The Silence of Dean Maitland

Everyone who is fascinated by the history of the cinema should see this one! The central character is a clergyman who through the course of the story, rises to the significant position of Dean of the Cathedral. But Dean Maitland is a man with a secret or two:- a steamy affair, a love-child and ...... something even worse! What is the terrible secret about which the Dean remains silent for twenty years?

This movie was created at a time when it was considered highly inappropriate to present "a man of the cloth" in anything other than a favourable light. Depicting the Dean as a lusty and deceitful sinner raised disapproving eyebrows.

But even more scandalous was the nudity! This is the first, the very first film to reveal a nipple!

Well, you have to be very quick to catch it! It's right near the beginning. The pretty little nympho Alma Lee has been having a dip in the ocean, spied upon by not one but two men. She changes, partly behind a rock and partly (but only partly) behind a small towel. (None of these bath-sheets!) The towel slips down .... and there for an instant is a nipple! She hitches it up and there for an instant is a buttock!

And this really is Movie Making History!

The movie is filmed with considerable artistry and a great deal of wit, albeit of a very Australian kind. Some of the scenes, the camera placement and angles make us forget that this really is a very old film. Ken Hall was a daring genius.

John Warwick gets out of prison after twenty years for murder, which he did not commit. He heads back to his old town and confront John Longden. Longden was the man who committed the murder, but Warwick had kept silent because they were childhood friends. Longden burst into court to make his confession, but was cut short by a heart attack. Now he is the father of a blind boy, and has taken care of Warwick's brother. But his conscience weighs on him.

And well it might. This is a film version of a Victorian potboiler. Originally it was 95 minutes in length. The copy I looked at was exactly one hour. Other people who have commented on it call it fruity" and it certainly qualifies for that. But it was just what the Australian public was looking for, especially after director Ken Hall fought the censors to victory. The lurid stuff is slight, and the whole effort strikes me as ridiculous, but within its boundaries, it certainly offers what it intends to.