Sweet Nell of Old Drury

Sweet Nell of Old Drury
Directed byRaymond Longford[4]
Written byRaymond Longford
George Musgrove
Based onplay by Paul Kester
Produced byGeorge Musgrove
Cosens Spencer
StarringNellie Stewart
CinematographyErnest Higgins[5][6]
Production
company
Distributed bySawyers Pictures (USA)
Release date
  • 2 December 1911 (1911-12-02)[1][2] 1913 (USA)[3]
Running time
4,800 ft
CountryAustralia
LanguagesSilent film
English intertitles
Budget£2,000[7]

Sweet Nell of Old Drury (US: Nell Gwynne) is a 1911 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford starring Nellie Stewart about the relationship between Nell Gwynne and King Charles II. It is based on the 1900 play of the same name by Paul Kester which Stewart had performed numerous times on stage.[8] It is considered a lost film.

Making reference to the film, a 1931 obituary for Stewart described her as Australia's "first screen star" and "the first world celebrity to appear in an Australian film production."[9]

The film was a financial success.[10]

Stewart made only brief reference to the film in her 1923 memoirs, and incorrectly suggested a copy of the film survived - to be released after her death.[11]

  1. ^ "Raymond Longford", Cinema Papers, January 1974 p51
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference smh was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Moving Picture World - Lantern: Search, Visualize & Explore the Media History Digital Library".
  4. ^ "Bound printed copy of Minutes of Evidence of the Royal Commission on the Moving Picture Industry in Australia (one of two copies)". National Archives of Australia. NAA: A11636, 4/1. p. 145.
  5. ^ "Sweet Nell of Old Drury". The Mercury. Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 26 February 1912. p. 3. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  6. ^ "Production of Moving Pictures – In America and Australia". Australian Town and Country Journal. Vol. XCVIII, no. 2555. New South Wales, Australia. 18 December 1918. p. 20. Retrieved 21 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pike was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ The Australian woman's mirror, The Bulletin Newspaper, 1924, retrieved 20 April 2019
  9. ^ "Nellie Stewart, Our First Screen Star". Everyones. 24 June 1931. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  10. ^ Everyones, Everyones Ltd, 1920, retrieved 20 April 2019
  11. ^ Nellie Stewart, My Life Story, John Sands, 1923 p 197