The Squatter's Daughter (1910 film)

The Squatter's Daughter
Directed by Bert Bailey
Produced by William Anderson
Based on play by Bert Bailey and Edmund Duggan
Starring Bert Bailey
Edmund Duggan
Olive Wilton
Cinematography Orrie Perry
Distributed by Johnson and Gibson[1]
Release dates
 4 August 1910
Running time
 6,000 feet[2]
Country Australia
Language Silent film
English intertitles
Budget £1,000[3][4]

The Squatter's Daughter is a 1910 Australian silent film based on the popular play by Bert Bailey and Edmund Duggan.

Synopsis

The plot concerns the rivalry between two neighboring sheep stations, Enderby and Waratah. This version includes the subplot about the bushranger Ben Hall which was not used when the play was adapted again in 1933.[3]

Cast

Production

Filming took place in June 1910 with cast from the acting company of theatre producer William Anderson at the Kings Theatre Melbourne, many of whom had just appeared in The Man from Outback, also by Bailey and Duggan.[6] Theatre star Olive Wilton played the lead role, with Bailey and Duggan in support. One of her leading men, George Cross, later became a casting director for Cinesound Productions.

Shooting took place in Ivanhoe and other surrounding districts of Melbourne entirely outdoors, even interior scenes. "Under these circumstances brilliant sunshine was the main factor to be wooed", recalled Olive Wilton. "It seemed impossible to acquire sufficient light without a constant battle against high wind, which made these interior scenes a nightmare, with hair and clothes blowing in all directions."[7]

However the fact it was a movie allowed the demonstration of scenes only discussed in the play, such as Nulla escaping the bushranger's cave.[8] Other sequences praised by reviewers included the abduction of the equatter's daughter, the pursuit by Ben Hall and his gang, Ben Hall's last stand, the dash through the cataract, the farm house rope bridge, the waterfall, the shearing match, and a champion stock whip artist.[9]

It was advertised as being the most expensive movie ever made in Australia to that date, but this is unlikely.[10]

Reception

Screenings were often accompanied by a lecture.

The movie was a popular success at the box office, breaking records in Sydney and Melbourne, and enjoying long runs throughout the country.[4] It achieved a cinema release in England, one of the first Australian films to do so. Bert Bailey and Ken G. Hall tried to track down a copy of the movie when Hall directed a version in 1933 but was unsuccessful. No known copies of it exist today, and it is considered a lost film.[11]

The Perth Sunday Times called the film a "motion picture atrocity."[12]

References

  1. ↑ ""THE SQUATTER'S DAUGHTER.".". Bendigo Advertiser. Vic.: National Library of Australia. 19 August 1910. p. 3. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  2. ↑ "Advertising.". Riverine Herald. Echuca, Vic.: National Library of Australia. 24 August 1910. p. 3. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  3. 1 2 Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998,10
  4. 1 2 "MUSIC AND THE DRAMA.". The Examiner. Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 3 November 1910. p. 7 Edition: DAILY. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  5. ↑ "LIFE & LETTERS.". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 4 May 1946. p. 5. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  6. ↑ "ANDERSON'S DRAMATIC COMPANY." Barrier Miner (Broken Hill) 12 Jan 1910: 3
  7. ↑ "AUSTRALIA'S FIRST FULL-: LENGTH FILM.". The Mercury. Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 20 May 1944. p. 8. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  8. ↑ "AMUSEMENTS.". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 3 April 1911. p. 7. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  9. ↑ ""THE SQUATTER'S DAUGHTER.".". Queensland Times. Ipswich, Queensland: National Library of Australia. 29 October 1910. p. 4 Edition: DAILY. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  10. ↑ "Advertising.". Bendigo Advertiser. Vic.: National Library of Australia. 20 August 1910. p. 1. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  11. ↑ "A CHANCE TO MAKE GOOD.". The Mercury. Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 17 June 1944. p. 8. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  12. ↑ "THE BUSKER.". The Sunday Times. Perth: National Library of Australia. 28 May 1911. p. 21. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
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