How We Beat the Emden is a 1915 Australian silent film directed by Alfred Rolfe about the Battle of Cocos during World War I.[3] It features footage shot on Cocos Island.[4][5]
| How We Beat the Emden | |
|---|---|
 Still from the film | |
| Directed by | Alfred Rolfe |
Production company | |
Release date | |
| Country | Australia |
| Languages | Silent film English intertitles |
Plot
editJack enlists in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and after training on the Tingira, joins the crew of HMAS Sydney. He takes part in the Battle of Cocos, where the Australian cruiser destroys the German light cruiser SMS Emden.[6][7]
Cast
editProduction
editThe film incorporates footage from the documentary How We Fought the Emden.
It was shot at the Rushcutters Bay studio.[8]
Release
editThe film was popular at the box office. Actor C. Post Mason took a print with him to Canada in 1916 and screened the film over there.[3] It was also known as How We Fought the Emden[9] and The Sydney-Emden Fight.[10]
The Motion Picture News said the film was put on "principally with the idea of drawing patrons from" For Australia and was "merely a succession of interest and topical subjects woven together, and a plot that does not reflect much credit on either the author or producers".[11]
The movie was later combined with another Australian war film, For Australia (1915) to create a new movie, For the Honour of Australia (1916).
See also
edit- The Exploits of the Emden, a 1928 film by Ken G. Hall, also about the Battle of Cocos
References
edit- ^ "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 10 December 1915. p. 2. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- ^ "Advertising". The Evening News. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 4 December 1915. p. 1. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
- ^ a b Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 56
- ^ "Advertising". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 13 May 1916. p. 2. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
- ^ Vagg, S., & Reynaud, D. (2016). Alfred Rolfe: Forgotten pioneer Australian film director. Studies in Australasian Cinema, 10(2),184-198. doi:10.1080/17503175.2016.1170950
- ^ ""WORLD WAR" PICTURES". The Mail. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 20 May 1916. p. 7. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
- ^ "Entertainments". South Coast Times and Wollongong Argus. NSW: National Library of Australia. 7 January 1916. p. 12. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
- ^ "PICTURES". The Referee. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 8 December 1915. p. 15. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
- ^ ""WORLD WAR" PICTURES". The Mail. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 20 May 1916. p. 7. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- ^ "Advertising". Singleton Argus. NSW: National Library of Australia. 26 February 1916. p. 7. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- ^ Hal Carleton, "Film News From Foreign Parts", Motion Picture News, 16 January 1916 Retrieved 23 November 2014