length film directed by W.J. Lincoln about Rip Van Winkle. It was made in the wake of a successful Australian season of Joseph Jefferson and Dion Boucicault's theatre adaptation of Washington Irving's story....
(1912) - director - The Sick StockriderThe Sick StockriderThe Sick Stockrider is a 1913 film directed by W.J. Lincoln based on the poem by Adam Lindsay Gordon. It was the first production from Lincoln-Cass Films.-External links:* at IMDB* at National Film and Sound Archive*...
(1913) - director) - MoondyneMoondyneMoondyne is an 1879 novel by John Boyle O'Reilly, which was made into a film of the same name in 1913. It is very loosely based on the life of the Western Australian convict escapee and bushranger Moondyne Joe.-Background:...
(1913) - director - The Remittance ManThe Remittance ManThe Remittance Man is an Australian melodrama film directed by W.J. Lincoln about a thief's reformation. -External links:* at IMDB...
(1913) - director - TransportedTransported (1913 film)-External links:* at IMDB* at National Film and Sound Archive...
(1913) - director - The Road to RuinThe Road to Ruin (1913 film)The Road to Ruin is an Australian melodrama film directed by W.J. Lincoln. -Cast:*Roy Redgrave*Godfrey Cass*George Bryant*Tom Cannan*Beryl Bryant*Marion Willis-External links:* at IMDB...
(1913) - director - The CrisisThe Crisis (1913 film)The Crisis is an Australian melodrama film directed by W.J. Lincoln. It was inspired by a painting, The Crisis by Frank Dicksee.-External links:* at National Film and Sound Archive* at IMDB...
(1913) - director - The ReprieveThe Reprieve (1913 film)The Reprieve is a 1913 Australian melodrama film directed by W.J. Lincoln about a man on trial for killing his unfaithful wife. -External links:* at IMDB* at National Film and Sound Archive...
(1913) - director - The WreckThe Wreck (1913 film)The Wreck is an Australian film directed by W.J. Lincoln based on a poem by Adam Lindsay Gordon about the ride to help by a farmhand who has witnessed a shipwreck. It was made in 1913 but not released until 1915. W.J. Lincoln later made a film of Gordon's life, The Life's Romance of Adam Lindsay...
(1913) - director - Within Our GatesWithin Our Gates (1915 film)Within Our Gates, also known as Deeds that Won Gallipoli, is a 1915 Australian silent film about Australia's fight with Germany and Turkey during World War I, including the landing at Gaba Tepe during the Gallipoli Campaign...
(1915) (aka Deeds That Won Gallipoli) - writer - The Life's Romance of Adam Lindsay GordonThe Life's Romance of Adam Lindsay GordonThe Life's Romance of Adam Lindsay Gordon is a 1916 Australian feature length film directed by W.J. Lincoln, based on the life of poet Adam Lindsay Gordon. Around the time of filming Lincoln spent some time in hospital with alcoholic poisoning. He died shortly afterward.-External links:* at...
(1916) - writer, producer, director - Within the LawWithin the Law (1916 film)Within the Law is a 1916 Australian silent film based a play by Bayard Veiller. The leading role was played by American stage star Muriel Starr, who had played her role on stage.-External links:* at National Film and Sound Archive* at Project Gutenberg...
(1916) - writer - Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford (1916) - writer
- Nurse CavellNurse CavellNurse Cavell is a 1916 Australian feature length film directed by W.J. Lincoln about the execution of Edith Cavell during World War I. There had been a rival Australian film on the same subject, The Martyrdom of Nurse Cavell directed by John Gavin, who took legal action against Lincoln...
(1916) - director, writer, producer - La RevancheLa Revanche (1916 film)La Revanche is a 1916 Australian feature length film directed by W.J. Lincoln about the revenge sought by Belgian friends of Edith Cavell against the Germans during World War I. It was a sequel to Nurse Cavell .-External links:...
(1916) - director, writer, producer - Officer 666Officer 666 (1916 film)Officer 666 is a 1916 silent film made in Australia, based on a successful Broadway comedy of 1912. The film was directed by Fred Niblo who would go on to direct The Mark of Zorro, The Three Musketeers, Blood and Sand and over forty more films....
(1916) - writer
Select Theatre Credits
- The Power of Wealth (1901) - writer
- The Bush King (1902) - writer
- It's Never Too Late to Mend (1903) - writer
- Captain Moonlight - writer
- Red Riding Hood (1909) - writer
External Links
- W.J. Lincoln at AustLit (subscription required)
- W.J. Lincoln at National Film and Sound ArchiveNational Film and Sound ArchiveThe National Film and Sound Archive is Australia’s audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national collection of audiovisual materials and related items...