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The Flying Doctor
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Wikipedia article
'The Flying Doctor' is a 1936 Australian-British drama film directed by Miles Mander and starring Charles Farrell, Mary Maguire and James Raglan.[https://web.archive.org/web/20090114022015/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/33534 "Film details: 'The Flying Doctor'."] 'BFI.org'. Retrieved> 21 May 2019. The Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia operate in the Australian Outback. Noted as Australia's first "sound" feature film, 'The Flying Doctor' was also the country's first feature-length film based on aviation.Beck 2016, p. 101.
Plot
On his wedding night, Sandy Nelson (Charles Farrell) decides to abandon his young bride, Jenny (Mary Maguire) to go work in Sydney as a painter on the Harbour Bridge. He befriends a doctor, John Vaughan (James Raglan), who is in love with a married woman. Vaughan decides to acquire his flying license in order to accept a job as flying doctor in the outback.
Sandy gets in a brawl at a cricket match, serves time in prison, then heads for the outback and discovers gold. He is shot in a barroom fight and loses his eyesight. He then discovers Vaughan has fallen in love with Jenny, his former bride. When he realises Jenny loves Vaughan, Sandy decides to kill himself, leaving his fortune to the Flying Doctors.
Cast
returning to Brisbane after filming 'The Flying Doctor' (1936)
* Charles Farrell as Sandy Nelson
* Mary Maguire as Jenny Rutherford
* James Raglan as Doctor John Vaughan
* Joe Valli as Dodger Green
* Margaret Vyner as Betty Webb
* Eric Colman as Geoffrey Webb
* Tom Lurich as Blotch Burns
* Maudie Edwards as Phyllis
* Katie Towers as Mrs. O'Toole
* Phillip Lytton as Doctor Gordon Rutherford
* Andrew Beresford as John Rutherford
* Jack Clarke as Pop Schnitzel
* Phil Smith as Barman Joe
* Donald Bradman as Himself
* William Hartnell as Abe McKeller
Production
National Productions
'The Flying Doctor' was the first and only production from National Productions, a new Australian film production company which was formed in the 1930s under the management of Frederick Daniell, a promoter involved with radio and newspaper companies in Sydney. Amongst its directors were Sir Hugh Denison, Sir Samuel Walder and Sir James Murdoch.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17190145 "Film industry."] 'The Sydney Morning Herald', 21 September 1935, p. 2 via National Library of Australia. Retrieved: 12 August 2012.The company was closely associated with National Studios Ltd, which built a large studio complex in Pagewood, Sydney.Pike and Cooper 1998, p. 172. It was incorporated in September 1935 with capital of 50,000.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17205205 "Company news."] 'The Sydney Morning Herald', 27 September 1935, p. 13 via National Library of Australia. Retrieved: 12 August 2012.
Pre-production
National Productions had links to the British company, Gaumont British, which had been interested in making a film in Australia for a long time, with Robert Flaherty intending to shoot one.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55722541 "Making films in Australia."] Adelaide, Australia: 'The Mail, 7 September 1935, p. 3 via National Library of Australia. Retrieved: 19 February 2012. Gaumont provided technical and financial support for the company.Gaumont British provided several personnel for the film, including the director, writer, cinematographer, unit manager and sound recordist.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17195517 "National Studios."] 'The Sydney Morning Herald', 25 September 1935, p. 7 via National Library of Australia, Retrieved: 12 August 2012. National Productions also hired Englishman Errol Hinds to be head of the camera department for two years.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32916639 "Australian films."] Perth, Australia: 'The West Australian', 9 September 1935, p. 15 via National Library of Australia. Retrieved: 12 August 2012.
The British unit arrived in November 1935.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32889676 "National films."] Perth, Australia: 'The West Australian', 5 November 1935, p. 17 via National Library of Australia. Retrieved: 19 February 2012.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17226911 " Film experts."] 'The Sydney Morning Herald', 13 November 1935, p. 9 via National Library of Australia. Retrieved: 19 February 2012. In December, American star Charles Farrell was signed to play the lead.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article36208702 "Charles Farrell's part in Australian film."] Adelaide, Australia: 'The Advertiser', 4 January 1936, p. 24 via National Library of Australia. Retrieved: 12 August 2012. He did not arrive until late January 1936.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17210777 "Charles Farrell."] 'The Sydney Morning Herald', 28 January 1936, p. 10 via National Library of Australia. Retrieved: 12 August 2012.
Shooting
Shooting began in 1936 with bad weather helping the budget increase. The film was shot at National Studio's Pagewood facility. Director Miles Mander left for Hollywood in March 1936, leaving J.O.C. Orton to finish the film.Reception
Mary Maguire lived in Brisbane, so it was decided to hold the film's international premiere there.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38474742 "'The Flying Doctor'."] Brisbane, Australia: 'The Courier-Mail', 14 August 1936, p. 5 via National Library of Australia. Retrieved: 12 August 2012. 20th Century-Fox agreed to distribute the film free of charge.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17273643 "Flying Doctor" film."] 'The Sydney Morning Herald', 19 September 1936, p. 18 via National Library of Australia. Retrieved: 12 August 2012. Box office receipts were poor but the release of the film led to a flood of donations to the flying doctors.[https://web.archive.org/web/20120229035729/http://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/About-Us/Our-History/John-Flynn-Timeline "John Flynn timeline."]'Flying Doctors History', 29 February 2012. Reviews were patchy.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17276962 "Film reviews."] 'The Sydney Morning Herald', 21 September 1936, p. 4 via National Library of Australia. Retrieved: 12 August 2012. Aviation film historian Stephen Pendo in 'Aviation in the Cinema' (1985), described 'The Flying Doctor' as "lackluster."Pendo 1985, p. 122.
Gaumont British decided not to distribute the film in the UK and it was done by General Film Distributors. 'The Flying Doctor' was never released in the USA.Paris 1995, p. 76.
National Productions had prior to shooting announced intention to make three more films but none of these were made.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17235661 "Picture Films."] 'The Sydney Morning Herald', 8 January 1936, p. 12 via National Library of Australia. Retrieved: 12 August 2012.
Preservation status
'The Flying Doctor' was thought to have been lost until workmen clearing a building site in the Sydney suburb of Fig Tree uncovered a film vault. They cut through the steel door using an oxy torch somehow avoiding igniting the highly flammable nitrate film inside and loaded a truck with the contents to take away for disposal.Edmondson and Pike 1982, p. 38. An office worker saw the truck drive by, loaded with film cans, gave chase in his car, and rescued the film, which included the first eight of nine reels of 'The Flying Doctor'. Two years later, the BFI National Film Archive in London found a copy of the shortened, re-edited British release of the film, also eight reels long, in the possession of a large film company. Despite this print having been "totally rearranged", the last reel was found to take up exactly where the Australian one left off.
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
* Beck, Simon D. 'The Aircraft-Spotter's Film and Television Companion'. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2016. .
* Edmondson, Ray and Pike, Andrew. [http://www.nla.gov.au/sites/default/files/australias_lost_films.pdf 'Australia's Lost Films' (PDF)'.] Parkes, Australia: National Library of Australia, 1982.
* Paris, Michael. 'From the Wright Brothers to Top Gun: Aviation, Nationalism, and Popular Cinema.' Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1995. .
* Pendo, Stephen. 'Aviation in the Cinema'. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. .
* Pike, Andrew and Ross Cooper. 'Australian Film 19001977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998. .
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