The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957)(about) |
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Wednesday 6 November 1935
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2 corrections, most recently by Brooksie - Show corrections
Notes on the Screen
riltST HELEASES AT CITÏ THEATRES
THIS WEEK
rilins ure classified R« (olio« -or ex- ceptional merit Ixxxx), good entertain- ment \\\). fnlr cntcrtBlnmcnt (xx), lot recommended (x)
ATHEN.-TUM -dix) . l8 Minutes" (B n )
and (XX) 'Vintage Whir' (It S I
CMTrO» -(xxi) "Without Krirrt '
II nramount) »nd (x\) Men Without Nnmc» ' (Paramount)
IIOITS DF IU\F-(xx\i) ' ra-onort to
I unir' tColumnia) and (x) After Ibc Dance ' (Columbia).
LI ti UM-(XX) . Don I Bet on Blondes'
(Warner) and (xx) . Department More'
litadlo)
MAJbsTIC - (xxxi) ' The ti Strps"
(GB) and (ixx) 'Stormy IVfather' (CB )
Ml TRO - (xxi) ' Escapade ' (M C M )
ind (xx) "The Hame Within' (M CI M )
TI A/A -(nix) The Scarlet Pimpernel '
(United Artists) and (xx) 'lady Tuhhs' (Universal)
UFCl NT-(lix) . 1rs Mlserabirs ' (20lh)
(rnturj) and (m) ' («oing Highbrow '
(Warner)
bTATl -(xiii) ' The Informer ' (Radio)
and (xs) "The Mtwlts . (Radio)
By PREVIEW
The guaranteed Australian market af- forded by the Film Quota Act of New South Wales and similar legislation now being framed by the Victorian Parlia- ment, as well as the alluring vista of over- sea distribution opened up by recent
HARRV SOUTHWELL
negotiations be- tween Australian, European, and American distri- butors, is setting the wheels of Aus- tralian film produc- tion in motion with a vengeance. Five producing com- panies have started
or are about to start work on nine feature-length pic- tures, for which titles have been determined and casts partly chosen;
oversea actors actresses technicians and scenarists are expected to arrive in the Commonwealth in a few days and thou sands of pounds worth of studio equip ment has been landed in Sydney. The first quota picture which has been fin ished and given a private view in Sydney
is perhaps the least representative of these nine films because it bears a Ger man name and has a European back ground. "The Burgomeister," produced by Film Players Corporation and made under the direction of Harry Southwell (who also plays the leading role) in Cine
sound's studios at Sydney, is heralded as
a dramatic romance of Alsace Lorraine with haunting melodies, heart throbs, humour and action. This sounds mildly inviting but it would be unfair to expect anything more than a modest foretaste of the sweetmeats to come.
Eight Quota Films
More promising, certainly more national in character, are the other eight quota
films Here is the list:-
Title. Producers. Director. "Uncivilised" Expeditionary
Films Charles Chauvel "Thoroughbred" Cinesound Ken Hall "Tall Timber" Cinesound Ken Hall "Robbery Under
Arms" Cinesound Ken Hall "Gold Dust and Cinesound Ken Hall
Ashes" "The Flying
Doctor" Gaumont British Miles Mander "Typhoon
Treasure" Noel Monkman "Flame of Desire" World
Productions Ernest C. Rolls.
Thal is an impressive beginning. Of the eight pictures. seven have Australian subjects, and the eighth, "Flame of De
sire," although a musical romance with a Ruritanian setting, is Australian by authorship. "Uncivilised," as mentioned in this column before, has for its theme life in the jungle fastnesses of Cape York Peninsula. Dennis Hoey, British film and stage actor, has been engaged to play the lead, with Margot Rhys, of "Herit- age" fame, in the principle feminine role. Chauvel, with a small expedition of camera-men and 20 tons of motion pic0
ture equipment, is now taking scenes of aboriginal life on Palm Island, 40 miles from Townsville. Arrangements have been made with the Government of Queensland for a small contingent of aborigines to travel to Sydney to take part in the Interior scenes now being made at the new National Studios at Pagewood.
Helen Twelvetrees's £1,000 a Week
Dennis Hoey is not the only overseas actor coming to strengthen Australia's small group of film players. Helen Twelvetrees, a Hollywood actress whose work is well known to Australian film
goers will arrive in Sydney in time for
HELEN TWELVETREES
production to begin early next month on Cinesound's "Thoroughbred," a film which will ex- ploit the career of
the famous Austra- lian racehorse, Phar Lap. We have the authority of "Everyone's" for saying that Miss Twelvetrees will receive £ 1,000 a working week while she is making this picture, by far the highest salary ever
paid by the Australian film industry. Tlte film will cost £25, 000 to make, which would seem to put it well into the inter- national class. Australian names in the picture will be those of John Longden, Frank Leighton and Nellie Barnes, the young Melbourne soubrette who is such a brilliant success In "Ball at the Savoy"
at His Majesty's. The story of Thoroughbred has been written by the American scenarist Edmund Seward whom Cinesound his brought from Holly wood to prepare the scripts for its pro
jected films.
Australian Themes
Cinesound second picture listed for early production, "Big Timber", will be based on a story by the Australian novel ist William Hatfield, author of "Sheep mates". A well known actor from Hollywood whose name has not been divulged will play the lead. The third picture will be Rolf Boldrewood's "Rob bery Under Arms," which has been in pre
paration for two years. An English actor may be engaged to play the principal role. The fourth film, "Gold Dust and Ashes,"
which is now under consideration, will be based on a story by the Australian author Ion Idress, who is also the author of "Flynn of the Inland," on which "The Flying Doctor," the projected Gaumont British film, will be based. There is a rumour that one of the players in "The Flying Doctor" will be Helen Vinsen, wife of Fred Perry, the English tennis-player.