Wikipedia

Into the Straight

Into the Straight is a 1949 Australian horse racing melodrama directed by T. O. McCreadie.[2]

Into the Straight
Directed byT. O. McCreadie
Written byZelma Roberts
Produced byT. O. McCreadie
Alec McCreadie (executive)
StarringCharles Tingwell
Muriel Steinbeck
CinematographyHarry Malcolm
Edited byAlex Ezard
Jack Gardiner
Music byWilbur Sampson
Production
company
Embassy Pictures
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • 15 July 1949 (1949-07-15)
[1]
Running time
82 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

Plot

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The Curzons, an Australian horse racing family, are visited by an English horse trainer, Hugh Duncan, and his playboy son, Paul. Both men fall for June Curzon. However, after she is crippled in an accident Paul loses interest, and she realises she loves Hugh.

With Hugh's encouragement, June writes a piano concerto and learns to walk again. Her brother, the weak Sam Curzon, steals money from his father to pay gambling debts and allows Paul to take the blame. However, a horse secretly trained by Paul wins the Melbourne Cup.

Cast

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Production

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Charles Tingwell also worked as a trainee to Alex Ezard.[3]

Shooting began in June 1948, on location in Scone, New South Wales, and at the studio of Commonwealth Film Laboratories in Sydney.[4] The Victoria Racing Club allowed a re-creation of the Melbourne Cup to be shot at Flemington Racecourse[5] and scenes were also filmed at Randwick Racecourse.[6] Several jockeys made cameos in the film, including Jack Purtell and George Moore.[7]

The film featured a piano concerto which took up several minutes of screen time.

Reception

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The film was well received in Perth but only had a short run in Sydney and Melbourne.[8]

Critical

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The Sun Herald said the film "compares not unfavourably with many of the B-grade quickies successfully produced as cheap supporting films by Monogram and Pine-Thomas" and declared it "sticks pretty firmly to the story line and does not allow itself to be side-tracked and unbalanced by all sorts of amateurish irrelevancies" although "there is a very long patch in the middle where the producers seem to forget that they are making a racing film."[9]

The Newcastle Sun wrote "the script is faulty, but the main trouble is that too many thincs have been attempted. A pleasing feature, however, is the photography."[10]

The Bulletin declared, "In the parlance of that sport [horse racing], it could be said that while it would need a pretty hefty “sting” to make it a winner, it does, atHhe same time, run a fairly honest race under a big handicap and gives supporters a middling-fair run for their money."[11]

Variety called it "unsuited for the US" but felt it "might find a spot or two in the British provinces... Stud farm scenes are fine. Cast is adequate."[12]

Filmink later wrote "Steinbeck was the biggest name in the cast at the time, but it isn’t much of a role… and in hindsight that was a mistake. The filmmakers would have been better off building the movie around Steinbeck – either have her play the role of her daughter... or made her character the center of the action. But then, Australian cinema has traditionally demonstrated a poor understanding how best to exploit potential stars."[13]

References

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  1. ^ "No Title". The West Australian. Vol. 65, no. 19, 656. Western Australia. 16 July 1949. p. 10. Retrieved 23 August 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ "Films You Will Soon Be Seeing:: Studio Gossip:: Short Story "Into The Straight"—Australian Racing Film". The Sydney Morning Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 5 January 1950. p. 8. Retrieved 24 April 2020 – via Trove.
  3. ^ "Obituary: Tom McCreadie". Filmnews. New South Wales, Australia. 1 September 1992. p. 2. Retrieved 24 April 2020 – via Trove.
  4. ^ "Films You Will Soon Be Seeing:: Studio Gossip:: Short Story "Into The Straight"—Australian Racing Film". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 5 January 1950. p. 8. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  5. ^ "Jockeys in the Films". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 29 July 1948. p. 18. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  6. ^ "Background To Turf Story". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 1 July 1949. p. 12. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  7. ^ "PURTELL TO RIDE IN RACE FILM". The Barrier Miner. Broken Hill, NSW: National Library of Australia. 16 September 1948. p. 8. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  8. ^ Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 208.
  9. ^ ""Into The Straight"". The Sunday Herald (Sydney). No. 50. New South Wales, Australia. 8 January 1950. p. 5 (Features). Retrieved 23 August 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ ""Into The Straight"". The Newcastle Sun. No. 10, 044. New South Wales, Australia. 11 March 1950. p. 5. Retrieved 23 August 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "TALKIES Two Australian Films.", The Bulletin, Sydney, N.S.W: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald, 18 January 1950, nla.obj-524288326, retrieved 23 August 2024 – via Trove
  12. ^ "Into the Straight". Variety. 18 January 1950. p. 6.
  13. ^ Vagg, Stephen (25 August 2019). "Unsung Aussie Actors – Muriel Steinbeck". Filmink.
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