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Arthur Sterry is the 'John Lee man', having made most of his living from the one story and three films of it. It's unclear (to me) if he contributed to the production of the 1912 film, but he was given it by the producer as a gift and was very successful and marketing it—in person. He directed The Waybacks, which was also successfully marketed by someone else, and then directed his own version of the John Lee story, 1921: it is extant. Finally, he appears as an actor in Ray Longford's 1932 version of the same story, which is apparently not much better a film than the other two, but was also, like them, financially successful.
Life Story Of John Lee, The, or The Man They Could Not Hang (Robert Scott, 1912) wr. prod. Phillip Lytton, dp Herbert Finlay; Mervyn Barrington, Edna Phillips, Robert Scott, Robert Henry, Fred Cope; 4 reels; unknown what Sterry had to do with the production of this film, but he distributed it with great success and financial reward
Waybacks, The (Arthur W. Sterry, 1918) also marketed later as The Waybacks of 1925
Life Story Of John Lee, The, or The Man They Could Not Hang (Arthur W. Sterry, 1921) Sterry and Haldane, wr. Arthur W. Sterry; dp Tasman Higgins; Rose Rooney, David Edelsten; 6 reels; remake of the 1912 film of the same name
Waybacks of 1925, The (Arthur W. Sterry, 1925) this is in fact The Waybacks (1918) remarketed by the distributor, F. A. Hughes
Man They Could Not Hang, The (Raymond Longford, 1934) Invicta Productions, wr. Lorrie Webb from a 'dramatisation' by Rigby C. Tearle, dp George Malcolm, George Heath; Ronald Roberts, Arthur W. Sterry, Ethel Bashford, Olive Sinclair; based on true story of John Lee; 78 min.; Sterry appears in this as the protagonist's father
Garry Gillard | New: 13 September, 2013 | Now: 14 August, 2020