What Happened to Jean

What Happened to Jean is a 1918 Australian silent film shot in South Australia. It is a lost film.[2]

What Happened to Jean
Directed byHerbert Walsh
Written byKeith Yelland
StarringEdith Crowe
CinematographyHarry Krischock
Production
company
Trench Comforts Fund Committee
Release date
7 November 1918[1]
Running time
5,000 feet
CountryAustralia
LanguageSilent film
English intertitles
Box office£2,000[2]

Plot

Country girl Jean sets out to see the world. She arrives in Adelaide, runs into villainous Ashbourne, and wins a car in a competition conducted by the Trench Comfort Fund. She meets a socialite called Mrs de Tafford, who misses her long-lost daughter. Mrs de Tafford adopts Jean and promotes her in society. Jean attends a garden party and government house and is sent to a boarding school to complete her education. She discovers that she is in fact Mrs de Tafford's long-lost daughter.[3][4]

Cast

[5]

  • Edith Crowe as Jean
  • Mrs Ernest Good as Mrs de Tafford
  • Price Weir as Colonel de Tafford
  • Herbert Walsh as Reg Stanton
  • James Anderson as Dad Smith
  • Ethelwyn Robin as Mum Smith
  • Janet Ward as Stella
  • Rita Crowe as maid
  • Victor Fitzherbert as Ashbourne
  • Roth Martin as George
  • Hartley Williams as Jasper
  • Harold Rivaz as Jabez
  • Darcy Kelway as Bertie

Many members of Adelaide society also appeared, including South Australia's Premier Peake.[6][7]

Production

The film was made by the South Australian Trench Comforts Fund to raise money for charity. It was intended for South Australian audiences only and deliberately featured many local landmarks. Most of the cast and crew were amateurs.[2]

Reception

The film was hyped through a series of ads in Adelaide papers simply asking "what happened to Jean?"[8] It received a gala premiere, attended by the Premier, Governor General, and leading members of Adelaide society.[9]

The film was well received in Adelaide and raised a reported £2,000.[2]

References
  1. "Advertising". The Mail. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 2 November 1918. p. 6. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  2. Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 84.
  3. ""WHAT HAPPENED TO JEAN."". The Mail. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 26 October 1918. p. 7. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  4. ""WHAT HAPPENED TO JEAN."". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 8 November 1918. p. 9. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  5. "Advertising". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 6 November 1918. p. 8. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  6. "SOCIETY ON THE SCREEN". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 5 November 1918. p. 4. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  7. "SOCIETY ON THE SCREEN". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 5 November 1918. p. 5. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  8. "Advertising". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 21 October 1918. p. 2. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  9. "TRENCH COMFORTS". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 8 November 1918. p. 7. Retrieved 23 July 2012.


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