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In 1920, Laurette marries an irresponsible drifter, Paul Graham. They have a son, David, but later divorce due to Paul's drinking and infidelities when David is thirteen. David chooses to stay with his father and
Laurette marries again, this time to John, a rich businessman with a teenaged daughter,
425:
Eric Porter later claimed the film at a six week run at the
Victory Theatre in Sydney and that it made £27,000 at the Australian box office and £3,000 at the British box office. He also said that he sold it to television in America, Europe and Britain but he had trouble selling it to Australian
416:
that "this is a perfectly fine soapie, with
Steinbeck suffering and smiling through the tears. She has beauty and charisma and holds her own against three men who would all become major names." Vagg characterised Randell's performance as "charismatic, vicious, cruel... a great performance...
254:
Years later, Paul is killed in a car accident and David comes to live with his mother, John and Kay. To get revenge on his mother for "abandoning" his father, David seduces Kay into marriage and abandons her, but realises the error of his ways serving in
948:
242:. It was one of the few films made in Australia in the 1940s. The movie is particularly notable for featuring Randell, Finch and McCallum before they moved overseas and became stars in the United States and Britain respectively.
315:
Eric Porter was a cartoonist and ran his own studio. Gloria
Bourner was one of his employees. Bourner wrote the script and Porter storyboarded the entire film prior to filming, which was announced in September 1944.
962:
31:
502:
509:, Parliamentary paper (Australia. Parliament), Canberra: Published for the Govt. of the Commonwealth of Australia by A.J. Arthur, p. 245, nla.obj-2796526992
380:(1946), also starring Randell and Steinbeck, but its release was held off until after that bigger budget movie to take advantage of its publicity.
440:, based on a script by Bourner and Richard Lane, starring Peter Finch, with Ron Randell as assistant director. However the movie was never made.
319:
Porter put up half the budget himself, with the balance coming from
Charles Munro and some private investors. The budget was a reported £10,000.
503:
Australia. Parliament. Senate. Select
Committee on the Encouragement of Australian Productions for Television.; Vincent, Victor Seddon. (1963),
959:
998:
1018:
349:
The film was shot in the
Supreme Sound System studio in late 1944. This was a small one room studio based in North Sydney.
327:
Peter Finch, Ron
Randell, Muriel Steinbeck and John McCallum were all well established actors when the film was made.
1013:
1003:
954:
390:
in
Australia, and who had signed John McCallum to a long term contract - bought the film for release in Britain.
352:
Filming was scheduled to allow the actors to take radio and stage jobs, and sometimes would start at midnight.
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852:
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during World War II. He is injured in battle but survives to be reunited with Kay, Laurette and John.
1008:
833:
227:
62:
44:
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Report from the Select
Committee on the Encouragement of Australian Productions for Television.
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877:. Vol. XXXVI, no. 1852. New South Wales, Australia. 12 September 1946. p. 2
8:
993:
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578:. Vol. LIX, no. 17, 479. New South Wales, Australia. 6 November 1946. p. 7
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481:. Vol. XXVIII, no. 4. New South Wales, Australia. 23 March 1946. p. 23
477:
268:
239:
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675:. Vol. CLX, no. 23, 060. Tasmania, Australia. 28 October 1944. p. 9
330:
Jane Holland was a 22-year-old radio actor who later moved to England and married
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113:
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701:, Sydney, N.S.W: Associated Newspapers Limited, 14 July 1945, nla.obj-466857610
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535:, Sydney, N.S.W: Associated Newspapers Limited, 6 May 1939, nla.obj-478594976
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619:. Vol. 33, no. 1, 689. South Australia. 7 October 1944. p. 8
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Critical response was mixed, many comparing the film unfavourably with
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In September 1946 Porter announced he would make another feature,
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Directed by Ken G. Hall: Autobiography of an Australian Filmmaker
337:
Kitty Bluett was a musical comedy star, the daughter of comedian
30:
770:. No. 21, 569. Victoria, Australia. 6 July 1946. p. 7
383:
Ron Randell was mobbed by female fans at the film's premiere.
736:
Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production
142:
658:(Burnie, Tas) 14 November 1947: 7 Retrieved 12 December 2011
529:"Local Walt Disney Young Sydney Artist Makes Color Cartoon"
462:(Adelaide) 7 October 1944: 8, retrieved 12 December 2011
695:"ENTERPRISING AUSTRALIANS FILM MADE IN ONE-ROOM SHED"
725:(Qld) 2 October 1946: 4, retrieved 12 December 2011
853:"Unsung Aussie Actors – Ron Randell: A Top Twenty"
985:
738:, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 203.
748:"Fans Mob Actor At Australian Film Premiere."
643:11 May 1946: 28, retrieved 12 December 2011
386:In July 1946 Ealing Studios - who had made
226:is a 1946 Australian melodrama directed by
941:
925:
909:
885:– via National Library of Australia.
822:23 Sep 1946: 5, retrieved 12 December 2011
806:– via National Library of Australia.
778:– via National Library of Australia.
753:21 Sep 1946: 4, retrieved 12 December 2011
683:– via National Library of Australia.
627:– via National Library of Australia.
586:– via National Library of Australia.
559:2 Sep 1944: 16, retrieved 12 December 2011
489:– via National Library of Australia.
417:established Randell as a force to watch."
362:The pool and garden scenes were filmed at
29:
834:"Unsung Aussie Actors – Muriel Steinbeck"
798:. Melbourne. 20 January 1947. p. 4
986:
498:
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359:is used in the New Guinea sequences.
301:Peter Dunstan as David Graham as a boy
412:Reviewer Stephen Vagg later wrote in
850:
831:
720:"FILM PRODUCER GAZES & THINKS."
570:"LOCAL INTEREST IN "A SON IS BORN""
493:
13:
638:"Studio's tribute to Sydney girl."
473:"Three Australian Films This Year"
14:
1030:
893:
790:"New Australian Film Disappoints"
999:Australian black-and-white films
851:Vagg, Stephen (10 August 2019).
832:Vagg, Stephen (25 August 2019).
669:"Australian Films In The Making"
1019:Films scored by Sydney John Kay
955:National Film and Sound Archive
863:
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764:"New Local Film For World View"
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971:National Archives of Australia
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554:"Sydney to Make Unusual Film."
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1:
734:Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper,
641:The Australian Women's Weekly
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600:, Lansdowne Press, 1977 p176
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374:The movie was shot prior to
7:
871:"FILM STUDIO FOR HERNE BAY"
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163:20 September 1946
10:
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369:
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292:Jane Holland as Kay Seldon
820:The Sydney Morning Herald
751:The Sydney Morning Herald
723:Townsville Daily Bulletin
653:"A GRAND LITTLE TROUPER."
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960:Complete copy of script
557:The Mail (Adelaide, SA)
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1014:1940s Australian films
1004:Australian drama films
965:4 October 2013 at the
817:"NEW FILMS REVIEWED."
355:War footage shot by
238:, John McCallum and
138:British Empire Films
18:1946 Australian film
616:The Mail (Adelaide)
128:Eric Porter Studios
923:TCM Movie Database
457:"£1,700,000 FILM."
271:as Laurette Graham
150:(US/International)
709:– via Trove
611:"£1,700,000 FILM"
543:– via Trove
517:– via Trove
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97:(war photography)
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1009:1946 drama films
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269:Muriel Steinbeck
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148:20th Century Fox
81:Muriel Steinbeck
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980:at Oz Movies
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357:Damien Parer
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296:Kitty Bluett
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179:Running time
156:Release date
95:Damien Parer
15:
673:The Mercury
366:in Sydney.
339:Fred Bluett
311:Development
281:Peter Finch
275:Ron Randell
236:Peter Finch
232:Ron Randell
228:Eric Porter
77:Peter Finch
73:Ron Randell
63:Eric Porter
59:Produced by
45:Eric Porter
41:Directed by
994:1946 films
988:Categories
768:The Herald
513:16 October
444:References
438:Storm Hill
431:Storm Hill
421:Box office
332:Leo McKern
306:Production
298:as Phyllis
257:New Guinea
212:Box office
167:1946-09-20
121:Production
51:Written by
35:Lobby card
802:19 August
795:The Argus
394:Reception
191:Australia
102:Edited by
963:Archived
939:AllMovie
656:Advocate
485:28 March
460:The Mail
399:Critical
345:Shooting
246:Synopsis
215:£30,000
196:Language
110:Music by
69:Starring
921:at the
857:Filmink
838:Filmink
414:Filmink
370:Release
323:Casting
207:£10,000
199:English
188:Country
183:85 mins
165: (
123:company
908:
881:4 June
774:4 June
705:4 June
679:4 June
623:4 June
582:4 June
539:4 June
406:Smithy
377:Smithy
204:Budget
251:Kay.
143:Hoyts
906:IMDb
883:2024
804:2012
776:2024
707:2024
699:Pix.
681:2024
625:2024
584:2024
541:2024
533:Pix.
515:2021
487:2024
263:Cast
145:(AS)
140:(UK)
969:at
953:at
937:at
904:at
334:.
990::
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855:.
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766:.
697:,
671:.
613:.
572:.
531:,
495:^
475:.
409:.
341:.
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859:.
840:.
169:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
