The Last Post (film)
Encyclopedia
The Last Post is a 1929
British silent film
drama, directed by Dinah Shurey and starring John Longden
and Frank Vosper
. The film was the first (and would turn out to be the only) solo directorial venture by Shurey, who was the only female producer and director working in the British film industry at the time. It also became the main source of a libel action launched by Shurey against the magazine Film Weekly.
After the war, David becomes increasingly restless and disillusioned with the society he sees around him. He becomes involved with anti-establishment elements and joins a Bolshevik
group. During the General Strike of 1926 the group hatch a plot to steal ammunition, which goes badly wrong when a soldier is killed during the botched operation. However it is Martin who is arrested, charged and sentenced to death for the crime, accepting his fate out of loyalty to his brother and the wish for the unknowing Christine not to have to face the fact that her husband is a killer. But at the last moment, David is unable to watch his brother die for his crime and confesses his guilt.
concluded "although the theme is heavy and the unfolding somewhat prolonged, the picture combines sentiment, sacrifice and patriotism in just the right proportions to appeal to the masses", Herbert Thompson of Film Weekly damned the film as "clap-trap patriotism, one of the worst films I have ever seen...the direction is unenterprising, and the film rarely moves faster than the funeral procession with which it opens".
In a column published on 10 June 1929, Thompson's Film Weekly colleague, the famously blunt and outspoken critic Nerina Shute
, posed the question "Can Women Direct Films?" Using The Last Post as prime evidence, Shute concluded: "It is pathetically obvious that women can’t produce films. In England only one lady has had the temerity to try. Dinah Shurey (who will go to heaven by reason of her great courage) has created several appalling pictures." The highly offended Shurey promptly launched a libel action against Film Weekly. When the case came to trial in February 1930, the defence counsel for Film Weekly avoided a debate about the merits or otherwise of Shurey's films, instead putting the case that regardless of the unpalatability to Shurey of Shute's opinions, under English law Shute had every right to express them, and Film Weekly had every right to publish them. The jury thought differently however and found in favour of Shurey, awarding £500 damages and costs against Film Weekly.
as "missing, believed lost". Due to its historical interest as a product of Britain's first female film director, it is included on the BFI's "75 Most Wanted
" list of missing British feature films.
1929 in film
-Events:The days of the silent film are numbered. A mad scramble to provide synchronized sound is on.*January 20 - The movie In Old Arizona is released. The film is the first full-length talking film to be filmed outdoors....
British silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
drama, directed by Dinah Shurey and starring John Longden
John Longden
John Longden was a West Indian-born English film actor. He appeared in 84 films between 1926 and 1964, including five films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.-Biography:...
and Frank Vosper
Frank Vosper
Frank Vosper was a British actor and playwright.-Stage:Vosper made his stage debut in 1919 and was best known for playing urbane villains....
. The film was the first (and would turn out to be the only) solo directorial venture by Shurey, who was the only female producer and director working in the British film industry at the time. It also became the main source of a libel action launched by Shurey against the magazine Film Weekly.
Plot
Identical twin brothers Martin and David have grown up both loving the same girl, Christine. Christine in turn loves Martin, the more stable and easy-going of the two where David is more impulsive and volatile in temperament. The brothers both go off to serve in World War I, where David is badly wounded and sent home to England to recuperate. Despite her love for Martin, Christine agrees to marry David who she feels needs her more.After the war, David becomes increasingly restless and disillusioned with the society he sees around him. He becomes involved with anti-establishment elements and joins a Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
group. During the General Strike of 1926 the group hatch a plot to steal ammunition, which goes badly wrong when a soldier is killed during the botched operation. However it is Martin who is arrested, charged and sentenced to death for the crime, accepting his fate out of loyalty to his brother and the wish for the unknowing Christine not to have to face the fact that her husband is a killer. But at the last moment, David is unable to watch his brother die for his crime and confesses his guilt.
Cast
- John LongdenJohn LongdenJohn Longden was a West Indian-born English film actor. He appeared in 84 films between 1926 and 1964, including five films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.-Biography:...
as David / Martin - Frank VosperFrank VosperFrank Vosper was a British actor and playwright.-Stage:Vosper made his stage debut in 1919 and was best known for playing urbane villains....
as Paul - Cynthia Murtagh as Christine
- Alf GoddardAlf GoddardAlf Goddard was a British film actor.Brother of a famous boxer, Alf Goddard was once a boxer too. He was also a trained athlete and a professional dancer. He served in the army in World War I and when he was invalided out he worked on munitions. He made his stage debut in a musical hall act in 1916...
as Tiny - J. Fisher White as Mr. Blair
- Johnny Butt as Goodson
- Rolf Leslie as Stephan
Libel case
On its theatrical release, The Last Post picked up mixed reviews. While The Bioscope found it had "many points of strong interest, working up to a profoundly impressive climax" and Kine WeeklyKine Weekly
The Kinematograph Weekly, popularly known as Kine Weekly, was a trade newspaper catering to the British film industry. It was published in Britain between 1889 and 1971.-Publication history:...
concluded "although the theme is heavy and the unfolding somewhat prolonged, the picture combines sentiment, sacrifice and patriotism in just the right proportions to appeal to the masses", Herbert Thompson of Film Weekly damned the film as "clap-trap patriotism, one of the worst films I have ever seen...the direction is unenterprising, and the film rarely moves faster than the funeral procession with which it opens".
In a column published on 10 June 1929, Thompson's Film Weekly colleague, the famously blunt and outspoken critic Nerina Shute
Nerina Shute
Nerina Shute was an English writer and journalist, described by the Sunday Times as the amazingly colourful, brilliant and bisexual film critic".-Early life:Shute was born in Prudhoe, Northumberland...
, posed the question "Can Women Direct Films?" Using The Last Post as prime evidence, Shute concluded: "It is pathetically obvious that women can’t produce films. In England only one lady has had the temerity to try. Dinah Shurey (who will go to heaven by reason of her great courage) has created several appalling pictures." The highly offended Shurey promptly launched a libel action against Film Weekly. When the case came to trial in February 1930, the defence counsel for Film Weekly avoided a debate about the merits or otherwise of Shurey's films, instead putting the case that regardless of the unpalatability to Shurey of Shute's opinions, under English law Shute had every right to express them, and Film Weekly had every right to publish them. The jury thought differently however and found in favour of Shurey, awarding £500 damages and costs against Film Weekly.
Later history
After its original release as a silent feature, a second version of The Last Post was issued in January 1930, adding a synchronised musical soundtrack and a spoken epilogue. Neither version is known to survive and the film is currently classified by the British Film InstituteBritish Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
as "missing, believed lost". Due to its historical interest as a product of Britain's first female film director, it is included on the BFI's "75 Most Wanted
BFI 75 Most Wanted
The BFI 75 Most Wanted is a list compiled by the British Film Institute of their most sought-after British feature films not currently held in the BFI National Archive, and classified as "missing, believed lost". The films chosen range from quota quickies and B-movies to lavish prestige...
" list of missing British feature films.