The Bells (1911 film)

The Bells is a 1911 Australian feature-length silent film directed by W. J. Lincoln. It is based on the famous stage melodrama by Erckmann-Chatrian, adapted by Leopold Lewis, which in turn had been adapted for the Australian stage by W. J. Lincoln before he made it into a film.

It is today considered a lost film.

It was one of several films Lincoln made with the Tait family, who had produced The Story of the Kelly Gang. According to Lincoln's obituary in The Bulletin it was one of Lincoln's best films.

Plot
Mathias (Arthur Styan) is an innkeeper in a village in Alsace, happily married to Catherine (Miss Grist) and with a daughter Annette (Nellie Bramley). However he is greatly in debt, so on Christmas Day 1833, he murders a Polish Jew (Mr Cullenane) who visits the inn for his gold. He uses this to pay off his debts and rise in society, becoming the burgomaster of the town – however he is always tormented by guilt.

Fifteen years later on Christmas Day, Mathias becomes delirious and hears the sound of the Jew's sleigh bells. He dreams he is being tried for the murder and is found guilty. He awakes and dies, leaving his family none the wiser.

Production
The film was an adaptation of a well known play and featured the only known screen appearance of stage actor Nellie Bramley. It was shot partly on location of Mount Donna Buang in Victoria.

Sam Crews was the scenic artist, and John Ennis was the stage manager. Stage scenery was hired from J.C. Williamson Ltd. It was shot at a studio in St Kilda.

Release
Screenings of the film were often accompanied by a lectured from J Ennis, who was in the film.

The Adelaide Critic said "The snow scene at Mount Dounna Buang, near Warburton, came in for much admiration."

The film was released in the US in 1914 by Sawyers Inc.