DRAMATIC TOUCHES.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 207, 1 September 1928, Page 5 (Supplement)

DRAMATIC TOUCHES.

FAMOUS ENGLISH CRIME. "THE MAN THEY COULD NOT HANG." VERSION FOR PLAY AND IILM. •By E.A.B. i l'eor»!e in al! juris of the • riti familiar with the drama and picture story of John Lee, the central figure in the famous .English crime, and known as "The mail they could not hang," will be amazed now to learn that the opening fight scene, the love theme, and tii«* report of the British Government'-; gratuity to the. victim, are purely iicii'.'.on? touches introduced by an enterprising New Zealand actor, showman and playright to make tiie original narrative of John Lee a practicable vehiele for theatrical exploitation.

Copyrighted Manuscript.

Walking into a Wellington bookshop one day in HilO Mr. Frank Davenport (a native of Orange, New South Wales, and now residing in Auckland, New Zealand) picked up and read with interest, the graphic, but simple aecount of the man who e>eaped the extreme penally ol* the law by the failure of the ' r:i p-door to operate on three successive occasions. The possibilities of this unprecedented case fired the imagination of the actor, who, unlike most people with useful ideas, promptly decided upon

uviiuii along the line of dnuna. To give the stage piece required light and shade, pathos, humour and gripping continuity, he invented a preliminary fight, built in a pretty romance, and took other necessary liberties to sustain human interest in the plot, which, he realised, had a real thrilling basis. More than that, he decided to invest the story with a satisfying climax, by indicating that the Government liberally compensated John Lee. These furnishings of a veritabh striking criminal denouement for the play are the figment ot" a liu-id brain—a dramatic touch that has. more than anything else, helped to make the wonderful case in question ring throughout the world. The author was soon to know thp far-reaching appeal of his license.

Hustling a good company together. Mr. Devenport soon got to work with tie theatrical tour, and "The Man they Could not Hang," made its premiere before a packed house at Otaki, near Wellington. The success was repeated at Levin, and it was then decided to book the show up throughout the Dominion. '"We secured the services o* George Burnett of the Florence Company to do the comedy, George Gardiner (one of the original Christie Minstrels) to create Dicky Dood, and Eleanor Gurney to play soubrette. The show started a very remarkable success in Xew Zealand and Australia from early in 1911," added Mr. Devenport. Incidents of Remarkable Tour. '•'At Te Aroha we noticed an elderly man in the front row who se-.med quite hysterical. We learnt that he was no other than Henry Crooks, who. on the evening of the alleged murder at Babbacombe, England, had been out with Lee. whom he had seen take off his bouts prior to entering the house that tragic night.■ He had explained that, he had been reprimanded for being lat-e on two previous evenings and did not want to be detected again. The finding of the boots next morning seriously incriminated Lee in the trouble. Well, after the show we took Crooks to the local newspaper officc where his story was told and telegraphed over New Zealand next morning. I recall how delighted the old fellow was to meet me as the leading man who impersonated his victimised friend. We were now the attraction par excellence.

"Our reputation had preceded us to the Commonwealth and full houses greeted us everywhere. Requiring convict suits for supers at Ballarat we were amazed to find that a local resident there had been chief warder at Pentonville prison and knew all the details about the experience of •John Lee and his adventure at the scaffold. Of course his interview threw a further spotlight upon our play, which was taking every town by storm. 1 remember the great interest taken in us by the gaol governor, who showed me over the prison, also displaying ropes used for various hangings. Being ior the time a kind of superficial victim of these 'necklaces,' I was interested in the morbid business. I was permitted to converse with inmates and I had my fingerprints taken, copies of these being still treasured souvenirs. Film Rights Solo. "We arrived at Bathurst. and who should we bump up against but the reputed Phillip Lytton. who, with his star artist, Madge Mcintosh, wa- having an unbroken sequence of sueee.-s with his tent dramas. Phillip scoffed our suggested rivalry, but he had to eat his words. He was obliged to be satisfied with the overflow from the big theatre in which we appeared. It was the surprise of his life. When we arrived at Sydney, Lytton came on the scene and bought us out at a very satisfactory i figure. After touring the play under | canvas he sold it out for some thousands of pounds." I "The mistake 1 made was to !r: thej film rights slip through my finger-. ' j comments Mr. Devenport. "b-.v 1 «"a- J only twenty-five years of age at the j time and uiv main object was to get t.,< j America. Since then the cinema pro- i duel ion Jia.- been made and t\\;v.i screened through New Zealand anj | Australia with wonderful financial re i suits. However, it is always n:n:;.-i:i_'! to me to j-ec that story, as t compiled j it for the stage, absolutely copied and j generally accepted a- fact relating to j the eventful fate "f -Mm !/••(>. who :-ervcd 22 years in gu'>i after escapin.- the capital punishment.. The whole thing is like a dream to me and I suppose 1 j can say I nm the only man living who can claim with truth that I have been j ( literally 1 hung three times per night publicly for two and a-half years— Sundays excluded." says Mr. Davenport, with a twinkle in his eve. It is understood that the picture is betn<* reproduced in England and one wonders whether this gentleman's copyrighted version will again be utilised.