| Thunderbolt | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | John Gavin |
| Written by | H. A. Forsyth |
| Produced by | H. A. Forsyth |
| Starring | John Gavin |
| Cinematography | A.J. Moulton |
Production company | Southern Cross Motion Pictures |
Release date | 12 November 1910 |
Running time | 4,000 feet[1] |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | Silent film |
Thunderbolt is a 1910 film in the genre of "outlaw" films at the time that tended to glorify the life of the outlaw "Bushrangers" that roamed the Australian outback in pre-commonwealth days. Shortly after this movie was made, the government of New South Wales banned the manufacture of this type of film on the basis that they were promoting crime.
It was the directorial debut of John Gavin who later claimed it was the first "four-reel movie" made in Australia.[2]
It is considered a lost film.
Frederick Ward is a cattle drover earning money for his wedding when he is accused of cattle theft and sentenced to seven years at Cockatoo Island. He escapes by swimming across the water only to learn that his fiancée, Jess Anson, has died of grief. He seeks his revenge by taking on a life of crime, becoming the bushranger Captain Thunderbolt.
He befriends some aboriginal people, steals a racehorse, "Combo", and robs the Moonbi Mail Coach. He then enters "Combo" in a horse race and wins. He is rescued from a police trap involving Chinese by a half-caste girl, Sunday. He is grateful to her and they get married. He then holds up the Carlisle Hotel, and narrowly escapes. He takes on a boy apprentice and Sunday dies. Thunderbolt then dies in a shoot out with police on the riverbank at Uralla.[3]
The various chapter headings were:[4]
H. A. Forsyth produced the film and adapted the novel by William Monckton and Ambrose Pratt, Three Years With Thunderbolt. He also appeared in the riding scenes. John Gavin directed the movie, and played the lead role of Frederick Ward. Because the film was longer than the typical movies of the time Gavin later claimed that "everyone warned him that his venture was doomed to failure".[2]
Shooting took place in Lithgow and Hartley Vale, with extras recruited from local miners who were then on strike.[5]
The movie was usually screened accompanied by a lecturer.[6] One critic wrote that:
The film has been admirably produced, being as clear and as distinct as any yet shown in Australia, and great credit is due to the bio operator, Mr. Moulton... Mr. Jack Gavin made an impressive Thunderbolt, being a fine upstanding man, big-enough to fight Jack Johnson; and Mr. Bert Forsyth was all that could be desired as Monckton, the boy bushranger. Mr. H. A. Forsyth is to be congratulated upon the success of his initial attempt at picture production, and his efforts augur well for his success in future efforts.[7]
The film was a big success at the box office, one writer calling it "a boom unprecedented in the annals of local picture showdom."[8] It was so popular, Gavin subsequently went on to make films about Captain Moonlite, Ben Hall and Frank Gardiner.[2]
