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W. J. LINCOLN
(1870-1917) W. J. Lincoln had success in the UK in 1893 with The Bush King, following this in 1900
with The Power of Wealth. Another of his early works was the 1903 pantomime Little Red Riding
Hood. He later turned to the film industry as an exhibitor, screenwriter and director and after directing
several films for Amalgamated Pictures co-founded Lincoln-Cass Films in 1912 with Godfrey Cass.
The company was bought out by J. C. Williamsons two years later. Lincoln was involved in the
making of some 23 films before his death.
The son of a Melbourne wholesale clothing manufacturer, William Joseph
Lincoln was raised in the sea side community of St Kilda and started his
career in the entertainment industry as an actor. In the early 1890s he
travelled to England to try his luck on the London stage and in 1893
managed to get the Surrey Theatre (Lambeth, Greater London) to produce
his melodrama The Bush King. The play was given was given its premiere
on 6 November 1893. It reportedly played at three London theatres,
including a return season at the Surrey (ARG 1 Oct. 1894, 6) and a 10
nights season at the Britannia Theatre in March 1894 (BCRC: 27 Apr.
1894, 5). The Argus also records that the third theatre to stage the play was
the Lyric (29 Sept. 1894, 12). Both the Argus and Caulfield and
Elsternwick Leader report, too, that Lincoln wrote a farcical comedy for
Willie Edouin around the same period, with the story set aboard an oceangoing steamer (ARG: 22 May 1894, 7; 9 CEL: 9 June 1894, 2).
Following his return to Australia in 1894 The Bush King was given its
Australian premiere by Charles Taylor and Ella Carrington at the Theatre
Royal, Melbourne, on 29 September 1894. Although praised by several
Melbourne critics the play lasted only one week. Lincoln was undeterred
by its lack of success and after some alterations managed to get it staged at
the Novelty Theatre, London for a brief season in 1897 (Fotheringham
117).
Over the course of the late 1890s Lincoln appears to have been involved in
a variety of theatrical activities. In 1895, for example, he exhibited a series
Source: Peter Fogerty. St Kilda Historical
of "living pictures" at a carnival and fair in aid of the Flemington and
Society.
Kensington Bowling and Tennis Club (ARG: 29 Oct. 1895, 5). Two years
later his one act dramatic sketch "An Affair of Honour" was staged at the Fitzroy Town Hall by the Princess Ida Court
(ARG: 18 Nov. 1897, 5). Advertising for Under the Red Robe, staged by Williamson and Musgrove at Melbourne's
Princess Theatre indicates, too, that it was being produced "by arrangement with W. J. Lincoln."1
Lincoln's association with Alfred Dampier is thought to have begun in 1900 when the actor/manager produced his
drama The Power of Wealth. Described as a "play of the passions," and set in Naples, it was given its Australian
premiere at the Criterion on 18 August (Dampier also opened his Melbourne season at the Bijou theatre on 18 May
1901 with the play). The two men continued their relationship with a reworking of The Bush King. Attributed to
Lincoln and Adam Pierre (Dampier's pseudonym),2 the new version was staged for the first time at the Criterion
Theatre, Sydney on 28 January. Considerable changes were made to the play, not the least being the transformation of
the original hero Captain Dart into the more romantically-sounding Captain Midnight. With age and an expanding
waistline by then making it implausible for Dampier to play the lead role, the decision was also made to expand the
previously minor role of Ned Harling (pub keeper) into the cripple Humpy Ned. The play's popularity with audiences
meant that Dampier was able to revive the play on a frequent basis through until late 1908. It was also adapted into a
film version in 1911 by Dampier's son-in-law, Alfred Rolfe, who created the Captain Midnight role for the reworked
version of 1900. With Rolfe and Lily Dampier reprising their roles, the film was released under the title Captain
Midnight, the Bush King.
In 1903 Lincoln was approached by Tom Perman to provide the libretto for a pantomime. His efforts resulted in
Little Red Riding Hood, which Perman staged at the Bijou Theatre, Melbourne, beginning Boxing Night. The 200
strong company included such actors as Bella Perman (Red Riding Hood), Maud B. Perman (Boy Blue), Harry Shine
(Dame Trot) and Tom Dawson (Senator Baron Frost), along with S. Perman, Johnny Cowan and P. J. Perman.
1
See for example the advertisement placed in the Argus 31 Oct. 1898, 2].
2
See for example "The Stage." QLR: 27 Aug. 1904, 27; "Amusements: Theatre Royal" AA: 28 Dec. (1904), 7.
Kalgoorlie Miner 23 Aug. (1904), 7.
Lincoln was engaged by J. C. Williamson to manage his Bio-Tableau tours of Australia and New Zealand during the
years 1904 and 1905. In 1906 he was engaged as R. G. Knowles tour manager, organising a "stories, songs and
pictures" entertainment billed as "Trifles That Trouble a Traveller." Knowles was supported in his musical number by
his banjo-playing wife. One established season was in Brisbane at the Theatre Royal in June (the lessee at that time
was Harold Ashton). 1906 also saw Lincoln manage Parison cantatrice, Blanche Arral's engagement at the Sydney
Town Hall (SMH: 5 Sept. 1906, 12). Some three years later he began overseeing the day to day operations of the St
Kilda Paradise Gardens - an outdoor cinema. The Argus reports in October 1909 that under his management a number
of improvements had been undertaken, including the inclusion new lawns, outdoor illuminations effects (hundreds of
vauxhall lamps) and a new refreshment area. The newly renovated venue was formally declared open by a local
councillor on 2 October (4 Oct. 1909, 9).
Source: Pike and Cooper. Australian Film 1900-1977 (1980), 37.
Lincoln's career as a film director began in 1911 when he
took on the position for the Amalgamated Pictures feature
It is Never Too Late to Mend. He was subsequently
appointed the company's principal director, making at least
six films that same year - The Mystery of the Hansom Cab,
The Luck of Roaring Camp, Called Back, The Lost Chord,
The Bells, and The Double Event. When owners J. and N.
Tait withdrew Amalgamated Pictures from feature
production in 1912 Lincoln immediately formed his own
company with actor Godfrey Cass. The following year he
also became owner of the "Paradise." Lincoln and Cass
went on to produce a series of short features in Melbourne
but the enterprise eventually failed, due in part to Lincoln's
problems with alcohol. Among the films produced were:
The Sick Stockrider (1913), followed in quick succession
by Moondyne, The Remittance Man, Transported, The
Road to Ruin, The Reprieve and The Crisis.
Lincoln-Cass Films was bought out by J. C. Williamsons in 1914 and Lincoln was subsequently hired to write
scenarios for several films the following year. By 1916 Lincoln's health had begun to deteriorate due to alcoholism.
The situation became so bad in 1915 that he was removed as director of Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford. The following
year he formed Lincoln-Barnes Productions in partnership with G.H. Barnes. The venture struggled from the start
financially and only The Life of Adam Lindsay Gordon was completed. The film's leading actor later recounted that on
one occasion he and the cameraman were forced to seize the film before they could extract their pay from the
company. Around the same time Lincoln was forced to spend several weeks in hospital with alcoholic poisoning.
Given these problems the film not surprisingly failed to impress either the public or the press. After Lincoln's death,
the film was taken over by the Austral Photoplay Company for screenings at their Kookaburra Theatre, Sydney
(beginning 28 Oct. 1918).
Lincoln died in Sydney in 1917. At the time he was working on an adaptation of the stage play The Worst Woman in
London called The Worst Woman in Sydney
HISTORICAL NOTES AND CORRECTIONS
1.
Lincoln married Pearl Ireland in 1896. The couple's daughter, Marguerite, was born the following year.
2.
Lincoln's father was a partner in the clothing firm Lincoln, Stewart and Co. The company is known to have
provided costumes for a number of Melbourne theatrical productions during the late-1890s.
3.
A report in the South Australian Chronicle (9 Dec. 1893, 5)
reports that The Bush King had been written "partly by an
antipodean [sic] named Lincoln and partly by Mr Lestocq."
4.
The 1897 Fitzroy Town Hall event put on by the Princess Ida
Court included the appearance of a Miss Rosa Lincoln. It is
unclear if she was related to W. J. Lincoln.
Brisbane Courier 28 June (1906), 2.
Sydney Morning Herald 28 Jan. (1901), 2.
FILMOGRAPHY
1911:
1912:
1913:
1915:
1916:
It Is Never Too Late to Mend [wr/dir.] • Luck of the Roaring Camp [wr/dir.] • Mystery of the Hansom Cab
[dir.] • Called Back [wr/dir.] • The Lost Chord [dir.] • The Bells [dir.] • The Double Event [wr/dir.] • After
Sundown [dir.]
Breaking the News [wr/dir.] • Rip Van Winkle [dir.]
Transported [dir.] • The Sick Stockrider [dir.] • The Road to Ruin [dir.] • The Reprieve [dir.] • The
Reprieve [dir.] • The Remittance Man [dir.] • The Crisis [dir.] • Moondyne [dir.] • The Wreck [dir.]
Within Our Gates [wr.]
The Life of Adam Lindsay Gordon [wr/dir.] • Within the Law [wr/dir.] • Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford [wr.]
• Nurse Cavell [wr/dir/prod.] • La Revanche [dir/prod.] • Officer 666 [wr.]
FURTHER REFERENCE
"Amusements: Criterion - The Power of Wealth." SMH: 20 Aug. (1900), 9.
"Anglo-Colonial Gossip." SAR: 16 Dec. (1893), 9. [re: The Bush King]
Bateman, Mary "W.J. Lincoln." Cinema Papers. June–July (1980).
Djubal, Clay. "Lincoln, W. J." AustLit (2009).
Fotheringham, Richard. "The Bush King." CTTA: (1995), 117.
Lincoln, W. J. "Troubles of a Tenor: To the Editor of the Argus." ARG: 15 July (1898), 7.
"Music and Drama." HM: 4 Sept. (1917), 7.
Pike, Andrew, and Ross Cooper. Australian Film 1900-1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production (1980), 16-17.
See also:
DNP: 3 Aug. (1897), 2. [re: Lincoln's father]
First published: 26/01/2013
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