John Gavin (1875-1938)

John F. Gavin, born as John Francis Henry Gavin (1875 – 6 January 1938) was an Australian film director, who was one of the early filmmakers of the 1910s. He is best known for making films about bushrangers such as Captain Thunderbolt, Captain Moonlite, Ben Hall and Frank Gardiner. He was known by the nickname "Jack" and worked in collaboration with his wife Agnes, who wrote many of his films, most of which have not survived. One book said of him, "although Gavin was prolific his later surviving work shows that his entrepreneurial talent outweighed any he might have had as director."

Gavin was born in Sydney and later claimed he worked for the circus aged ten. He moved to the country and worked as cattle drover, being involved in a record cattle drive from Camooweal in Queensland to Adelaide. "A man of fine physique and imposing presence" he served for a time in the Sydney Lancers as the captain of a squadron. He was interested in acting and received an offer to join the touring company of Bland Holt. He stayed with them for a number of seasons, then travelled to the USA where he worked with Barnum and Bailey's Circus, and Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. He married Agnes in 1898.

Gavin returned to Australia and organised his own Wild West Show which was successful at the Melbourne Cyclorama, although he experienced a number of legal troubles. Gavin eventually had a company of 150 before moving into filmmaking. In 1908 he started managing theatres which he did for the next few years.

His debut feature was about Thunderbolt, produced by H. A. Forsyth, and its success launched his career. As one writer later put it:

With the aid of a gallant, if small, company of triers, including Mrs. Gavin as scenario writer and leading lady, and himself as leading juvenile, he turned out several films dealing with the convict and bushranging eras. There were no such things as studios then, and all scenes, exteriors and interiors, had to be shot in the open with Old Sol supplying the light. The results were considered quite satisfactory, and the pictures made money.

He followed this up with Moonlite and by February 1911 it was written that "more film has been used over Jack Gavin than over any other Australian biograph actor." He was described as "the beauteous bushranger".

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