Down Under is an Australian feature-length film directed by Harry Southwell. It was the first full-length feature film made in Western Australia.[3] It featured the outback, as well as Perth and Kings Park.
| Down Under | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Harry Southwell |
| Starring | Harry Southwell Nancy Mills |
| Cinematography | Lacey Percival Cliff Thomas |
Production company | Anglo-Australian Films |
Release dates | 22 March 1927 (premiere)[1] 4 September 1929[2] |
| Country | Australia |
| Languages | Silent film English intertitles |
Plot edit
An Australian vagabond, Walter Nobbage, has a series of adventures, including a trotting race meeting, a cattle muster and an aboriginal corroboree. Nobbage's sweetheart dies and he sacrifices his life for the safe her his dead sweetheart's little boy.[4]
Cast edit
- Harry Southwell
- Nancy Mills
- Ivy Deakin
- Alec Weird[5]
- Mrs Compton
- L Laurence
- J Austin
- G Cotter
- G Temple-Poole
- J Hennessy
- D Brown
- J Southwell
- A Raven
Production edit
The film was financed by West Australian businessmen and shot in that state at Erlistoun Station, Laverton and Perth.[6][7]
Southwell claimed at the time he had a contract to make six films for distribution in Britain.[8]
It was the first and only production of Anglo-Australian Films.[9]
Release edit
It premiered on 4 September 1929 in Perth at the Majestic Theatre.[3] The film appears never to have received a commercial release in Britain[9]
Southwell attempted to set up another company in Australia, Western Southwell Productions, aiming to make a £4,000 movie called Gold. This film was never made.[10]
References edit
- ^ ""Down Under"". The Daily News. Perth: National Library of Australia. 23 March 1927. p. 2. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
- ^ "Advertising". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 4 September 1929. p. 2. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
- ^ a b "'Down Under' at Majestic". The Daily News. 4 September 1929. p. 10. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
- ^ "A Western Australian Film". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 18 February 1927. p. 12. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
- ^ "Pertinent Paragraphs". The Mirror. Perth: National Library of Australia. 18 May 1929. p. 11. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
- ^ "Film Production". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 3 August 1926. p. 8. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
- ^ "Film Producing in WA". Western Argus. Kalgoorlie, Western Australia: National Library of Australia. 10 August 1926. p. 13. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
- ^ "West Australian films". Geraldton Guardian. Western Australia: National Library of Australia. 21 August 1926. p. 3. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
- ^ a b Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 137.
- ^ "The Cinema". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 15 October 1927. p. 6. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
External links edit
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