Editing Thunderbolt (1910 film) (section)

==Production==
[[File:Thunderbolt rocks.jpg|thumb|right|Still from film of Thunderbolt at Cockatoo Island]]
The film was based on the book ''[[Three Years With Thunderbolt]]'' and its play adaptation ''[[Thunderbolt (play)|Thunderbolt]]''. R.F. Stephens later claimed he was the one who suggested adapting the play to John Gavin.<ref>{{Citation
  | title=Local Films: Kelly Gang, Thunderbolt The Roaring Days Of The One-Night Stands
  | journal=Everyones.
  | date=23 June 1937
  | location=Sydney
  | publisher=Everyones Ltd
  | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-577573448
  | id=nla.obj-577573448
  | access-date=1 July 2024
  | via=Trove
}}</ref>

[[H. A. Forsyth]] produced the film and adapted the play into a screenplay. He also appeared in the film as a young bushranger. John Gavin directed and played the lead role.

The female lead, Ruby Butler, was a model and beauty contest winner.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article221591974 |title=THE STAR OF THE SOUTH. |newspaper=The Sun |issue=291 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=5 June 1911 |accessdate=1 July 2024 |page=3 (LATEST EDITION) |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

Because the film was longer than the typical movies of the time Gavin later claimed that "everyone warned him that his venture was doomed to failure".<ref name="evening"/>

Shooting took place in October and November 1910 [[Lithgow, New South Wales|Lithgow]] and [[Hartley Vale]], with extras recruited from local miners who were then on strike.<ref>Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 12.</ref> Forsyth told the press Lithgow was chosen due to its resemblance to the area where Thunderbolt operated. The scene depicting the death of Thunderbolt was shot near the second junction bridge, on tho road from Bowenfels to Rydal.<ref name="lith">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article218494138 |title=CINEMATOGRAPHY IN LITHGOW. |newspaper=[[Lithgow Mercury]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=2 November 1910 |accessdate=1 July 2024 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> One scene was shot at the Gap, ten miles from Lithgow.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article102799599 |title=Theatrical Gossip. |newspaper=[[The Newsletter: An Australian Paper for Australian People]] |volume=14 |issue=10 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=19 November 1910 |accessdate=1 July 2024 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Gavin later recalled:
<blockquote> When the troopers had to shoot Thunderbolt with blank cartridges, the lead was taken out and the space filled with hard soap. Being near a brewery, both bushrangers and troopers wore imbibing frequently, with the result that when the chase along the road was to commence, nearly all the supers were pretty nigh ‘full of hops. You can believe me, the American cowboy had nothing on some of that wild bunch.<ref name="gav">{{Citation
  | title=When the Australian-Produced Picture Made Big Money.
  | journal=Everyones.
  | date=9 May 1923
  | location=Sydney
  | publisher=Everyones Ltd
  | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-562121240
  | id=nla.obj-562121240
  | access-date=1 July 2024
  | via=Trove
}}</ref></blockquote>
The shoot reportedly took less than three weeks.<ref name="later"/>