Dear famous movie directors…
Dear famous movie directors,
There’s a movie I’ve been dying to see. I’ve been waiting for years for it to come to a theatre near me, but it can’t. Because it doesn’t exist. That’s where you come in. I bet you're always looking for ideas for your next flick. How about a movie that has courtship, marriage, immigration, land disputes, farming, fighting – lots of fighting, religious tensions, drinking, fiddling, arson, period costumes, horses, stagecoaches, sabotage, gossip, brawling, prejudice, terror, criminal trials, prison, innocence lost, secret societies, superstition, conspiracy, cross dressing and murder – bloody, brutal murder.
The movie might begin with James and Johannah Donnelly, lately of Tipperary, Ireland, stepping off a crowded immigrant ship with their little boy James Jr., lucky to have survived the journey: they had about a one in five chance of dying on “the floating coffins” which plied the seas with human cargo crowded into the gloom below decks, suffering through trips that could last months. One scene could show the young family forced to endure a stay at the quarantine station at Grosse Isle, where armed British soldiers patrolled to make sure none escaped, and the grim sight of the bodies of those who died on the voyage being fished up from the ships on hooks and buried in unmarked graves.
We might jump ahead in time to watch James working hard to clear a piece of land near Lucan, Ontario — land that didn’t belong to him. Imagine the dramatic potential in the ensuing land dispute that culminated in a liquor fuelled fight between James Donnelly and Patrick Farrell at a barn-raising bee, resulting in Farrell dead, a handspike driven into his head. For a touch of comedy in this dark tale, the director could show James eluding the authorities for almost a year, working his farm wearing his wife's dresses and bonnets to avoid detection. Eventually, he turned himself in, unable to face another Canadian winter as a fugitive.
Who doesn’t love an intense courtroom scene? The jury doesn't buy the self defense argument; Donnelly’s act was instigated by the devil, they claim, and the judge sentences him to be hung by the neck until dead. Now the actress playing Johannah gets a chance to shine. After church she stands with her freshly scrubbed and combed brood around her (seven sons and a daughter), in the hopes they'd melt hard hearts while she pleads for signatures on her petition to spare her husband's life. It works. Just days before James Donnelly's appointment with the hangman, he is sentenced instead to ten years in the Kingston Penitentiary.
I'd be disappointed if you didn't show us a prison scene or two, dear famous directors, but I hope we'd settle in with the tough matriarch for a good long while, watching her struggle to hold on to the farm, going into debt to pay the property taxes, and raising her wild pack of boys alone. An important directorial decision will have to be made here: whether to portray Johannah as the rough she-wolf she has sometimes been described as, or whether to try to understand her. According to some accounts she trained her sons to fight dirty and encouraged them to brawl with each other, setting the stage for the blood bath to come. Was she malicious and hateful? Or, having escaped religious intolerance and the threat of starvation in Ireland to face life in Canada with a large family and no husband, was she only trying to give her boys the survival skills they needed?
The Donnelly brothers grew into men who tended to settle disputes with their fists. They had good friends, but they made dangerous enemies. Many details of their story beg to be treated cinematically: their doomed attempts to start a stagecoach business, the intense rivalry with a competitor who finds his stagecoach sawed into pieces, James Donnelly stepping out into freedom after seven years in the penitentiary, an ill fated courtship, the brawls or "donnybrooks" as the Irish called them, and the growing fear and resentment toward the family that led to the formation of a secret society, "The Vigilance Committee." It all came to a head on the night of February 4 1880, when the liquored-up Vigilance Committee took up clubs, spades, and pitchforks, and made their way to the Donnelly homestead. Some say a moaning could be heard in the wind that night; the superstitious believed it was the banshee of Irish folklore, whose wail foretold death. (Please include the banshee wail in the movie! Even if it's just a legend, like Fox Mulder, I want to believe!)
From where he lay hidden under a bed, Johnny O'Connor, a neighbour boy who was staying at the Donnolly homestead that night, witnessed the barbaric murders of James and Johannah Donnelly, their son Tom Donnelly, and Bridget Donnelly, Johannah's young niece from Ireland. The murderers poured coal oil all around and set the house on fire before leaving. In spite of the fire, Johnny stayed under the bed fearing they'd kill him if they found him because of what he'd witnessed. When he was sure they were gone, he fled barefoot through the snow under a full moon to the next farm. He couldn't seek the help of the law. The constable in Lucan was James Carroll, one of the men who Johnny had just seen bludgeon his neighbours to death. Johnny recognized other prominent citizens of Lucan in the mob, including a justice of the peace. Next the mob set out for William Donnelly's house, the second eldest son of the clan. There, they murdered John Donnelly, mistaking him for his brother William, their target.
Identified by Johnny O'Connor, six men were taken into custody. Not one was convicted. When the 'not guilty' verdict was given, the court room crowd cheered, while Jennie, the youngest of the Donnelly clan, fell to the floor in shock. (Would another court room scene be too much?)
Now get to work on this movie! Please!
Yours truly,
A movie loving librarian
P.S. Please include a scene that shows James Donnelly and sons getting their fortunes told after a night of carousing. According to some accounts Grandma Bell foresaw a violent death in the tea leaves that night. Lots of potential for a great scene here…
P.P.S. Just in case a world famous movie director doesn't read this, I've included some helpful books and resources for newbie filmmakers. Please make this movie for me. I really mean it. Thanks.
Resources used in this post:
Night justice: the true story of the Black Donnellys, by Peter Edwards.
The Black Donnellys: The outrageous tale of Canada's deadliest feud, by Nate Hendley
http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/donnellys/home/indexen.html (Heaven and Hell on Earth: the massacre of the "Black" Donnellys). There are lots of fascinating archival documents on this site, as well as two animations, one showing the vigilantes coming to the Donnelly farm house, and one from Johnny O'Connor's point of view, as he flees the house:
http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/donnellys/archives/animation/indexen.html
Of interest:
Canadian playwright James Reaney wrote a trilogy based on the infamous Donnelly massacre; according to The Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia, it is "one of the nation's most important dramas".
The Donnellys: Sticks and stones; The St. Nicholas Hotel; Handcuffs, by James Reaney.
13 thoughts on “Dear famous movie directors…”
Thank you Maureen for writing this. I enthusiastically second this plea. The story of the Donnellys is both fascinating and horrifying. Did they bring this fate upon themselves or were they victims of the anti-Irish sentiment of the times? Perhaps leave it to the audience to decide?
Yay! There will be at least one other person in the movie line-up with me! From what I’ve read the Donnellys were, to some extent, architects of their own doom, but the anti-Irish Catholic sentiment (a nasty export from the old country) probably played a role as well. Certainly the vigilante “justice” they were the victims of was out of all proportion to any of the crimes they committed (arson, fighting, etc.)
Well done Maureen. An original approach to talk about a potential future movie all under the guise of getting the reader to read up on the history of the Donnelly’s. I knew of the Donnelly story – your article makes me want to read more
Many Canadians, especially those who grew up in Ontario perhaps, know about this infamous case, including myself. But it wasn’t until I read a couple of books about it that I realized how badly the justice system failed the victims. Young Bridget Donnelly, who had just come over from Ireland to stay with her relatives, full of youthful hopes and dreams, I imagine, is the victim who stands out most in my mind.
If you’d like to read more about the topic, Rick, just type “Donnelly family” into the search bar on the Toronto Public Library page. (Don’t just stop on the first page of results — there are several pages). You’ll find enough books to satisfy your curiosity.
Thanks for your comment.
Hello Maureen I am currently in the process of writing a series of historical fiction novels based on the Donnellys and their exploits and eventual demise. I understand Ray Fazakas wrote a one hour television production back in the 80s but I would much love to see a long running series rather than a movie as there are so many characters and so much material to get through (something I am finding with my novels!).
I am delighted to hear that you are working on a series of novels about the Donnellys, Liz! Count me in as one of your future readers. I’ve been fascinated with the Donnellys since I was a kid, and found a copy of “The Black Donnellys” by Thomas P. Kelley kicking around our house. I must have read that book at least three times. Maybe there will be a television series some day. I hope so. But I still want a movie! Thanks for the comment.
Hoping to have the first completed by the end of the year, am a full time mum of three so it’s challenging finding the time to write, although I have the whole series of probably four or five books outlined and just fleshing out the plots! Would be happy to send you a sample chapter and get some feedback! Have you seen Midnight Massacre, The Donnelly Murders? Nice little TV movie, although more a crime reconstruction and reinvestigation of the case, but a great little watch. The actor who plays William Donnelly is gorgeous!
I’m amazed and impressed that you have progressed so far in your writing project, considering you have 3 kids, Liz! You must be very hard working and disciplined. No, I haven’t seen the movie you mentioned. I’ll see if I can’track it down. Thanks for telling me about it. Good luck with your writing about this dark but fascinating subject.
Hi Maureen
I have a friend that is developing a project based on the book “The Black Donnellys, by Thomas P. Kelley. After two years of development, he has recently completed a screenplay, however he is going to go through another draft to articulate his vision for the screenplay. He has started pitching the project, and is looking for a production company. Your wish for a Donnelly movie may not be too far away.
This is exciting news, John! It sounds promising. I hope your friend gets the green light and my wish comes true. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’d be lining up to see a movie about this fascinating chapter in Ontario history.
As much as I would love to see a film about the Black Donnellys, I hope any writer attempting to bring it to the big screen bases it on a LOT more than just the Thomas P. Kelley book – to say it was biased would be a understatement, and I don’t think it told a truly accurate version of the story. That having been said, I would probably still go to see it!
Hello Ken, Maureen and all lovers of the Donnelly story. 2018 may be the year ‘The Black Donnellys’ TV series gets the green light. The writer/producer that optioned ‘The Black Donnellys’ by Thomas P. Kelley was originally going to create a full length movie, but decided the best approach to telling the story was by creating a three season television series and the pilot is now being pitched to many networks. For those who don’t know, ‘The Black Donnellys’ is Mr. Kelley’s sensationalized account of the Donnelly tragedy, and contains many elements of fiction, invention and imagination which the writer/producer wanted to use, in what is undoubtedly a very compelling and spirited story. Mr. Kelley was a very successful pulp fiction writer, and from the creative writers viewpoint, all stories and characters are “true” whether they are based on authentic, contemporary or historical events and people or not. Therein lies the beauty of imaginative invention.
An example of Mr. Kelley’s work is that great scene which has James Donnelly and his three sons getting their fortunes read by Grandma Bell and the prediction of their violent deaths. I’m in total agreement with Maureen, if this is used in the TV series, it has the potential of being a very dark and intense scene.
In the books, ‘The Black Donnellys”The True Story of Canada’s Most Barbaric Feud’ by Thomas P. Kelley, and ‘The Black Donnellys’ ‘The Outrageous Tale of Canada’s Deadliest Feud’ by Nate Hendley, both describe this encounter with Grandma Bell, however, the encounter first appeared in Mr. Kelley’s book in 1954. This event according to both authors happened in November, 1879 and is described very much in the same way, right down to the tossing of the coin/coins onto Grandma Bell’s table for payment of the reading. According to historical records, Grandma Bell died in 1878. This scene invented by Mr. Kelley never happened at all, but Kelley’s writing of it puts him at his pulp fiction best.
I’m somewhat puzzled though by Mr. Hendley’s use of this event in his book. Mr. Hendley is a true crime author and wrote for Altitude Publishing that specialized in short punchy Canadian non-fiction, primarily of a historical nature. The front and back of his book ‘The Black Donnellys’ conveys that the genre is true crime/biography, but his bibliography is only made up of secondary sources, no primary sources.
It almost seems evident, but I certainly hope that Mr. Hendley didn’t rely on Mr. Kelley’s tag line ‘The True Story of Canada’s Most Barbaric Feud’ as a factual resource. Intentionally or not, using inaccuracies by not researching all of the elements used from Mr. Kelley’s book affects the truthfulness of Mr. Hendley’s biography. Mr. Hendley did not do his due diligence, and all of what he considers to be factual is not backed up with proof. Mr. Hendley cannot pitch this book as a true crime/biography. Research is key and all sources must be verified.
There are many elements of fiction, invention and imagination that appear in Mr. Hendley’s book that have been taken from Mr. Kelley’s book including the title which Mr. Kelley coined in 1954 and is continuously borrowed because of its notoriety.
Mr. Hendley may think he wrote a true crime/biography, but the problem with his book is that there is no delineation between his sometimes colorful and melodramatic writing and the material he is presenting as a result of his research, which I believe to be non existent.
The appropriated fictional elements from Mr. Kelley’s book are sometimes presented in Mr. Hendley’s book as folklore, but he also seems to choose fictional elements to enhance his story, which in my opinion presents a flawed representation of the true crime/biography genre.
I have also discovered that Mr. Hendley’s epilogue describes an event from Orlo Miller’s ‘The Donnellys Must Die’. This is a fictional event, but is used by Mr. Hendley.
Looking forward to your comments!
Dear fans of the Donnelly story, I have recently published ‘The Black Donnellys’ eBook by Thomas P. Kelley. Book #2 of the series, ‘Vengeance of The Black Donnellys’ is available in hard copy from http://www.darlingterracepublishing.com and will be available as an eBook soon. I am still waiting to hear if any networks or Hollywood producers have shown an interest in producing ‘The Black Donnellys’ of Biddulph TV series.