Which was the first feature film running over one hour?
The first FILM FEATURE (over 1 hr running-time) was the 70 min Australian Production The Story of the Kelly Gang, made by the theatrical company of J. & N. Tait at Heidelberg, Victoria, and premiered at the Athenaeum Hall, Melbourne on 26 December 1906. Elizabeth Veitch Played Kate Kelly and an unidentified Canadian, who disappeared before filming was completed, was Ned Kelly. The cost of production was estimated at £ 400 and gross takings, including receipts from its showings in England, at £ 25,000.
The first was Oliver Twist, directed by Thomas Bentley at the Hepworth Studios in Walton-on-Thames, and released in September 1912. Oliver was played by a girl, Ivy Millair, and Nancy by Alma Taylor. The producer, Cecil Hepworth, recalled in his autobiography that the 60 min film had little artistic merit, but enjoyed considerable success at the box office. The first US feature film, made the same year, was also a version of Oliver Twist.
