A film version of the story of David and Bathsheba, made during a brief absence from Australia by film-maker Harry Southwell.
Despite being produced overseas, the film was apparently marketed as an Australian production, though no cinematic release has been traced: see note on production and distribution below.
Note on title
Some sources give the title of this work as David, which has therefore been included on this record as an alternative title. However, when Harry Southwell speaks of the project in newspapers, it is always titled The Seventh Commandment.
Note on production and distribution
Southwell made The Seventh Commandment in Palestine (exterior shots) and Belgium (interior shots) during 1924, apparently with the assistance of an Australian producer (based in Richmond) called A. Price (see 'Motion Picture Distributors of Australia'). In 1925, the film was said to be 'shown in Australia in the near future' ('Motion Picture Distributors'); by 1926, this had shifted to 'This picture, it is expected, will be released in about six months' time' ('Australian Films'). So far, no Australian release of the film has been traced.
There was some small flurry of controversy about the labelling of the film as an 'Australian' production, considering that it had been made overseas (which may have contributed to problems in securing a release). In 1925, the Adelong Argus, Tumut and Gundagai Advertiser, picked up a newspaper report on A. Price's return from London with the film ('which will be released in London as an Australian Production') and wrote a scathing article, concluding, 'Evidently main material consisted of Arabs and Belgians—and it is to be labelled "An Australian Production!"' ('Motion Picture Distributors').
No trace of the film's release in London has been located thus far.
Sources:
'Australian Films', The Daily News, 11 February 1926, p.8.
'Motion Picture Distributors of Australia', Adelong Argus, Tumut and Gundagai Advertiser, 20 April 1925, p.7.
