AustLit

'William Bowen's house in Guyra was famous for a contemporary haunting. Over several weeks, windows were broken, rocks were tossed onto the roof and the Bowens were kept awake by banging on the walls. Apparently one of the Bowen children confessed to tossing some rocks on the roof to scare a younger sibling, but this didn't seem to account for the extent of the phenomenon, especially as these things kept happening even when the place was surrounded by policemen. The Bowen[s] themselves appear in the film and John Cosgrove stars as Sherlock Doyle, a psychic investigator modelled on a friend of Arthur Conan Doyle's'.

Source: Robert Hood, 'Killer Koalas: Australian (and New Zealand) Horror Films'. Tabula Rasa (http://www.tabula-rasa.info/AusHorror/OzHorrorFilms2.html). (Sighted: 6/7/2012)

Bobbie Moreton, daughter of 'Kangarooie' squatter Richard Moreton Snr, is a thorough sportswoman and her parents' pride and joy. Her brother on the other hand has been all but disowned due to his wild behaviour in the city and his refusal to take on the family's obligations. When Bobby asks him return home for her birthday he agrees, but does so in the company of Mrs Fane, a high society adventuress with a questionable past. Meanwhile, Dennis O'Hara, the Moretons' good-natured Irish neighbour, is in love with Bobbie, but clearly doesn't have a chance of winning her affection. Nevertheless, he gives her his horse, Alert, as a present. Bobbie enters it in a race but Mrs Fane, who has gambled on another horse, tries by various means to stop her winning. When a young and handsome distant relative of the Moretons arrives, there is an immediate attraction between him and Bobby. And despite all her machinations, Mrs Fane fails to stop Bobbie and she eventually rides Alert to victory.

The story revolves around British naval captain, David Gordon, his fiancée Patricia, and several German spies (including one who has infiltrated the navy as a captain). After a series of adventures Gordon and his ship take part in the battle of Jutland. He is captured shortly afterwards, however, and sent to a prison camp in Germany. Upon hearing of Gordon's capture, Patricia takes an active part in his rescue. Captain Northmount (the spy) in the meantime manages to traffic information out of England until cornered in an English mansion. He escapes after hiding in a priest hole and then manages to make his way to a seaplane which he flies to Germany where he is made commandant of a prisoner of war camp. "He reaps the just deserts of his treachery,' writes the Age theatre critic, [with] a bullet in the heart fires by an intrepid red-headed Australian soldier' (22 December 1919, 8).

The synopsis of scenery comprises : Act 1; Sc 1. Sir Harry Brookland's Home, Richmond, England ; The Call to Arms ; The Enemy Within ; The Zeppelin Raid. Act 2; Sc 1. (two weeks have passed) Deck of the H.M.S. Courageous (with song) ; Waiting, the Great Silent ; The Boxing Match for Featherweight Championship of the Fleet ; Clear Decks for Action. Sc 2. A Country Road near Brandon, East Coast ; Sc 3. Reception Room at Von Coblent's House ; The Secret Wireless Plant. Sc 4. Deck of the Courageous, Stripped for Action ; The Running Fight ; Death of the Poor Little Midshipmite ; 'Tis Good to Fight for the Flag ; Tableau - 'The Battle of Jutland.' Act 3; Sc 1. (18 months have elapsed) The Prison Camp at Friedrichsfeld, Germany ; Lashed, Starved and Murdered ; In the Enemy's Grip ; The Ambassador to the Rescue. Sc 2. Gates at the Prison ; Sc 3. Ballroom in Von Coblentz's quarters ; Diamond Cut diamond ; Koepenick out-Koepenicked ; Act 4; Sc 1. Sir Harry Brookland's Home ; The Armistace ; The Tree of Truth ; Back from the War.

'Since the Prince could not go to Rasputin and kill him, Rasputin must come to the Prince and be killed. But how? How could that be brought about. She told him that too. Rasputin must be brought to her house to get her' (Sydney Morning Herald 4 May 1918, p.2).

Mary O'Neil is an Irish woman whose life and love are hemmed in on all sides by social prejudice and religious intolerance. She repeatedly clashes with her family and church in her attempts to get a release from a marriage gone bad, to marry the man she does love, and to legitimise the child she has with him.

In an interview with a journalist from Adelaide's Advertiser, John Cosgrove indicates that he had removed some of the more contentious incidents from Hall Caine's controversial novel. He also records that his play offers a happy ending rather leaving Mary O'Neil's fate open-ended.

Described in advertising as 'an episode in a young man's life' (Argus 22 December 1917, 16), Three Weeks is an adaptation of Elinor Glyn's 1907 novel of the same name.

Glyn's narrative sees Paul Verdayne, a young and wealthy English sent to Europe after being caught embracing a parson's daughter. While in Switzerland he has an affair with an older woman, who turns out to be an unhappily married queen from an small Russian dependency. When she disappears after three weeks Verdayne becomes despondent and returns to England. With his father's assistance he finds out the woman's identity and discovers that she has given birth to their son. Before they can meet again, however, she is murdered by her husband. Paul then spends the next five years wandering around from country to country until he decides to make preparations to meet his son.

In Cosgrove's adaptation most of the action takes place in the fictional country of Ravona.