Above: A very impressive action still taken during the filming of Charles Chauvel’s The Rats of Tobruk (1944), with the sand dunes at Sydney’s Cronulla substituting for the Libyan desert. Photographed on 7 September 1943. Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, Courtesy ACP Magazine Ltd. Original image is here
A Directory of 63 Australian feature films
* This is a list of Australian feature films that you can access – in most cases online – and mostly, at no cost.
* At the time of writing – January 2025, all the links are live. Films are listed in rough order of release! However, the list is not definitive, and sadly, a number of films that are known to survive are not even available for purchase!
* Garry Gillard’s list of all Australian films can be consulted at the Australian Cinema website. The National Film & Sound Archive (NFSA) website and Andrew Pike & Ross Cooper’s 1980 book are referred to throughout.[1]
1. The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906)
- @ NSFA Shop $ [Buy here]
- @ Films by the Year channel on Youtube [Watch here]
- @ Classic Old Australian films channel at the Internet Archive [Watch here]
Comment: Various fragments survive of the 60+minutes of original running time. This is arguably the world’s first feature length narrative film, made as a novelty at a time when (live action) plays about the Kellys were popular and cultural memory of the gang was very strong in Australia. Direction is attributed to Charles Tait (1868-1933). Graham Shirley & Sally Jackson provide an overview of the film here at the NFSA website.[1]Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 7-9
2. Thunderbolt (1910)
- @ NFSA channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: Another film on the popular topic of bushranging. It starred and was directed by the prolific John “Jack” F Gavin (1874-1938) – who churned out several other bushranger films in 1910-1911, before some state governments brought in a ban on such films. About 25 minutes of this film survives. See Garry Gillard’s synopsis of Gavin’s career here at The Australian Cinema website. Ina Bertrand’s article on his professional and personal partner, scriptwriter and actor Agnes Gavin (1872-1948), can be read at the Women Film Pioneers Project. [2]Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 14-15
3. The Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole (1911)
- @ NFSA channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: Directed by Raymond Longford (1878-1959), this was his second film as director – a familiar tale of the convict making good in Australia. Leading players included his professional and personal partner Lottie Lyell (1890-1925). About 25 minutes of the film survives. As NFSA curator Paul Byrnes notes, this film helped establish Lottie Lyell as a popular star. [3]Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 30-32 Of passing interest, 1911 was the busiest year for Australia film production. It is telling that this is the only survivor.
4. The Hero of the Dardanelles (1915)
- @ NFSA shop $ [Buy here]
- @ Andrew Rolfe channel at the Internet Archive [Watch here]
Comment: Made by Australasian Films, this was one of several productions that rode the initial wave of nationalist sentiment after the landings at Gallipoli in April 1915. As Pike & Cooper have found, it was made with the support of the Army and the landing scenes were staged using Australian soldiers at Tamarama Bay near Sydney. About 20 minutes survives of this film – a reconstruction by the NFSA was able to be made after it was realised some of the footage had been re-used in a 1928 film. Paul Byrnes has pointed out that the “landing” scenes from this film have regularly been presented as real war footage. The director was Alfred Rolfe (1862-1943). This appears to be his only surviving film of the twenty or more he made.
5. The Woman Suffers (1918)
- @ NFSA shop $ [Buy here]
- @ Kanopy [Watch here with library card]
- @The Administrator Channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: “The woman suffers… while the man goes free.” A melodrama of seduction and betrayal, it was written and directed byRaymond Longford and Lottie Lyell, who was also leading player. It was their thirteenth collaboration. Paul Byrne’s notes on the film can be read here – he describes it as one of the most significant Australian silent features. About two thirds of the film survives. It did good business – although it was banned in New South Wales after a six month run – for reasons never fully explained, but presumably through pressure from rival cinema interests.[4]Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 102-103
6. The Sentimental Bloke (1919)
- @ Classic Films channel on Youtube [Watch here]
- @ Classic Old Australian films channel at Internet Archive [Watch here]
Comment: Raymond Longford’s film is regarded as a classic – one of the country’s greatest silents.[5]Pike & Cooper (1980) p121-122 Based on C.J. Dennis’ (1876-1938) verse novel, it starred popular stage comedian Arthur Tauchert (1877-1933) as the bloke and Lottie Lyell as Doreen. It was such a popular release in Australia and in Britain that it sparked several more films – Ginger Mick (1920) and The Dinkum Bloke (1923). The entire film survives.
7. The Man from Kangaroo (1920)
- @ Pelciulas Mudas/ Silent cinema channel on Youtube [Watch here]
- @ Classic Old Australian Films channel at Internet Archive [Watch here]
Comment: Producer EJ Carroll (1868-1931) brought a US team to Australia to make a series of films. The team included director Wilfred Lucas (1871-1940) and his wife, scriptwriter Beth Meredyth (1890-1969). Australian athlete Snowy Baker (1884-1953) starred as the boxer turned Minister, in this variation of a Western. Popular US actor, Brownie Vernon (1895-1948) took the leading female role.[6]Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 126-128 Not surprisingly, the influence of Hollywood filmmaking, particularly of westerns, was commented on at the time. Graham Shirley’s notes on the film can be read here.
8. Robbery Under Arms (1920)
- @ The Administrator Channel on Youtube [Watch here]
- @ The VideoCellar channel on Youtube [Watch here]
- @ Classic Old Australian films channel at Internet Archive [Watch here]
Comment: Directed by and starring Kenneth Brampton (1881-1942), this was based on Rolf Boldrewood‘s (1826-1915) 1880s novel, and made at a time when Bushranging films were still discouraged or simply banned. (Only a few years before the NSW Chief Secretary had rejected another script based on this book with the comment “I fail to see that any good…. will be served by reproducing… the bad old days.” [7]Pike & Cooper (1980) p135-6 ) Most of the film has survived.
9. On Our Selection (1920)
- @ The Administrator channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: Raymond Longford’s film was his own interpretation of the Steele Rudd stories. Longford dispensed with the country bumpkin interpretations of Dad and Dave that had become popularised thanks to the stage versions and pointedly rejected the impression created “that our backblocks are populated with a race of unsophisticated idiots” – as he felt were portrayed in Beaumont Smith’s Hayseeds series.[8]Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 132-134 Paul Byrnes article on the film is here.
10. The Breaking of the Drought (1920)
- @ Classic Old Australian films channel at Internet Archive [Watch here]
- @ Pelciulas Mudas/ Silent cinema channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: Director Franklyn Barrett’s (1873-1964) drought scenes were severe enough to worry politicians, who feared the depiction of a savage drought would harm the standing of the nation, if shown overseas. Adapted from a stage play and extolling the virtues of an honest living made in the country as opposed to the lazy life of the city, the film was moderately well received in Australia. Trilby Clarke (1896-1983) took the leading role as Marjorie. She left a year later to pursue opportunities in the US and UK. [9]Pike & Cooper (1980) p131 Paul Byrne’s notes on the film can be read here.
11. Silks and Saddles (1921)
- @ BestdomainVidz channel on Youtube [Watch here]
- @ Classic Old Australian films channel at Internet Archive [Watch here]
Comment: Directed by John K Wells (1886-1953), who had arrived in Australia with Wilfred Lucas. US actor Brownie Vernon took the lead role in what appears to have been her final film. Pike & Cooper characterise this as a “racecourse melodrama,” and it was released in the US with the title Queen of the Turf. [10]Pike & Cooper (1980) p138-9 The entire film survives.
12. ‘Possum Paddock (1921)
- @ JW channel on OK.RU [Watch here]
Comment: Kate Howarde’s (1864-1939) Possum Paddock was her own film of her own popular play, making her the first woman to write and direct an Australian feature film. Ina Bertrand’s survey of her life can be read at the Australian Dictionary of Biography, and at the Women Film Pioneers project. Leading player Leslie Adrien was her daughter (real name Florence De Saxe, 1884-1951). About 40 minutes survives of this, Howarde’s only film.
13. The Life Story of John Lee, or The Man They Could Not Hang (1921)
- @ The Vault channel on You Tube [Watch here]
Comment: The true story of John Lee, a man who survived several execution attempts, apparently had a strong appeal to Australians, even though the events all took place in England. A popular play, it was made as a film three times in Australia – in 1912, in 1921 and 1934. Pike & Cooper explain that Director Arthur Sterry and Frederick Haldane toured the 1912 version accompanying it with a pious lecture. It was such a great success that in 1921 they remade the film – a “new expanded version” .[11]Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 49-50, 147 Then, in 1934, Raymond Longford made a third (sound) version.[12]Pike & Cooper (1980) p220. Unfortunately Longford’s version seems to be lost or at least unavailable
14. A Girl of the Bush (1921)
- @ The Administrator Channel at Youtube [Watch here]
- @ Internet Archive Library at Internet Archive [Watch here]
Comment: This film by Franklyn Barrett casts the action around the heroine – the Squatter’s daughter – played by New Zealand actor Vera James (1892-1980). With its picturesque scenes of honest rural life juxtaposed against the corruption of the city, it was a familiar narrative. Comic relief was offered by aged townspeople and several Chinese workers (one of whom – Sam Warr – really was Chinese). The entire film survives.[13]Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 140-141
15. Painted Daughters (1925)
- @ Classic Film Gems store on Ebay $ [Buy here]
- @ The Administrator Channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: Directed by F. Stuart-Whyte (1877-1947), whose intention was to “construct bright, snappy, amusing productions, such as might find favour in all parts of the world,” for Australasian films.[14]Pike & Cooper (1980) p163-164 There are indeed, plenty of scenes of bright young people of the era, driving shiny cars, dancing, swimming and having fun at fashionable Sydney homes, set against a melodrama of love lost and won. Numerous Sydney tyros were deliberately selected for the cast – including Phyllis Barry (1908-1954), Billie Sim (1900-1980), Fernande Butler (1897-1972) and Marie Lorraine (1899-1982). About 50 minutes of the film survives.
16. Those Terrible Twins (1925)
- @ NFSA films channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: A nice high definition copy of about half the film is available on the NFSA Youtube channel, assembled in the order it was assumed to be in. Directed by John E. “Jack” Ward, (1866-1955) a former artist for the Sydney Morning Herald, who had spent some years in Papua New Guinea, painting and and taking film footage, this film was based on the adventures of Australian cartoon characters Ginger Meggs and his friend Bluey. See Garry Gillard’s article on Ward here.
17. Around the Boree Log (1925)
- @ John O’Brien Poet channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: Directed by Phillip K Walsh in the Goulburn area of New South Wales, using local talent, it was based on the poems of John O’Brien (Father Patrick Hartigan) (1878-1952). Pike & Cooper describe it as a “sentimental journey through Australian bush society,” but because of its Catholic- Irish sentiments it was treated with caution by distributors and had limited success.[15]Pike & Cooper (1980) p166 It survives in its entirety.
18. The Moth of Moonbi (1926)
- @ Brollie.com.au [watch here with free account]
Comment: Pioneer director Charles Chauvel‘s (1897-1959) first film survives – at least in part. Chauvel had previous experience on Snowy Baker films and had spent several years working in Hollywood. He based this feature on a newly published novel, filming some of it in difficult terrain in Queensland. The plot concerns a country girl who squanders her inheritance in the big city, before returning, wiser, to the country, to marry a stockman. In real life, leading actors Marsden Hassall and Doris Ashwin later married, but they did not appear in another film. [16]Pike & Cooper (1980) p167
19. Greenhide (1926)
- @ Brollie.com.au [watch here with free account]
Comment: Chauvel’s second film was a reverse of the plot of his first. Elsie Sylvaney (1898-1983) played the high society city girl who visits a cattle station, and after some adventures, falls in love with “Greenhide Gavin”, the station manager.[17] Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 175-6 Elsie (later Elsa) Sylvaney married Chauvel in June 1927 and became his constant collaborator. The Chauvels struggled to get the film released, frustrated by the dominant cinema block booking system, and they took to hawking the film to country cinemas themselves. In 1928 they took prints of their two films to the US, but without success – as sound films were rapidly becoming popular. The Chauvels returned to filmmaking in 1933 with In The Wake of the Bounty. Ina Bertrand’s article on Elsa Chauvel is here at the Women Film Pioneers Project.
20. For the Term of His Natural Life (1927)
- @ The Administrator Channel on Youtube [Watch here]
- @ Classic Old Australian Films channel at Internet Archive [Watch here]
- @ Antolín Martínez channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: The film was based on the classic Australian novel of convict life, written by Marcus Clarke (1846-1881) – which had already been filmed in 1908 and 1911. This version, made by Australasian films, employed US director Norman Dawn (1884-1975) and US leads Eva Novak (1898-1988) and George Fisher (1891-1960) – clearly with an eye to US distribution. Hugely expensive, (in his notes on the film Paul Byrnes states it cost £70,000) it was quickly forgotten because of the arrival of sound. Graham Shirley’s account of the reconstruction and preservation of the film can be read here.
21. The Kid Stakes (1927)
- @ NSFA Shop $ [Buy here]
- @ Classic Film Gems store on Ebay $ [Buy here]
- @ The Administrator channel on Youtube [Watch here]
- @ Classic Films channel on Youtube [Watch here]
- @ Classic Old Australian Films channel at Internet Archive [Watch here]
Comment: Written and directed by well known actor Tal Ordell(1880-1948) this film of the adventures of inner city Sydney children was based on the popular Australian cartoon series “Fatty Finn”. Pike & Cooper point out that the film owed some incidental ideas to Hollywood’s Our Gang series and Chaplin’s The Kid (1920), but it was still a faithful adaption of Syd Nicholls’s cartoons. Nicholls himself appears at the start, drawing “Fatty” (the joke being he is not fat).[18]Pike & Cooper (1980) p178 Garry Gillard provides some further context to the film here at the Australian Cinema website. Ordell’s son Robin, who took the leading child role, was killed in action while serving with Bomber Command in February 1945. He was awarded the DFC posthumously.
22. The Far Paradise (1928)
- @ Pelciulas Mudas/ Silent cinema channel on Youtube [Watch here]
- @ Classic Old Australian Films channel at Internet Archive [Watch here]
Comment: A crime melodrama, this was the product of the three clever and creative McDonagh sisters. The McDonagh’s work is significant not just because they were women, but because they strove for greater sophistication – in scripting, acting and camerawork – than was often found in contemporary Australian films. Paulette McDonagh (1901–1978) directed their films, Phyllis McDonagh (1900–1978) was art director, while Isabel McDonagh (1899–1982) (stage name Marie Lorraine) took leading roles. The NFSA holds a great deal of material relating to the McDonagh sisters which can be viewed here.
23. The Romance of Runnibede (1928)
- @ The Administrator Channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: Recently (2025) made available by the good folks at the Administrator channel. Starring US actor Eve Novak (1898-1988) and directed by US director Scott R Dunlap (1892-1970). Dunlap’s arrival was delayed so some scenes were directed by Novak’s husband William Reed (also see headline photo above) Pike & Cooper describe this as a “Hollywood formula movie designed for overseas audiences, with maps and explanatory title about Australia…” made in the enthusiastic rush after For the Term of His Natural Life. [19]Pike & Cooper (1980) p184-5 [Caution – contains dated and offensive stereotypes of indigenous Australians]
24. The Birth of White Australia (1928)
- @ The Administrator channel on YouTube [Watch here]
Comment: The Birth of White Australia was discovered intact in the 1960s, at Young, NSW, where it was filmed. It was an attempt by Phillip K Walsh to make “a panoramic view of Australian racial history,” again using local talent.[20]Pike & Cooper (1980) p191 Although it reflected common prejudices of the era, it had no commercial screenings after its local premiere and Walsh made no more films. [Caution – the film’s crude and racist content and clunky production values makes it very heavy going for modern viewers]
25. The Devil’s Playground (1928)
- The Administrator channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: Accurately described as being riddled with South Sea island cliches, this was largely an amateur effort by a Sydney film club, and filmed on nearby beaches. This scene (at right), of heroine Naneena (Elza Stenning) about to be beaten by the wicked Morgan (Petrie Potter) caused the film to be rejected by the censor and thus it had no release.[21]Pike & Cooper (1980) p194 Sydney lifeguards donned blackface to play islanders – which helps to make this film even less palatable for audiences today. Director/scriptwriter Victor Bindley did not make any other films.
26. The Cheaters(1929-30)
- @ Classic Old Australian Films channel at Internet Archive [Silent version – Watch here]
- @ The Administrator channel on Youtube [includes 3 surviving sound clips – Watch here]
Comment: This crime melodrama was completed as a silent in 1929, but with the arrival in cinemas of sound, the McDonagh sisters added some sequences with sound to improve the film’s commercial chances. [22]Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 201-2 Unfortunately, the sound quality was primitive and the audience reaction mixed.[23]Andree Wright (1986) Brilliant Careers, Women in Australian Cinema, Chapter 3 The sound footage can be heard in this talk by Graham Shirley: The McDonagh Sisters and ‘The Cheaters’ . In 1932 the McDonagh sisters made an anti-war film called Two Minutes Silence. That is now a lost film and it was their last. [24]It was also the last feature film to be directed by a woman in Australia until Gillian Armstrong (b.1950) directed My Brilliant Career almost 50 years later
27. Diggers (1931)
- @ NSFA shop $ [Buy here]
- @ The Administrator Channel on Youtube [in three parts – Watch part 1 here]
Comment: Directed by Frank W.Thring (1882-1936), this 60 minute comedy was largely based on Pat Hanna’s popular “digger” stage act. Hanna (1888-1973), the leading player, was very unhappy with Thring’s editing, and thereafter directed his own films. Thring had imported the latest RCA sound equipment to make this film – reflecting his ongoing efforts to establish a viable Australian film industry. The film was released in November 1931 and survives today.[25]Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 205-6
28. Showgirl’s Luck (1931)
- @ The Administrator Channel on Youtube [Watch here]
- @ Classic Films channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: Often cited as Australia’s “first talkie” this musical was directed by Norman Dawn and starred his wife Susan Denis (Katherine Dawn 1896-1984) Dawn had returned to Australia in October 1929 with plans to make sound films in Australia. The plot concerns the making of an Australian talkie, “from which was hung as many musical numbers as could be worked in.” [26]Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 206-8 But trade reviews were poor – and the sound-on-disc technology he had used was already being superseded. With sound transferred to optical, it was finally released in December 1931. However, Dawn soon abandoned Australia. The film remains interesting for Dawn’s use of special effects.
29. On Our Selection (1932)
- @ Classic Old Australian films channel at Internet Archive [Watch here]
- @ The Administrator channel on Youtube (Introduced by David Stratton) [Watch here]
Comment: Ken G Hall’s(1901-1994) first sound feature film was a great success – it broke all house records when it opened at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre. It was based on the popular stage version of On Our Selection, made famous by Bert Bailey (1868-1953), who also produced the film and starred as “Dad Rudd.” It differed markedly from Raymond Longford’s 1920 version, with Hall “stressing the characters’ ability to fight back against adversity,” which struck a chord with Depression era audiences. [27]Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 208-210 As David Stratton states in the introduction (to the Administrator channel copy) the film combined comedy and melodrama, mercilessly satirising city dwellers as opposed to the honest characters of “the bush.” On the back of this great success, Cinesound Productions was established. There were three successful sequels made – Grandad Rudd (1935), Dad and Dave Come to Town (1938) and Dad Rudd, M.P. (1940)
30. His Royal Highness (1932)
- @ Zoetrope Mixtures Store on ebay $ [Buy it here]
- @ Classic Old Australian films channel at Internet Archive [Watch here]
- @ Classic Films channel on Youtube [watch here]
Comment: Directed by Frank W Thring, this was comedian George Wallace‘s (1895-1960) first film. It is Wallace’s theatrics that carry the film along – he was a popular stage star in Australia at the time. The very self conscious and lengthy written introduction to the film reminds today’s viewer of Thring’s efforts to advocate for Australian films, including a quota system.[28]Pike & Cooper (1980) p211 Thring had also produced shorts with George Wallace, for example Oh What A Night (1932), which can be seen here.
31. Diggers in Blighty (1933)
- @ NSFA Shop $ [Buy here]
- @ The Administrator channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: Pat Hanna again used stage material and actors from his Famous Diggers troupe for this, his own production. In direction, Hanna was assisted by Raymond Longford who also briefly appeared as a German spy. As Pike & Cooper point out, the pace is slow, with stock footage of London used to provide some context of “Blighty.” The film also has a slight claim to fame in that it was the first screen appearance by future actor Peggy (later Mary) Maguire (1919-1974). The 14 year-old sat in the background in just one office scene, giggling at Hanna’s antics – apparently Hanna provided her with little direction. This may also be the first Australian film to give a speaking role to an Indigenous actor, who plays another soldier.
32. Harmony Row (1933)
- @ The Administrator channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: Another Efftree film production directed by Frank W Thring, and again starring popular comedian George Wallace. The plot concerns the humorous adventures of Wallace as a policeman, on a tough beat called Harmony row. Leonard, a child street singer, was played by Bill Kerr (1922-2014) – then known as Willie Kerr, in his first screen role of a very long career.[29]Pike & Cooper (1980) p213
33. In the Wake of the Bounty (1933)
- @ Brollie.com.au [watch here with free account]
- @ 🇮🇳Juhi Thakur🇮🇳 channel at OK.RU [Watch here]
- @ Classic Hollywood Movies channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: This was Charles Chauvel’s first sound film, and the first of a series of projected travel films. Chauvel faced great difficulties filming at Pitcairn Island and then, further challenges with the censors on his return to Australia. This was also the first film for young Errol Flynn (1909-1959), who turned in a very wooden performance as Fletcher Christian in the dramatized scenes.[30]Pike & Cooper (1980) p214
34. The Squatter’s Daughter (1933)
- @ The Administrator channel on Youtube [Watch here]
- @ Classic Movies Kristine Rose channel on OK.RU [Watch here]
Comment: Ken Hall’s second film for Cinesound was another great success – it did very well and returned its money in Australia and New Zealand. Hall’s difficulty in developing the script is described in Paul Byrnes’ notes. The plot revolved around Joan Enderby’s efforts to save the family sheep station[31]Australian term for large pastoral lease or property from a wicked neighbour. Enderby was played by young Australian actor Jocelyn Howarth (1911-1963) who moved to the US in 1936 and adopted the stage name Constance Worth. Apart from the film’s startlingly realistic bushfire scenes, of interest is the long introduction written by then Prime Minister Joseph Lyons, reminding us again that politicians often attached great importance to cinema depictions of Australia. [32]Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 215-6 The entire film survives.
35. The Hayseeds (1933)
- @ Zoetrope Mixtures store on ebay $ [Buy it here]
- @ The Administrator channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: Beaumont Smith had previously made six (silent) Hayseed rural family comedies, but this final offering may have been an attempt to cash in on the success of Hall’s On Our Selection, with some musical numbers added for good effect. As usual in this genre, simple but honest country people are the heroes while city dwellers are ridiculed – in this case the monocle wearing Mr Townleigh and his family – who later befriend the Hayseeds. Dad Hayseed was played by Cecil Kellaway (1890-1973), the first of many film roles in his long career. [33]Pike & Cooper (1980) p218
36. The Silence of Dean Maitland (1934)
- @ The Administrator channel on Youtube [ Watch here]
Comment: Based on a novel by Maxwell Gray and subsequently a play, this had been filmed twenty years before by Raymond Longford. It became another success for Ken Hall and Cinesound, who used visiting British actors John Longden (1900-1971) and Charlotte Francis (1904-1983) in the leading roles. In supporting roles were Jocelyn Howarth and John Warwick (1905-1972). The melodrama concerned “a clergyman who denied responsibility for the pregnancy of his lover and death of her father.” [34]Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 218-9 This is a shortened version.
37. A Ticket in Tatts (1934)
- @ The Administrator channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: This was another Frank W Thring film featuring George Wallace. As Paul Brynes writes, this film was again based on existing material that Wallace had developed for the stage. The underwhelming plot drifts through a number of largely unrelated sequences but concerns a horse race and some crooks who wish to drug “Hotspur”, the cup favourite.[35]Pyke & Cooper (1980), pp 218-9 Paul Byrnes suggests that “Thring was a director of meagre talents, although he often worked with the best of Australia’s theatrical performers.” [36]Soon after this film was completed, Thring began work on Sheepmates, but this project was soon abandoned. A few outtakes from Sheepmates can be seen here.
38. Clara Gibbings (1934)
- @ The Administrator Channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: One of the last films from Frank W.Thring‘s Eftee productions, this had been a successful stage play – with a familiar “rags to riches” plot. London pub proprietor Clara Gibbings discovers she is the daughter of an Earl. The happy ending is that, disillusioned with “society,” Clara moves to Australia. But even the inclusion of popular musical comedy star Dorothy Brunton (1890-1977) in the title role could not save the film, which looks exactly like the filmed stage play it was. Pike & Cooper note that after a three week run in Melbourne, it simply disappeared. [37]Pike & Cooper (1980) p221 Eric Reade rightly observed that the film was overloaded with dialogue, but at least it provided welcome relief from Steele Rudd films. [38]Reade (1979) History & heartburn, Harper & Row. p96-7
39. Strike Me Lucky (1934)
- @ The Administrator Channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: Uploaded recently (2025) by the good folks at the Administrator Channel on Youtube, this film is significant in many ways. It was the only film made by very popular Australian stage comedian Roy Rene (1891-1954), and yet director Ken Hall and Rene himself, regarded it as a failure. Rene said he “found it too hard trying to be funny to no one. [meaning in a studio] You need the stimulus of an audience when you’re used to one…” [39]Rene cited in Pike & Cooper (1980) p221
40. Heritage (1935)
- @ Brollie.com.au [watch here with free account]
Comment: This was Charles Chauvel’s very ambitious panorama of colonial history. In the opinion of Paul Byrnes at the NFSA it was intended to be a “thunderous endorsement of the pioneer mythology of Australia”. But the film was not well cast – Franklyn Bennett (1904-1975) was an amateur while Peggy Maguire was just 16 years old – and Chauvel’s script often seemed more like a tiresome lesson on colonial history, with key characters delivering very serious lectures about Australia’s wonderful prospects. The film was not a success in Australia or internationally, but it did win the £2,500 Commonwealth film prize for that year – from a very small pool. Pike & Cooper point out that as a result of the experience, Chauvel’s backers turned to “material with wider international appeal.” [40]Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 224-226 The entire film survives.
.
41. Rangle River (1936)
- @ giovanni corso channel on Youtube [Watch here]
- @ Nosta Lgia channel at OK.RU [Watch here]
- @ The Administrator Channel on Youtube [in several parts – Watch Part 1 here]
Comment: This film was based on an original story by writer of numerous US Westerns, Zane Grey (1872-1939), with a script treatment written by Charles and Elsa Chauvel. Rangle River also partly owes its existence to New South Wales’ short-lived efforts to have an Australian film quota – a requirement that a certain number of films exhibited had to be Australian-made. As with The Flying Doctor(1936) it was made with significant US input, including director Clarence Badger (1880-1964), principal technicians and leading man Victor Jory (1902-1982). The plot concerns the heroine, played by Margaret Dare (1912-1999) returning to her father’s cattle station, while the evil neighbour attempts to shut them down by damming up the Rangle River and depriving them of water. The film has since gained some unintended notoriety, based on its US release name Men With Whips, and due to the climatic stock-whip fight between the two leading protagonists.[41] Pike & Cooper (1980) p232 The entire film survives.
42. It Isn’t Done (1937)
- @ Jack’s channel at OK.RU [Watch here]
- @ Stuart Benson channel at OK.RU [Watch here]
Comment: NFSA curator Paul Byrnes describes 1937 as a golden year for Cinesound Pictures, who now had developed an efficient business model – with backing by Greater Union Theatres, an efficient production unit, and Ken Hall‘s competent direction of competent actors. In this case, a story was provided by stage actor Cecil Kellaway (1890-1973) who was starring in his first film, while newcomer Shirley Ann Richards (1917-2006) took an ingenue role. The plot concerns an Australian farmer Hubert Blaydon (Kellaway) who inherits a title and an English baronial estate. Blaydon decides he prefers life in Australia and contrives to lose the title, while his daughter Patricia (Richards) marries the next heir.[42]Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 232-3 The entire film survives.
43. Tall Timbers (1937)
- @The Administrator Channel on Youtube [Watch here]
- @ Craig’s Guided Rail Tours channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: As Pike & Cooper point out, the climax of this Ken Hall Cinesound picture, a “timber drive” (where trees on a mountain slope fall and knock down more in their path) had to be modelled after two attempts to do it in real life failed. The plot involves a race between rivals to fulfil a timber contract. As Paul Byrnes notes, the film was very much in the style of a classic silent melodrama , but it made money for Cinesound. Shirley Ann Richards again featured. [43]Pike & Cooper (1980) p235 The entire film survives.
44. Lovers and Luggers (1937)
- @ Roman Matsnev channel at OK.RU [Watch here]
- @ Lost n Found film channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: Ken Hall’s film featured imported US actor Lloyd Hughes (1897-1958) in this adventure film of pearl diving on Thursday Island. As Paul Byrnes comments, Ken Hall always regarded this as one of his best films. In addition to its technical competence, the strong supporting cast, including Shirley Ann Richards, Elaine Hamill (1911-1981), Alec Kellaway (1897-1893) ensured it did well at the box-office. In the US it was titled Vengeance of the Deep.[44]Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 235-6 The entire film survives.
45. Gone to the Dogs (1939)
- @ The Administrator channel on Youtube [Watch here]
- @ trexx channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: Ken Hall had filmed Let George Do It with George Wallace in 1938, which had been another success for Cinesound.(Unfortunately, so far this writer has not found a copy anywhere to watch) This second Cinesound outing with Wallace had the benefit of talented co-star Lois Green (1914-2006), a singer and dancer for JC Williamsons. Gone to the Dogs is about the then popular past time of dog racing – George Wallace‘s character having invented a tonic that makes dogs run faster. The main song and dance number of the film is a highlight.[45]Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 242-3 The entire film survives.
46. Dad and Dave Come to Town (1939)
- @ The Administrator channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: For the third of Cinesound’s Dad and Dave series, Ken Hall moved the story from its usual rustic country setting to a modern city, where Dad Rudd (again played by Bert Bailey) inherits a women’s fashion store. Shirley Ann Richards played his sophisticated adult daughter Jill, who ends up running the business, after thwarting efforts by a rival firm to shut them down. The film was a great success in Australia and in Britain, where it was released as the Rudd Family Goes to Town. [46]Pike & Cooper (1980) pp240-1 Also in the supporting cast was a very young Peter Finch (1916-1977). The entire film survives.
47. Seven Little Australians (1939)
- @ The Administrator channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: Perhaps it is a good thing to end this directory with a film that failed at the box office, to balance any impression of continual success. Ethel Turner’s (1870-1958) novel had been written in 1894 and was well known to Australians. But according to Pike & Cooper, this 1939 film was rambling and crudely made.[47]Pike & Cooper (1980) p244. Director Arthur Greville Collins (1896-1980) had experience as a director of plays in the UK and on several US films in the mid 1930s. Funding came from Sydney businessman Edward H O’Brien, who apparently initially planned more films. Almost certainly the poor reception for this film – both at the box office and critically – helped him come to this decision not to do this. And yet despite the poor reception, Collins settled in Australia, and directed one more film in 1949.
48. Dad Rudd MP 1940
- @ The Administrator Channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: Made available to us in 2025 by the good folk at youtube’s Administrator channel, this film from Cinesound has long been hard to find. It is the last feature film made by Ken Hall before the studio closed down because of the war. As Pike & Cooper point out, rather than being another comic rustic pioneer story from Steele Rudd, this was a “small town family comedy” in the style of the popular Andy Hardy series, with Dad Rudd now “a bastion of middle-class morality.” The film was a financial success and was released in Britain.[48]Pike & Cooper (1980) p249
49. Forty Thousand Horsemen 1940
- @ Brollie.com.au [Watch here with free account]
- @ Jack Channel at OK.RU [Watch here]
Comment: Charles Chauvel’s (1897-1959) World War One epic proved to be a great commercial success. Chauvel had been interested in making a film based on the exploits of his uncle General Sir Harry Chauvel (1865-1945) and the Australian Light Horse, for some time. The desert fighting and the famous charge of the Light Horse at Beersheba were spectacularly re-created in the sand dunes at Cronulla, and even with the passage of time, the action impresses. The three lead players – Grant Taylor (1917-1971), Chips Rafferty (1909-1971) and Pat Twohill (1915-1989), presented Australian soldier-larrikin characters – a stereotype still familiar today. As Pike & Cooper note, “the nationalist sentiment glorifying Australian manhood … clearly hit the right note in 1941.”[49]Pike & Cooper (1980) pp253
50. The Rats of Tobruk 1944
- @ Dockermania channel on Youtube. [Watch here]
- @ Brollie.com.au [Watch here with free account]
Comment: When Charles Chauvel began shooting his second war film, the siege of allied forces in Tobruk was still very fresh in Australian minds. Less than two years before, the exploits of the 9th Australian Division in leading the defence of the port city from surrounding German and Italian forces had gripped the public imagination. As in Forty Thousand Horsemen, Chauvel again used the exploits of three Australian servicemen to drive the plot, and again two of the heroes are killed in action.[50]Chauvel also used Chips Rafferty and Grant Taylor again Adding to the realism, Chauvel effectively integrated contemporary newsreel material with the film. And as Paul Byrnes at the NFSA writes – the fighting depicted in The Rats of Tobruk is “graphic… and convincingly chaotic.”[51]Pike & Cooper (1980) p257
51. Smithy 1946
- @ NFSA Shop $ [Buy here]
- @ John S channel at OK.RU [watch here]
Comment: Six years after Dad Rudd MP, Ken Hall (1901-1994) returned to directing, with Smithy, a bio-pic about Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith (1897-1935). It was not a Cinesound film, but was entirely funded by Columbia Pictures, whose film hire revenue had been frozen in Australia by wartime restrictions. Featuring radio stars Ron Randell (1918-2008) and Muriel Steinbeck (1913-1982), the film was another success for Hall., although it was his last feature film. Unfortunately, the head of Columbia, Harry Cohn (1891-1958), had no intention of making more films in Australia. Smithy was also severely cut for US release – Pike & Cooper suggest this was to disguise the fact the film had been made in Australia. [52]Pike & Cooper (1980) p265-266
52. A Son is Born 1946
- The Administrator channel on youtube [watch here]
Comment: Eric Porter’s(1911-1983) melodrama was an interesting choice for a first film. As Pike & Cooper note, the largely humourless plot was “novelettish” with two very surly and unappealing central characters (Peter Finch and Ron Randell).[53]Pike & Cooper (1980 p266 Made on a very tight budget, it still manages a high degree of sophistication and is notable for its cast of leading Australian players of the era – Muriel Steinbeck, Peter Finch, Ron Randell, Jane Holland, Kitty Bluett and John McCallum.
53. The Overlanders 1946
- @ Daily Motion The Museum of Cinema [Watch here]
- @ Jack’s channel at OK.RU [Watch here]
- @ John S channel at OK.RU [Watch here]
Comment: Harry Watt’s(1906-1987) film was both influential in the development of Australian cinema and extremely successful commerically. It had started as a wartime propaganda concept by the Australian government and had been referred by the British Ministry of Information to Michael Balcon (1896-1977), Head of Ealing studios. He assigned the project to Watt, who travelled to Australia and developed the script, about a massive wartime cattle-drive. The film was completed after the war’s end – and as Paul Byrnes writes, it was “a film of great quality, made with uncompromising authenticity, about a strongly Australian subject.” Pike & Cooper note that the film presented Chips Rafferty’s character as the essential Australian man, while Daphne Campbell (1924-2013) portrayed one of the most vivid of Australian bush heroines.[54]Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 267-8
54. Bush Christmas 1947
- @ Jack’s channel at OK.RU [Watch here]
Comment: Ralph Smart (1908-2001) had worked on Ealing’s The Overlanders. As Pike & Cooper note, the film was the first to be produced by the Rank Organisation’s Children’s Entertainment Film Unit. Smart wrote the script, which followed a simple formula – a group of five children as the key protagonists, on a quest to get a prized horse back from a group of thieves. The children, competent in bush craft (thanks to one of their number, an Aboriginal boy called Neza), are victorious in the end. The film was a triumph – a great success in Britain and Australia.
55. Always Another Dawn 1949
- @ The Administrator Channel on Youtube [Watch here]
- @NFSA shop [Buy here]
- @ Kanopy [Watch here with library card]
Comment: The first of three films made by Tom McCreadie (1907-1992) who with brother Alec, formed the production company Embassy Pictures. This was a wartime melodrama written by New Zealand born writer Zelma Roberts (1915-1988), set on an Australian navy destroyer. It featured Charles Tingwell (1923-2009) and Guy Doleman (1923-1996) in leading roles. Unfortunately the film was indifferently reviewed and it only had a short run in Australian cinemas. Perhaps the combat death of Tingwell’s character was too much of a painful reminder of the recent conflict for post-war audiences. A cut-down version was released in the UK in 1949.[55]Pike & Cooper (1980) p 270
56. Eureka Stockade 1949
- @ John S Channel at OK.RU [Watch here]
- @ Shadows of the Dark channel at Internet Archive [Watch here]
Comment: In the wake of the success of Ealing’s The Overlanders, Harry Watt’s film of the Eureka Stockade rebellion of 1854 was a disappointing commercial failure, although it had the backing of the Rank Organisation and the Australian government. As most film historians agree, Chips Rafferty was miscast as the rebel leader Peter Lalor (1827-1889). His well established larrikin persona did not sit convincingly with that of Lalor, the Irish political agitator. The Rank organisation had insisted on his taking the role however – he was now under contract. It took six months to film – because of numerous delays – most importantly concerns about the potential impact of a new British film tax. According to Paul Byrnes, the production had a budget of £200,000.
57. Into the Straight 1949
- @ The Administrator Channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: This was the second McCreadie brothers film, the script was again written by Zelma Roberts. NFSA curator Richard Kuipers observes that this film about horse-racing contained an unusual mix of genres – “the trackside action belongs to a no-nonsense B-movie.” while other sequences “play like a ‘weepie’ movie of the times”. And there is also a traditional cowboy singalong. Perhaps the McCreadies devised this so as to cater for as many tastes as they could, with an eye to international markets. Charles Tingwell took one of the leading roles.
58. Sons of Matthew 1949
- @ Youtube Movie & TVs $ [Rent or Buy here]
- @ Brollie.com.au [Watch here with free account]
Comment: Charles Chauvel’s film was based on two books about a pioneering Queensland family by Bernard O’Reilly (1903-1975). The script was by Maxwell Dunn (1895-1963) and Gwen Meredith (1907-2006). The film suffered delays in production, in part due to arduous location filming in one of Queensland’s worst ever wet seasons. As Pike & Cooper note, the lengthy production revealed “Chauvel’s passionate urge to risk any cost and hazard in expressing his deeply nationalistic vision of people in their struggle to conquer the most hostile of terrains.”[56]Pike & Cooper (1980) p273-275 The film eventually recouped its costs with the help of release in the UK and US. It also launched the careers of Michael Pate (1920-2008), Dorothy Alison (1925-1992) and others.
59. The Kangaroo Kid 1950
- @ The Administrator Channel on Youtube [Watch here]
- @ Mark Reedman channel on Youtube [Watch here]
Comment: The third of Tom McCreadie’s films was made with an even clearer eye to international distribution. In this case McCreadie used US director Lesley Sleander (1900-1979) (famous for directing Westerns). Four Leading players were imported from Hollywood, including Jock Mahoney (1919-1989) and Veda Ann Borg (1915-1973). As Pike & Cooper point out, very little distinguished the film as Australian – notably the occasional close-ups of Australian wildlife. Only two locals had roles of substance – Alec Kellaway (1894-1973) and Guy Doleman. [57]Pike & Cooper (1980) p276. Thus the film might just as well have been made in the US. Location work was done in the old mining town of Sofala in New South Wales. This was the end of the McCreadie’s involvement in feature film production.
60. Bitter Springs 1950
- @ John S Channel at OK.RU [Watch here]
Comment: Despite the experience of Eureka Stockade, Ealing studios leapt into another Australian film production, with Bitter Springs. It was written and directed by Ralph Smart and intended to be a serious treatment of the relations between white settlers and Aborigines.[58]Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 275-6 As Paul Byrnes points out however, the final result was a disappointing compromise. Smart’s script was “rewritten by head office at Ealing Studios [and] he was forced to include a role for Tommy Trinder,(1909-1989) an English comedian who was completely out of place in the story.” In addition, Smart was not allowed to film the ending he planned.
61. The Glenrowan Affair 1951
- @ The Administrator channel on Youtube [Watch here]
- @ NSFA Shop $ [Buy here]
- @ Hunt Angels – docudrama. (2006) Throwback TV channel [Watch here]
Comment: This is the only feature film by director Rupert Kathner(1904-1954) that is easily available today, and it is best understood by first watching Alec Morgan’s very entertaining 2006 docu-drama about Kathner, Hunt Angels.[59]Hunt Angels was a stage name used by Kathner – he has a small role as Aaron Sherritt in the film The genesis of The Glenrowan Affair was actually with Harry Southwell (1881-1960) in 1947, Southwell having directed three previous versions (1920, 1923 and 1934) of the Ned Kelly story. But Southwell left the project after falling out with Kathner – who took over the project. It is easy to find fault with the film today – it is bad in almost every respect – the oversized Ned kelly armour shown here being only one example. “A typical review in the Sunday Herald 19 August 1951, commented that Kathner seemed ‘content to assume that this Australian legend has enough appeal in itself to need less than the minimal requirements of filmcraft.’ ” [60]Pike & Cooper (1980) p278
62. King of the Coral Sea 1954
- @ NFSA Shop $ [Buy here]
- @ Jack’s channel at OK.RU [Watch here]
- @ Kanopy [Watch here with library card]
Comment: Chips Rafferty and Lee Robinson (1923-2003) had collaborated to make the successful film The Phantom Stockman in 1953. This, their second collaboration, was again a success – both overseas and in Australia. Filmed on Thursday Island, the plot concerns an illegal immigration racket and pearl diving. [61]Pike & Cooper (1980) p285 It was the first film for Rod Taylor (1930-2015), who travelled to Hollywood to further his career in 1955. Robinson and Rafferty collaborated again on Walk into Paradise in 1956 .
63. Jedda 1955
- @ brollie.com.au [Watch here with free account]
- @ sbs on demand [Watch here with free account]
Comment: Charles Chauvel’s remarkable film was important for several reasons. It was the first time Indigenous actors – Robert Tudawali (1929 – 1967) and Ngarla Kunoth aka Rosalie Kunoth-Monks (1937-2022) – took the leading roles in an Australian film. But even more importantly, as Paul Byrnes points out, the film – a love story – “is arguably the first Australian film to take the emotional lives of Aboriginal people seriously.” Also Australia’s first colour feature, it was critically well received – being nominated for the Golden Palm Award at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival. Sadly, it was the last Chauvel made. He died in 1959.
Footnotes
| ↑1 | Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 7-9 |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 14-15 |
| ↑3 | Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 30-32 |
| ↑4 | Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 102-103 |
| ↑5 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p121-122 |
| ↑6 | Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 126-128 |
| ↑7 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p135-6 |
| ↑8 | Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 132-134 |
| ↑9 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p131 |
| ↑10 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p138-9 |
| ↑11 | Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 49-50, 147 |
| ↑12 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p220. Unfortunately Longford’s version seems to be lost or at least unavailable |
| ↑13 | Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 140-141 |
| ↑14 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p163-164 |
| ↑15 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p166 |
| ↑16 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p167 |
| ↑17 | Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 175-6 |
| ↑18 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p178 |
| ↑19 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p184-5 |
| ↑20 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p191 |
| ↑21 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p194 |
| ↑22 | Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 201-2 |
| ↑23 | Andree Wright (1986) Brilliant Careers, Women in Australian Cinema, Chapter 3 |
| ↑24 | It was also the last feature film to be directed by a woman in Australia until Gillian Armstrong (b.1950) directed My Brilliant Career almost 50 years later |
| ↑25 | Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 205-6 |
| ↑26 | Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 206-8 |
| ↑27 | Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 208-210 |
| ↑28 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p211 |
| ↑29 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p213 |
| ↑30 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p214 |
| ↑31 | Australian term for large pastoral lease or property |
| ↑32 | Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 215-6 |
| ↑33 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p218 |
| ↑34 | Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 218-9 |
| ↑35 | Pyke & Cooper (1980), pp 218-9 |
| ↑36 | Soon after this film was completed, Thring began work on Sheepmates, but this project was soon abandoned. A few outtakes from Sheepmates can be seen here. |
| ↑37 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p221 |
| ↑38 | Reade (1979) History & heartburn, Harper & Row. p96-7 |
| ↑39 | Rene cited in Pike & Cooper (1980) p221 |
| ↑40 | Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 224-226 |
| ↑41 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p232 |
| ↑42 | Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 232-3 |
| ↑43 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p235 |
| ↑44 | Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 235-6 |
| ↑45 | Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 242-3 |
| ↑46 | Pike & Cooper (1980) pp240-1 |
| ↑47 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p244. |
| ↑48 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p249 |
| ↑49 | Pike & Cooper (1980) pp253 |
| ↑50 | Chauvel also used Chips Rafferty and Grant Taylor again |
| ↑51 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p257 |
| ↑52 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p265-266 |
| ↑53 | Pike & Cooper (1980 p266 |
| ↑54 | Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 267-8 |
| ↑55 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p 270 |
| ↑56 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p273-275 |
| ↑57 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p276 |
| ↑58 | Pike & Cooper (1980) pp 275-6 |
| ↑59 | Hunt Angels was a stage name used by Kathner – he has a small role as Aaron Sherritt in the film |
| ↑60 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p278 |
| ↑61 | Pike & Cooper (1980) p285 |