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The Shiralee (1957 film)
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Wikipedia article
'The Shiralee' is a 1957 British film in the Australian Western genre. It was made by Ealing Studios, starring Peter Finch, directed by Leslie Norman and based on the 1955 novel by D'Arcy Niland. Although all exterior scenes were filmed in Sydney, Scone and Binnaway, New South Wales and Australian actors Charles Tingwell, Bill Kerr and Ed Devereaux played in supporting roles, the film is really a British film made in Australia, rather than an Australian film.
Plot
An itinerant rural worker named Macauley —sometimes described as a "swagman" or "swaggie"—suddenly finds himself taking responsibility for his child. In their time together in the barren landscapes of the outback, father and daughter bond. The child is the "shiralee", an Irish or Aboriginal word meaning "swag", or metaphorically, a "burden."
Having returned to Sydney from "walkabout", he finds his wife living with another man. He beats up the man and takes his daughter, Buster, with him. Macauley tries to get a job with a previous employer, Parker, but he angrily tells Macauley to go away, saying he had left his daughter Lily pregnant. Macauley tries to leave Buster with some friends of his, but she runs after him and he relents. Macauley narrowly prevents his wife making off with Buster, but after Buster is hit by a car and badly injured, he finds out that his wife is divorcing him and trying to gain legal custody of Buster. He returns to Sydney to fight it, leading to a violent confrontation with his wife's new lover.
Cast
* Peter Finch as Jim Macauley
* Dana Wilson as Buster Macauley
* Elizabeth Sellars as Marge Macauley
* George Rose as Donny
* Rosemary Harris as Lily Parker
* Russell Napier as Mr. W.G. Parker
* Niall MacGinnis as Beauty Kelly
* Tessie O'Shea as Bella Sweeney
* Sid James as Luke Sweeney
* Charles 'Bud' Tingwell as Jim Muldoon
* Reg Lye as Desmond
* Barbara Archer as Shopgirl
* Alec Mango as Papadoulos
* John Phillips as Doctor
* Bruce Beeby as solicitor
* Frank Leighton as barman
* Nigel Lovell as O'Hara
* John Cazabon as Charlie the Butcher
* Mark Daly as Sam
* Ed Devereaux as Christy
* Guy Doleman as Son O'Neill
* Lloyd Berrell
* Bettina Dickson
* Gordon Glenwright
* Fred Goddard
* Clifford Hunter
* Stuart McWhirter as person placing bet on swagmen
* Betty McDowall as Girl at Parkers
* Henry Murdoch
* Frank Raynor
* Lou Vernon
* David Williams
* Chin Yu
* Bill Kerr as a shopkeeper (uncredited)
* Ron Whelan
Production
Leslie Norman said he read the book, "loved it" and sent it to Michael Balcon at Ealing. According to Norman, "Mick roasted me, said it was full of foul language and how dare I? I said that it wouldn't be in the film, so he said all right and to get him a script."Brian McFarlane, 'An Autobiography of British Cinema', Metheun 1997 p441
Ealing had paid a reported 10,000 for the film rights to the book.
Norman says he wrote a script, showed it to Balcon who "claimed it was a different story, so we called in Neil Patterson to rewrite. He only rewrote one scene but it was enough to appease Mick. I suffered a lot from Mick."
Ealing signed an agreement with MGM for the latter studio to distribute their films worldwide; 'The Shiralee' was to be the first film they made together."M-G-M WILL RELEASE EALING STUDIO FILMS" 'New York Times' 29 Feb 1956: 35.
Leslie Norman arrived in Sydney in April 1956 to begin preproduction.
Finch arrived in July and an extensive talent search was conducted to find the actress to play Buster. Eight-year-old Dana Wilson of Croydon, Sydney, was cast.
The film was shot in the last months of 1956, first on location in north east New South Wales near Scone, then at MGM's studios in London. Child stars were not encouraged in British cinema so Dana Wilson's presence was downplayed by the studio during the English leg of production.
The cast included several Australian actors working in London.Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, 'Australian Film 19001977: A Guide to Feature Film Production', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 224.
Reception
The film was the tenth most popular film at the British box office in 1957LINDSAY ANDERSON, and DAVID DENT. "Time For New Ideas." Times [London, England] 8 Jan. 1958: 9. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 11 July 2012. and earned $920,000 worldwide ($60,000 at the US and Canadian box office). After costs of production and distribution, the film made a profit of $149,000.
Peter Finch later said the film and his role in it were among his favourites in his career."THE LOCAL FILM SCENE: Young Producer On the Go -- British Cooperation -- Mr. Finch's Story" by HOWARD THOMPSON. 'New York Times' 2 Aug 1959: X5. Norman says Finch "was marvellous... it was great working with him. Of course he was not a Balcon sort of character at all too wild a lifestyle."
Music
The song "Shiralee" used as soundtrack was sung by Tommy Steele and reached #11 on the United Kingdom Singles Chart in 1957.
References
Bibliography
# Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, 'Australian Film 19001977: A Guide to Feature Film Production', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 224.
# Albert Moran and Errol Vieth, 'Historical Dictionary of Australian and New Zealand Cinema', Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2005.
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