North showing of silent film classic

Jan 6 2009 by Tony Henderson, The Journal

ONE of the best silent films produced in the UK – made by a North East director – is to receive its Durham premiere later this month.

The Life Story of David Lloyd George, directed by Stockton-born Maurice Elvey in 1918, will form part of a free 10-week course which looks at silent British cinema, and will be screened on January 15.

It is being run by David Williams, retired Durham University lecturer in film and TV.

The course, at Durham County Council’s Clayport Library, will also include Elvey’s Bleak House from 1920, At the Villa Rose from 1920, The Sign of Four from 1923 and Hindle Wakes from 1927 as well as a number of his two-reel Sherlock Holmes films.

Hailed as the most prolific director in British history, Elvey notched up 200 films from 1913-57 and was one of only a few to master both silent cinema and talkies. As a nine-year-old he worked as an hotel page boy before becoming an actor at 17.

He went on to establish his own theatrical company before moving to films, directing comedy, drama and literary adaptations in Britain and the United States.

He worked with performers such as Leslie Howard, Gracie Fields and Alastair Sim and launched the film career of Petula Clark.

The Lloyd George film was suppressed for political reasons before its release in 1918. It was rediscovered in the Lloyd George family archives and had its world premiere in Cardiff in 1996. It is shown during the course with the permission of the Welsh Film Archive.

Mr Williams has also included East Lynne, one of the earliest British feature films from 1913 in the course along with Bulldog Drummond’s Third Round from 1925, two 1928 Betty Balfour comedies and two gripping dramas Moulin Rouge and Piccadilly from 1929.

At least one of the films will have live accompaniment by local pianist George Hetherington.

Details about the course, which starts at 7.15pm, are available from Clayport Library on (0191) 386-4003.