Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Thursday 23 July 1953, page 5


A Little Black Girl

Who Would Not Cry

IT would be quite possible for a white woman living in the Northern Territory to bring up a black child and love it as her own.

This is the most vivid im-pression brought back by Miss Betty Suttor, who returned to Sydney during the week,

after five weeks in the Nor-thern Territory, where she look part in the Chauvel film,

"Jedda".

Miss Suttor, who in private life is Mrs. Iain Glen, of Vaucluse, is the mother of five children between the ages 0f two and 11 years.

Some people wouldn't believe it possible for a white woman to come to love these

little black children so much," she said "But the white

woman's life is so lonely up there, and the piccaninnies are so very lovable.

Take the little one who plays the part of 'Jedda' as a child in the film. She's ador-

able. She is only three, but can do everything asked of her."

The only time she couldn't was when we were filming her

under the shower-bath and, wanted her to cry. But she loved it so much, she would

only laugh. Finally, the script had to be changed to a laugh-

ing scene instead of a crying scene."

In Charles Chauvel's colour film. Betty Sutton has the role of Mrs. McMann, the child-less wife of a Northern Ter-ritory stationowner. Her scenes on location (she will do all the studio work in Sydney next October when the unit returns here) were taken in and around "Coolibah," the station homestead of Aus-tralia's second largest cattle station. Mr. Wason Byers, who himself appears in the picture, is the part owner.

"It is the most amazing place," Miss Suttor said. "The house is made entirely of stone-put together with ant bed, I should think-and has an extraordinary look of age.''

Miss Suttor has returned to Sydney firmly hoping to pay a return visit-a holiday this time-to the Northern Terri-tory.

"Mr. Byers invited me, and my husband, and my five chil-dren to stay anytime. Five, six, or even seven people to stay means nothing!" she said.