Introduction
Marmaduke Arundel "Duke" Wetherell (1883 – 25 February 1939) was a British–South African actor, screenwriter, producer and film director.
Biography
Born in Bodmin, Cornwall, Wetherell acted in both British and South African films during the silent era. In the 1920s he branched out to producing and directing films but they were not a success. He produced, directed and played the lead role in his productions ofLivingstone (1925) and Robinson Crusoe (1927). A planned biography of Lawrence of Arabia called Revolt in the Desert to be photographed by Freddie Young who had photographed his war films The Somme (1927) and Victory (1928) did not eventuate .
He was responsible for the hoax "surgeon's photograph" of the Loch Ness Monster.
He was the father of actor Ian Colin.
Selected filmography
Actor
- The Rose of Rhodesia (1918)
- Isban: Or the Mystery of the Great Zimbabwe (1920)
- The Madcap of the Veld (1921)
- Wee MacGregor's Sweetheart (1922)
- Man and His Kingdom (1922)
- His Wife's Husband (1922)
- Darkness (1923)
- Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight (1923)
- Women and Diamonds (1924)
Director
- Livingstone (1925)
- Robinson Crusoe (1927)
- The Somme (1927)
- Victory (1928)
- A Moorland Tragedy (1933)
- Hearts of Oak (1933)
- Wanderlust (1933)
- Safari (1937)
Producer
- Roses of Picardy (1927)