The Five of Hearts

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For the playing card, see Five of hearts.
For The Five of Hearts: An Intimate Portrait of Henry Adams and His Friends, 1880-1918, see Patricia O'Toole.

The Five of Hearts, or Buffalo Bill's Love Story
Directed byE.I. Cole
StarringBohemian Dramatic Company
Production
company
Distributed byPathe Freres[3]
Release date
22 April 1911[1]
Running time
over 2,000 feet[1] or 1,500 feet[4]
CountryAustralia
LanguagesSilent film
English intertitles

The Five of Hearts is a 1911 Australian film from Edward Irham Cole based on a stage play about Buffalo Bill which Cole had performed extensively. It is also known as A Maiden's Distress or Buffalo Bill.[5] It was reportedly the longest of Cole's films.[4]

It is considered a lost film.

Plot[edit]

In the old American west, Rose, the daughter of Colonel Daniels, is kidnapped by a desperado named Black Bill at the instigation of Captain Clarke, a rejected lover. She is taken to an Indian camp where she is subjected to torture by being tied to a tree, and daggers thrown all round her until she is completely surrounded by them. She is rescued by Buffalo Bill, her lover. Black Bill and Captain Clarke are killed.[6]

According to contemporary reports, the scenes of the film were:

  • Captain Clarke's Treachery;
  • Chloroformed;
  • On the Trail;
  • Jim Blake's Shanty;
  • In the Indian Camp;
  • Rose Tortured;
  • Surrounded by Daggers;
  • Rescued;
  • Buffalo Bill at the Stake;
  • The Indian Chiefs Fight with Knives;
  • Black Bill's Lair;
  • The Traitors Punished.[7]

Another report said that "'the scene is laid on the outskirts of the Indian Reservation, a country made famous by the exploits of the renowned Buffalo Bill, and the story of the play treats of the adventures of the colonel in charge of the military post and a notorious cattle stealer whom he eventually makes captive."[8]

Cast[edit]

Original Play[edit]

Buffalo Bill, or the Five of Hearts
Written byEdward Irham Cole[9][10]
Directed byEdward Irham Cole
Date premiered2 January 1904[11]
Original languageEnglish

The film is an adaptation of an open-air stage show regularly produced by Cole and his Bohemian Dramatic Company, Buffalo Bill, or the Five of Hearts, about an Indian woman who refuses to marry a cowboy.[12] The Indian has daggers thrown at her in a test of courage. The cowboy tries to kill the woman but Chief Wild Friday intervenes and frees her.

According to one report "Buffalo Bill is 'a part which Mr Cole has created, and made "his own", his personality entirely fitting him for it. He is helped by a striking resemblance to Colonel Cody."[13]

The play was reportedly written by Cole himself who also staged it.[9]

The play was revived a number of times. Cole was still appearing in the play as late as 1919.[14]

In 1908 the Bohemian company presented a new play The White Beaver, or Buffalo Bill's Pard.[15][16]

Production[edit]

The film version of the play was shot near Melbourne.[2]

Release[edit]

The film sometimes screened on a double bill with another movie of Cole's, Sentenced for Life, and was accompanied by songs and lectures.[17]

According to one review, "the play is well staged, and the acting is of a high order, and, on the whole, the film augurs well for the success of the industry in the Commonwealth."[8]

Another, in the Barrier Miner, said the film "forms a thrilling subject."[18]

Only four and a half minutes of the film survive today.[19]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "ENTERTAINMENTS". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 22 April 1911. p. 16. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Empire Pictures". Great Southern Herald. Katanning, WA: National Library of Australia. 31 May 1911. p. 2. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  3. ^ "Advertising". The Referee. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 26 April 1911. p. 16. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  4. ^ a b "BOHEMIAN PICTURE PLAYS". The Bendigo Independent. No. 13, 133. Victoria, Australia. 15 February 1913. p. 5. Retrieved 17 July 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 20.
  6. ^ "HAYES'S PICTURES". Goulburn Evening Penny Post. NSW: National Library of Australia. 6 June 1911. p. 2. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  7. ^ "Advertising". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 10 May 1911. p. 1. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  8. ^ a b "TOWN HALL". The Daily News. Perth: National Library of Australia. 11 May 1911. p. 5 Edition: THIRD EDITION. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  9. ^ a b "SHAFTESBURY THEATRE". The Daily News. Vol. XXXVIII, no. 13, 890. Western Australia. 9 September 1919. p. 3 (THIRD EDITION). Retrieved 6 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "Advertising". The Herald. No. 9789. Victoria, Australia. 2 March 1907. p. 4. Retrieved 6 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "BOHEMIAN DRAMATIC COMPANY". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 20, 537. New South Wales, Australia. 4 January 1904. p. 8. Retrieved 6 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "BOHEMIAN DRAMATIC CO." Examiner (Launceston, Tas) 8 Oct 1913: 9 Edition: DAILY. Retrieved 31 December 2011
  13. ^ "BOHEMIAN DRAMATIC CO". Geelong Advertiser. No. 19, 982. Victoria, Australia. 2 May 1911. p. 4. Retrieved 18 July 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "BOHEMIAN DRAMATIC COMPANY". The Daily News. Vol. XXXVIII, no. 13, 887. Western Australia. 5 September 1919. p. 5. Retrieved 6 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ "THE AUSTRALIAN BUCKJUMPERS". Evening News. No. 12, 707. New South Wales, Australia. 2 March 1908. p. 8. Retrieved 6 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ "THE HAYMARKET HIPPODROME". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 21, 891. New South Wales, Australia. 16 March 1908. p. 3. Retrieved 6 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ^ "BOHEMIAN DRAMATIC COMPANY." The Mercury (Hobart, Tas) 30 Mar 1912: 3. Retrieved 31 December 2011
  18. ^ "ALDRIDGE'S PICTURES". The Barrier Miner. Broken Hill, NSW: National Library of Australia. 29 May 1911. p. 5. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  19. ^ The Five of Hearts at National Film and Sound Archive

External links[edit]

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