page_title: James Campbell Besley
section_title: Biography
hierarchical_section_title: James Campbell Besley / Biography
caption_attribution_description: English: Portrait of James Campbell Besley, circa 1905
context_page_description: James Campbell Besley also known as "Handsome Jim" Besley, "Captain James Campbell Besley", "Captain Jim", "Captain Besley", "Colonel Besley" was an Australian explorer, amateur anthropologist, film producer, mine owner, polo player, rancher and entrepreneur who traveled the world.
  Besley was also a prodigious charlatan, spinning fanciful stories regarding his birth, upbringing and career. Besley manipulated the media for decades, lying to them during their efforts to report his exploits.
context_section_description: James Campbell Besley was born in Mt. Gambier, South Australia, Australia, the fourth of Mary Ann (née Harvey) and Bryan Charles  Besley's eight children.
  In 1913, during an expedition to find the source of the Amazon River, Besley's adventure was filmed by director Franklin B. Coates. The film was named The Captain Besley Expedition. A substantial portion of the expedition film footage was discovered stolen after the expedition returned to New York city.  Returning a year later, another film, In the Amazon Jungles with the Captain Besley Expedition was produced.
  Successful as a broker of silver mines in Alaska and Mexico, a champion polo player, he later owned a riding academy in Phoenix, Arizona. Besley died in St. Kilda, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
caption: Portrait of James Campbell Besley, circa 1905
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