image of person or book cover 4163808670509500787.jpg
Advertisement, The Worker [Wagga], 3 September 1908, p.8
form y separately published work icon For the Term of his Natural Life single work   film/TV  
Adaptation of His Natural Life Marcus Clarke , 1870-1872 single work novel
Note: The authorship of the screenplay has not yet been determined. However, it is likely that MacMahon was instrumental in its development from the page to the completed film; he has hence been identified as writer. It is possible, however, that one or more other people were also involved in constructing the screenplay.
Issue Details: First known date: 1908... 1908 For the Term of his Natural Life
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

The first of several cinematic adaptations of Marcus Clarke's classic and complex story, first published as His Natural Life, this version is essentially a collection of highlights. The screenplay is also heavily based on the popular stage version from a few years earlier. The Bulletin records in this respect that while the storyline had been 'severely edited, [the] boiling-down was evidently done by a man who knew his business, for the continuity of the yarn is quite unbroken' (ctd. in Pike and Cooper p.11).

The screenplay begins in England with the murder for which Rufus Dawes is wrongfully arrested, tried, and eventually found guilty. He is then sentenced to life as a convict in Van Diemen's Land, and it is from this point on that the story sees the bitter and harsh life that he is forced to endure. He later escapes and embarks on a voyage to freedom, while also encountering his long-lost love, Sylvia. The boat sinks, however, and the pair drown while holding each other in an eternal embrace.

Exhibitions

7990306
7974092
8018691
8014658
VIEW ALL EXHIBITIONS

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 1908
VIEW PUBLICATION DETAILS FOR ALL VERSIONS ()

Works about this Work

"The Play goes on Eternally": Copyright, Marcus Clarke's Heirs and His Natural Life as Play and Film Part Two Catherine Bond , 2011 single work criticism
— Appears in: Intellectual Property Journal , December vol. 24 no. 1 2011; (p. 61-77) 'Today it is the heirs to the copyright in a literary work that will enjoy the benefits of that property right for the longer part of its duration, rather than the original author. Copyright can therefore be a valuable element of an author's estate and on that basis it appears that heirs (and purported heirs) are increasingly engaging in public campaigns and litigation to protect both that property and their individual rights to it. This two-part article approaches an analysis of the contemporary relationship between copyright and heirs from a comparative perspective, by utilising a case study on the heirs of Australian colonial author Marcus Clarke. It evaluates how Clarke's widow, Marian, and later their children navigated the gaps in the applicable colonial and federal statutes throughout the duration of copyright in Clarke's most prolific work, His Natural Life, with respect to dramatizations and film adaptations of that story. Part One reveals that, when the colonial copyright statutes failed to provide any exclusive right of dramatization, a "moral" right to royalties was created in Marian's favour by theatrical producers seeking to claim their version as the "authorised" play. Part Two considers Marian's use of new rights granted under the Copyright Act 1912 (Cth) and how, following their mother's death, the Clarke children also successfully exploited their copyright with respect to dramatizations, until its expiration in 1931. Both parts conclude with lessons that authors' heirs today can draw with respect to copyright law from the experiences of the Clarke family' (Publication abstract).
"The Play goes on Eternally": Copyright, Marcus Clarke's Heirs and His Natural Life as Play and Film Part One Catherine Bond , 2011 single work criticism
— Appears in: Intellectual Property Journal , September vol. 23 no. 3 2011; (p. 268-287) 'Today it is the heirs to the copyright in a literary work that will enjoy the benefits of that property right for the longer part of its duration, rather than the original author. Copyright can therefore be a valuable element of an author's estate and on that basis it appears that heirs (and purported heirs) are increasingly engaging in public campaigns and litigation to protect both that property and their individual rights to it. This two-part article approaches an analysis of the contemporary relationship between copyright and heirs from a comparative perspective, by utilising a case study on the heirs of Australian colonial author Marcus Clarke. It evaluates how Clarke's widow, Marian, and later their children, navigated the gaps in the applicable colonial and Federal statutes throughout the duration of copyright in Clarke's most prolific work, His Natural Life, with respect to dramatisations and film adaptations of that story. Part One reveals that, when the colonial copyright statutes failed to provide any exclusive right of dramatisation, a "moral" right to royalties was created in Marian's favour by theatrical producers seeking to claim their version as the "authorised" play. Part Two considers Marian's use of new rights granted under the Copyright Act 1912 (Cth) and how, following their mother's death, the Clarke children also successfully exploited their copyright with respect to dramatisations, until its expiration in 1931. Both parts conclude with lessons that authors' heirs today can draw with respect to copyright law from the experiences of the Clarke family' (Publication Abstract).
1907 Film Epic Was Kind to Me Claude Kingston , 1966 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 14 May 1966; (p. 22)
"The Play goes on Eternally": Copyright, Marcus Clarke's Heirs and His Natural Life as Play and Film Part One Catherine Bond , 2011 single work criticism
— Appears in: Intellectual Property Journal , September vol. 23 no. 3 2011; (p. 268-287) 'Today it is the heirs to the copyright in a literary work that will enjoy the benefits of that property right for the longer part of its duration, rather than the original author. Copyright can therefore be a valuable element of an author's estate and on that basis it appears that heirs (and purported heirs) are increasingly engaging in public campaigns and litigation to protect both that property and their individual rights to it. This two-part article approaches an analysis of the contemporary relationship between copyright and heirs from a comparative perspective, by utilising a case study on the heirs of Australian colonial author Marcus Clarke. It evaluates how Clarke's widow, Marian, and later their children, navigated the gaps in the applicable colonial and Federal statutes throughout the duration of copyright in Clarke's most prolific work, His Natural Life, with respect to dramatisations and film adaptations of that story. Part One reveals that, when the colonial copyright statutes failed to provide any exclusive right of dramatisation, a "moral" right to royalties was created in Marian's favour by theatrical producers seeking to claim their version as the "authorised" play. Part Two considers Marian's use of new rights granted under the Copyright Act 1912 (Cth) and how, following their mother's death, the Clarke children also successfully exploited their copyright with respect to dramatisations, until its expiration in 1931. Both parts conclude with lessons that authors' heirs today can draw with respect to copyright law from the experiences of the Clarke family' (Publication Abstract).
"The Play goes on Eternally": Copyright, Marcus Clarke's Heirs and His Natural Life as Play and Film Part Two Catherine Bond , 2011 single work criticism
— Appears in: Intellectual Property Journal , December vol. 24 no. 1 2011; (p. 61-77) 'Today it is the heirs to the copyright in a literary work that will enjoy the benefits of that property right for the longer part of its duration, rather than the original author. Copyright can therefore be a valuable element of an author's estate and on that basis it appears that heirs (and purported heirs) are increasingly engaging in public campaigns and litigation to protect both that property and their individual rights to it. This two-part article approaches an analysis of the contemporary relationship between copyright and heirs from a comparative perspective, by utilising a case study on the heirs of Australian colonial author Marcus Clarke. It evaluates how Clarke's widow, Marian, and later their children navigated the gaps in the applicable colonial and federal statutes throughout the duration of copyright in Clarke's most prolific work, His Natural Life, with respect to dramatizations and film adaptations of that story. Part One reveals that, when the colonial copyright statutes failed to provide any exclusive right of dramatization, a "moral" right to royalties was created in Marian's favour by theatrical producers seeking to claim their version as the "authorised" play. Part Two considers Marian's use of new rights granted under the Copyright Act 1912 (Cth) and how, following their mother's death, the Clarke children also successfully exploited their copyright with respect to dramatizations, until its expiration in 1931. Both parts conclude with lessons that authors' heirs today can draw with respect to copyright law from the experiences of the Clarke family' (Publication abstract).
1907 Film Epic Was Kind to Me Claude Kingston , 1966 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 14 May 1966; (p. 22)
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (3)
Last amended 12 Mar 2015 10:09:26
Newspapers:
    Powered by Trove
    X