Alfred Rolfe (director)

Alfred Rolfe, real name Alfred Roker (1862– 9 September 1943), was an Australian film director and actor, best known for being the son-in-law of the celebrated actor-manager Alfred Dampier, with whom he appeared frequently on stage, and for his prolific output as a director during Australia's silent era, including Captain Midnight, the Bush King (1911), Captain Starlight, or Gentleman of the Road (1911) and The Hero of the Dardanelles (1915). Only one of his films as director survives today.

Biography

Rolfe started as an actor. He was born in Ballarat and joined Charles Holloway's acting company, where he acted alongside Richard Stewart and Essie Jenyns.[1][2]

In 1888 he toured New Zealand in George Darrell's company.

Alfred Dampier

He then joined the Alfred Dampier Company in 1890, first appearing in Robbery Under Arms.[3] He mostly played smaller parts but i 1892 was promoted to the role of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet.[4] The following year Rolfe married Dampier's daughter Lily. Rolfe acted opposite his wife and father-in-law numerous times around the country throughout the 1890s and early 1900s, most commonly playing juvenile leads.

England

In November 1897, Rolfe sailed for London with his wife and her parents.[5] While there they managed to get work in two plays which toured all over the country and ended up staying for twelve months.[6]

They returned in 1899 and rejoined the Alfred Dampier Company. Among the plays Rolfe most frequently appeared in opposite his wife and father in law were The Bush King, Robbery Under Arms, and East Lynne.[7]

According to New Zealand's Stage magazine, Rolfe "is an actor of brilliancy on a somewhat wide range, a little overshadowed, perhaps, by the stars with whom he has been so long associated, but by no means obscured."[8]

In February 1907 Rolfe left for London with Lily Dampier and her parents once again.[9] Once again, they worked for a period over there.[10][11] Alfred Dampier came home, seriously ill, meaning his company was unable to continue.[12] Rolfe was reported as "walking through his vast estates, plantations, and so on" in his spare time.[13] He and Lily also briefly took over the lead in a play with another company.[14] Dampier died in May 1908.[15]

Philip Lytton

In early 1909, Rolfe was credited as "general manager" on a series of advertisements throughout New South Wales for a £5,000 film depicting the fight between Tommy Burns and Jack Johnson.[16] It is possible this meant Rolfe directed the movie, or was in charge of its distribution.

In August 1910 it was announced Rolfe and Lily were joining Philip Lytton's company for a tour of country Australia and New Zealand. They played several of the Dampier repertoire, including Robbery Under Arms.[17] In September 1910 he and Lily headed Lytton's company, where the line-up of plays included Robbery Under Arms, The Bush King and The Fatal Wedding;[18] all three would soon be turned into films by Charles Cozens Spencer with Rolfe directing and acting in the first two.

Filmmaker

In 1910 Rolfe received an offer to direct three films for Charles Cozens Spencer, all adaptations of productions performed by his father-in-law's and Lytton's company: Captain Midnight, the Bush King, Captain Starlight, or the Gentleman of the Road (an adaptation of Robbery Under Arms), and The Life of Rufus Dawes. Rolfe and his wife also appeared in all three films, the first two especially which appear to have been very successful critically and commercially. He was assisted on the films by Raymond Longford, who later claimed to have directed the movies.[19] He also appears to have directed Dan Morgan for Spencer.[20]

When Rolfe left Spencer, the producer then hired Longford to make his directorial debut with a film adaptation of The Fatal Wedding.

Australian Photo-Play Company

Rolfe left Spencer to take up an offer from Stanley Crick to work at a new film production company, the Australian Photo-Play Company.[20] Rolfe ended up making an estimated 25 features for them, including Australia's first war movie (Mates of the Murrumbidgee (1911)), and first film to deal with aboriginal Australians (Moora Neya, or The Message of the Spear (1911)).

Rolfe seems to have worked less as an actor during this time, although he would occasionally appear in the films. He directed almost every single one of Australian Photo-Play's films.[21]

Fraser Films

After the demise of the Australian Photo-Play Company, Rolfe moved over to Fraser Films, where his movies included adaptations of the popular play The Sunny South (1914) and the poem The Day.

In November 1914 it was reported Rolfe and Lily Dampier were "wandering the globe".[22]

Australasian Films

Fraser Films soon ceased production. From 1915 to 1916 Rolfe worked for Australasian Films, directing shorts, industrial films and features. He was directing a film in Sydney in February 1915 when his wife Lily died in Melbourne.[23]

Rolfe's feature work for Australasian Films included two immensely popular war films, Will they Never Come? (1915) and its sequel, The Hero of the Dardanelles (1915). A movie about the Eureka Rebellion, The Loyal Rebel (1915), was less successful. He then made two more World War I-related movies, How We Beat the Emden (1915) and A Man – That's All (1916); these were used to recruit soldiers.

In May 1916 it was reported that Rolfe had "produced more Australian pictures than any other Australian director". Rolfe said at the same time the greatest difficulty for Australian filmmakers is they are unable to market their films in America or England. "If this could be remedied", said Mr. Rolfe, "as many as fifty copies of any picture would be required and the production would then show a 'worth-while' profit." But in 1916 Australia only four copies could be disposed of "which does not make much of an inducement to intending manufacturers."[24]

In July 1916 it was reported Rolfe had just finished directing a series of educational films for Australasian Pictures, each one about one reel long, adding up to 15,000 feet of film in all.[25]

In November 1916 it was announced in the trade press that Rolfe had "severed his connection with Australasian Films after a long period of service. He has just completed a big industrial subject for this film dealing with practically every Australian industry of note."[26]

Retirement

Rolfe eventually retired from show business, although he did direct one more film, for charity – the Red Cross sponsored feature Cupid Camouflaged (1918). As Lily Dampier's widow, he appears to have inherited the rights to Alfred Dampier's plays, particularly Robbery Under Arms and The Bush King, and authorized various stage productions of these.[27][28] In 1920 he registered a new script based on The Bush King for copyright, but no film of this was made.

Rolfe had been involved in amateur athletics for a number of years, particularly the East Sydney Amateur Athletics Company,[29] but focused on it increasingly from 1917 through the 1920s.[30][31][32][33][34][35]

Rolfe lived in Sydney towards the end of his life. He and Lily had a son, Sidney Alfred Rolfe, who was an artist.[36] He also occasionally appeared on stage.[37][38]

Appraisal

Only one of Rolfe's films survives today, The Hero of the Dardanelles, but according to film historians Graham Shirley and Brian Adams:

It indicates a director skilled in the type of visual and naturalistic sophistication later attributed to Raymond Longford. The conventions of spectacle melodrama so favoured in late nineteenth century Australian theatre, with their realistic settings and real chases on horsebacks and trainwrecks, played a large role in the films he made for Australian Photo-Play in 1911-12... If... reviews of other films are an indication, Rolfe's work for [Charles Cozens] Spencer and Australian Photo-Play had helped refine the achievement of naturalistic performances for the screen, not to say the basis of a screen grammar that vividly captured setting and spectacle.[39]

Personal life

In the 1890s, Rolfe backed the race horse Cremorne.[40]

Select filmography

Dramatic films

Industrial films

Select theatre credits

Holloway Dramatic Company

George Darrell Company and Others

Alfred Dampier Company

Maggie Moore Company

W. Elton Company

Alfred Dampier Company

England performances

Alfred Dampier Company

Replacements

Philip Lytton Company

References

  1. ↑ "CELEBRATED AUSTRALIAN THEATRICAL FAMILY.". The Mail. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 18 July 1914. p. 8. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  2. ↑ "MEMS ABOUT MUMMERS.". Quiz and the Lantern. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 25 February 1897. p. 15. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  3. ↑ "Advertising.". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 27 September 1890. p. 12. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "Theatrical Topics.". Telegraph. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 25 May 1892. p. 7. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "MEMS ABOUT MUMMERS.". Quiz and the Lantern. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 4 November 1897. p. 15. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  6. ↑ "General Gossip.". The Referee. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 22 March 1899. p. 10. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  7. ↑ THE PLAY AND PLAYERS. Star, Issue 6457, 11 April 1899, Page 3, accessed 1 December 2014
  8. ↑ The Stage. New Zealand Illustrated Magazine, 1 January 1904, Page 322 accessed 1 December 2014
  9. ↑ "General Gossip.". The Referee. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 21 February 1906. p. 12. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  10. ↑ "THEATRICAL TIT-BITS.". Sydney Sportsman. Surry Hills, NSW: National Library of Australia. 21 August 1907. p. 2. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  11. ↑ "THE STRUTTER'S PAGE.". The Newsletter: an Australian Paper for Australian People. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 24 August 1907. p. 3. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  12. ↑ "THEATRICAL TIT-BITS.". Sydney Sportsman. Surry Hills, NSW: National Library of Australia. 1 January 1908. p. 2. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  13. ↑ "THEATRICAL TIT-BITS.". Sydney Sportsman. Surry Hills, NSW: National Library of Australia. 5 February 1908. p. 8. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  14. 1 2 "CRITERION THEATRE.". Sydney Sportsman. Surry Hills, NSW: National Library of Australia. 8 April 1908. p. 2. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  15. ↑ "DEATH OF ALFRED DAMPIER.". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 25 May 1908. p. 6. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  16. ↑ "Advertising.". The Muswellbrook Chronicle. NSW: National Library of Australia. 16 January 1909. p. 7. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  17. ↑ "WESTS PICTURES.". Sydney Sportsman. Surry Hills, NSW: National Library of Australia. 17 August 1910. p. 3. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  18. ↑ "Theatrical Gossip.". The Newsletter: an Australian Paper for Australian People. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 17 September 1910. p. 2. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  19. ↑ "AUSTRALIAN FILMS.". The Daily News. Perth: National Library of Australia. 18 December 1931. p. 11 Edition: HOME (FINAL) EDITION. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  20. 1 2 "Advertising.". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 3 June 1911. p. 4. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  21. ↑ Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 14
  22. ↑ "THE THEATRE.". The Catholic Press. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 19 November 1914. p. 11. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  23. ↑ "Melbourne Theatrical.". The Referee. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 10 February 1915. p. 15. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  24. ↑ "Australian Notes;" Moving Picture World(May 1916) at Internet Archive accessed 2o November 2014
  25. ↑ "Film News From Foreign Parts" Motion Picture News (Jul-Aug 1916) at Internet Archive accessed 20 Nov 2014
  26. ↑ "Australian Notes", The Moving Picture World 18 November 1916 p 996, accessed 20 November 2014
  27. ↑ "Advertising.". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 14 April 1917. p. 2. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  28. ↑ "Advertising.". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 11 May 1918. p. 2. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  29. ↑ "ATHLETICS.". The Referee. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 17 February 1915. p. 6. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  30. ↑ "ATHLETICS.". The Arrow. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 23 June 1917. p. 8. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  31. ↑ "MR. A. ROLFE DEAD.". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 13 September 1943. p. 7. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  32. ↑ Richard Fotheringham, "Introduction", Robbery Under Arms by Alfred Dampier and Garnet Walch, Currency Press 1985 p60
  33. ↑ "SOME OF THE OFFICIALS AT THE BOYS' SPORTS.". The Referee. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 10 October 1928. p. 14. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  34. ↑ "N.S.W. CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP.". The Referee. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 27 July 1927. p. 16. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  35. ↑ "ATHLETIC GOSSIP.". The Arrow. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 2 September 1921. p. 7. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  36. ↑ "THEATRICAL TIT-BITS.". Sydney Sportsman. Surry Hills, NSW: National Library of Australia. 8 March 1911. p. 3. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  37. ↑ "AMUSEMENTS.". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 4 February 1905. p. 5. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  38. ↑ "ACTORS I HAVE KNOWN.". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Qld.: National Library of Australia. 5 October 1937. p. 3. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  39. ↑ Graham Shirley and Brian Adams, Australian Cinema: The First Eighty Years, Currency Pres 1989 p 40
  40. ↑ "Sports and Sportsmen.". Table Talk. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 30 October 1896. p. 14. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  41. ↑ "No title.". The Sunday Times. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 7 May 1916. p. 16. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  42. ↑ "The MIMIC WORLD.". The Sunday Times. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 18 June 1916. p. 24. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  43. ↑ "AUSTRALIA'S GREATEST IRRIGATION SCHEME.". The Sunday Times. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 4 June 1916. p. 3 Supplement: Issued as a Supplement with the "Sunday Times". Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  44. ↑ "WORLD OF LABOUR.". The Worker. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 17 August 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  45. ↑ "Advertising.". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 12 May 1883. p. 16. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  46. ↑ "HOLLOWAY'S DRAMATIC SEASON.". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 14 August 1883. p. 5. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
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  48. ↑ "Advertising.". Launceston Examiner. Tas.: National Library of Australia. 25 February 1884. p. 4. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  49. ↑ "Advertising.". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 15 March 1884. p. 16. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  50. ↑ Theatre Royal. Star, Issue 5152, 6 November 1884, Page 3 accessed 1 December 2015
  51. ↑ "Advertising.". Launceston Examiner. Tas.: National Library of Australia. 1 February 1886. p. 4. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  52. ↑ "THEATRE ROYAL.". The Mercury. Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 18 March 1886. p. 2. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  53. ↑ "Advertising.". The Mercury. Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 2 April 1886. p. 3. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  54. ↑ "Advertising.". Goulburn Evening Penny Post. NSW: National Library of Australia. 18 May 1886. p. 3. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  55. ↑ "Classified Advertising.". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 30 July 1886. p. 1. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  56. ↑ "ROYAL PRINCESS THEATRE.". Bendigo Advertiser. Vic.: National Library of Australia. 23 April 1887. p. 3. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  57. ↑ "AMUSEMENTS.". The Queenslander. National Library of Australia. 13 August 1887. p. 258. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  58. ↑ "Classified Advertising.". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 27 August 1887. p. 2. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  59. ↑ "AMUSEMENTS.". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 26 September 1887. p. 8. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  60. ↑ "CRITERION THEATRE.—"THE MERCHANT OF VENICE.".". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 19 December 1887. p. 8. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  61. ↑ "VICTORIA THEATRE.". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. National Library of Australia. 27 December 1887. p. 5. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
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  63. ↑ "Advertising.". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 17 August 1888. p. 12. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  64. ↑ "OUR NEWCASTLE LETTER.". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. NSW: National Library of Australia. 21 May 1889. p. 7. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
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  66. ↑ "AMUSEMENTS.". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. National Library of Australia. 25 May 1889. p. 5. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  67. ↑ "HER MAJESTY'S OPERA-HOUSE.". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 16 September 1889. p. 6. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  68. ↑ "AMUSEMENTS.". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 16 June 1890. p. 6. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
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  71. ↑ "Advertising.". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 10 January 1891. p. 16. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
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  82. ↑ "Before the CURTAIN.". The Sunday Times. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 3 November 1895. p. 7. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
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  84. ↑ To the West, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 8 February 1896 [Event description], 1896, retrieved 14 February 2015
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  86. ↑ "Advertising.". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 16 October 1896. p. 8. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
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  88. ↑ "THEATRE ROYAL.". The Mercury. Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 15 January 1897. p. 3. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  89. ↑ Monte Cristo, Theatre Royal, Coolgardie, WA, 27 April 1897 [Event description], 1897, retrieved 14 February 2015
  90. ↑ East Lynne, Theatre Royal, Coolgardie, WA, 14 May 1897 [Event description], 1897, retrieved 14 February 2015
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  93. ↑ "AMUSEMENTS.". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 30 July 1898. p. 12. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
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  95. ↑ "AMUSEMENTS.". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 9 March 1899. p. 3. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  96. ↑ "THEATRE ROYAL.". The Mercury. Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 1 January 1900. p. 2. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  97. ↑ "THEATRE ROYAL.". The Mercury. Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 11 January 1900. p. 2. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
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