Efftee Studios was an early Australian film and theatre production studio, established by F.W. Thring (the name 'Efftee' deriving from his initials, 'FT' for Francis Thring) in 1930. It existed until Thring's death in 1935. Initially Efftee Films was based in Melbourne and used optical sound equipment imported from the US.
In 1931, the company produced the first commercially viable Australian made sound feature film, Diggers . Over the next five years, Efftee produced nine features, over 80 shorts and several stage productions, including the Australian musicals Collits' Inn (1933) and The Cedar Tree (1934). Notable collaborators include C. J. Dennis, George Wallace and Frank Harvey.
In 1934, Thring suspended Efftee's operations [1] to pressure the government to establish a quota for Australian films, threatening to move production to London. He relocated production to Sydney to take advantage of the New South Wales Cinematograph Films (Australian Quota) Act 1935. [2] [3]
Efftee was also the first operator of Melbourne radio station 3XY which began broadcasting on 9 September 1935.
Thring traveled to Hollywood in March 1936 to look for scriptwriters and actors [4] and returned in June but died soon after.
Founder F.W. Thring was the father of the Australian and international actor, Frank Thring.
George Stephenson "Onkus" Wallace, was an Australian comedian, actor, vaudevillian and radio personality. During the early to mid-20th century, he was one of the most famous and successful Australian comedians on both stage and screen, with screen, song and revue sketch writing amongst his repertoire. Wallace was a small tubby man with goggle eyes, a mobile face and croaky voice who appeared in trademark baggy trousers, checkered shirt and felt hat. His career as one of Australia's most popular comedians spanned four decades from the 1920s to 1960 and encompassed stage, radio and film entertainment. Ken G. Hall, who directed him in two films, wrote in his autobiography that George Wallace was the finest Australian comedian he had known.
Thelma Marjorie Scott was an Australian character actress whose six-decade career in theatre, radio, film and Australian made her one of her country's most recognisable and beloved personalities. Having started her career in the early 1930s in theatre and film productions, she became one of the nation's biggest radio performers, during the 1940s featuring in productions such as Big Sister and Blue Hills. She returned to make TV films in the early late 1950s and then became a star on television after it was launched in Australia. She became best known for roles in soap operas including Number 96 as Claire Houghton and Mrs. Jennings in Richmond Hill.
Frank Harvey was a British-born actor, producer, and writer, best known for his work in Australia.
His Royal Highness is a 1932 Australian musical film directed by F. W. Thring, also known as His Loyal Highness, starring George Wallace in his feature film debut. It was the first Australian film musical.
George Patrick "Pat" Hanna was a New Zealand-born film producer, he was a soldier of the First World War who entertained post-war audiences with the stage show Diggers, that was adapted to a film of the same title in 1931.
Arthur Embery Higgins was a pioneering Australian cinematographer known for his use of trick photography during the silent era. His ongoing collaborations with director Raymond Longford include The Sentimental Bloke (1919) and The Blue Mountains Mystery (1921). He briefly turned to directing with Odds On (1928) however returned to cinematography in 1931 for the remainder of his career.
Harmony Row is a 1933 Australian musical comedy directed by F. W. Thring and Raymond Longford and starring popular stage comedian George Wallace. It marked the film debut of Bill Kerr.
A Ticket in Tatts is a 1934 musical comedy film starring popular stage comedian George Wallace as an accident-prone stablehand. It was the last of three films Wallace made for F. W. Thring.
Francis William Thring III, better known as F. W. Thring, was an Australian film director, producer, and exhibitor. He has been credited with the invention of the clapperboard.
Diggers is a 1931 Australian comedy film produced and directed by F. W. Thring starring popular stage comedian Pat Hanna. It was the first feature film from both men.
Diggers in Blighty is a 1933 Australian film starring and directed by Pat Hanna. Hanna decided to direct this film himself after being unhappy with how F. W. Thring had handled Diggers (1931).
Campbell Copelin was an English actor, who moved to Australia in the 1920s and worked extensively in film, theatre, radio and television. He had a notable association with J.C. Williamson Ltd and frequently collaborated with F. W. Thring and Frank Harvey. He often played villains.
The Streets of London is a 1934 Australian film directed by F. W. Thring. It was a filmed version of a play by Dion Boucicault which Thring had produced on stage the previous year. It was the last film made by Efftee Film Productions – Thring ceased production afterwards with the aim of resuming it later but died in 1936 before he had the chance.
Clara Gibbings is a 1934 Australian film directed by F.W. Thring about the owner of a London pub who discovers she is the daughter of an earl. It was a vehicle for stage star Dorothy Brunton.
The Sentimental Bloke is a 1932 Australian film directed by F. W. Thring and starring Cecil Scott and Ray Fisher. It is an adaptation of the 1915 novel Songs of a Sentimental Bloke by C. J. Dennis, which had previously been filmed in 1919.
Collits' Inn is an Australian musical play with music by Varney Monk. Its first staging was in December 1932 at the Savoy Theatre in Sydney. The 1933 Melbourne production at the Princess Theatre was the first fully professional production, presented by F. W. Thring and starring Gladys Moncrieff, George Wallace, Claude Flemming and Campbell Copelin. Wallace's role was created especially for him. It is generally considered the first commercially successful Australian musical, and it was praised by the Sydney Morning Herald as "an Australian opera".
The Cedar Tree is an Australian musical play produced in the wake of the success of Collits' Inn. The 1934 Melbourne production at the Princess Theatre was presented by F. W. Thring and starred Gladys Moncrieff.
Sheepmates was a proposed Australian film from director F. W. Thring based on a 1931 novel by William Hatfield.
William Hatfield (1892–1969) was the pen name of Ernest Chapman, an English-born writer best known for his work in Australia.
John P. McLeod was an Australian writer and broadcaster. For a time he was an in-house screenwriter for F.W. Thring at Efftee Studios.