"For The Term Of His Natural Life." Often considered to be the greatest Australian silent film, this epic 1927 production For the Term of His Natural Life is set in the "Down Under" penal colony of Vandemans Island. The time is 1827, long before Queen Victoria abolished this hell-on-earth isle.
The film stars George Fisher as Richard Devine/Rufus Dawes/John Rex and Eva Novak as Sylvia Vickers and was adapted, produced and directed by Norman Dawn, who later went to Hollwood and made classic B-grade movies like "Bowanga Bowanga" and "Two Lost Worlds."
Also noted as the most expensive Australian film of its time, reportedly costing 50 tmes the average budget.
Taking the blame for a murder to save the reputation of his high-born mother, a young man (Arthur McLaglen) is shipped off to Vandemans, where he stoically accepts the worst that life has to offer at the hands of his sadistic jailers. Even under these trying circumstances, the hero manages to fall in love with the wardens daughter (Eva Novak,) and she with him and proceeds to plot his escape.........