The Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole

The Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole is a 1911 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford and starring Lottie Lyell. It is based on the true story of Margaret Catchpole, an adventuress and convict.

Synopsis

In the south coast of England, a young woman, Margaret Catchpole, is pursued by two men, the smuggler Will Laud and the coastguard officer Lieutenant Barry. Laud is killed and Margaret is sentenced to Botany Bay for horse stealing. She later marries Barry.

Production

The film enabled Lottie Lyell to demonstrate her skills as a horsewoman.^[1]

The first half of the film, the section set in England, survives today. Comprising 1,596 feet at 24 minutes it is the earliest surviving example of the work of Lyell and Raymond Longford.^[2]

Cast

• Lottie Lyell as Margaret Catchpole
• Raymond Longford as Will Laud
• Augustus Neville as Lieutenant Barry
• Sybil Wilde as Little Kitty
• William Coulter as Lord Chief Justice
• E. Melville as Justice Heath
• Fred Hardy as Chaloner Archdeckne
• J. Eldridge as Landlord of the Bull Inn
• Jack Goodall as Edward Catchpole
• J. Howard as Reverend O'Gharty
• H. Parker as Lieutenant Bourne
• C. Swain as Landlord of the Chester Inn
• Fred Twitcham as Mr. Cobbold
• Walter Vincent as Captain Luff, a smuggler

References

• Adams, Brian (1983). Australian Cinema: The First 80 Years. Angus & Robertson Publishers. ISBN 0-2071-4581-4. 

External links

• The Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole at the Internet Movie Database
• The Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole at National Film and Sound Archive
• Copies of film at Trove
• Biography of Margaret Catchpole at Australian Dictionary of Biography
• Margaret Catchpole collection at State Library of New South Wales