Orphan of the Wilderness | |
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Directed by | Ken G. Hall |
Written by | Edmond Seward |
Based on | novel Wilderness Orphan by Dorothy Cottrell |
Produced by | Ken G. Hall |
Starring | Brian Abbot Gwen Munro |
Cinematography | George Heath |
Edited by | William Shepherd |
Music by | Hamilton Webber |
Production company | |
Distributed by | British Empire Films (Australia) Pathe (UK) |
Release dates |
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Running time | 85 minutes (Australia) 69 minutes (UK) |
Country | Australia |
Language | English |
Budget | £12,000 [1] or £15,000 [2] |
Orphan of the Wilderness is a 1936 Australian feature film from director Ken G. Hall about the adventures of a boxing kangaroo. It starred Brian Abbot who disappeared at sea not long after filming completed.
Ken Hall later said "the fauna sequences...were really artistic. That film developed so that you had the deepest possible sympathy for those animals and there was nothing phony or faked about it. It was quite beautiful and quite artistic and I’m still very proud of it and the magnificent photographic work of George Heath... that film was very successful commercially both here and overseas. True the human actors weren’t nearly as good as the kangaroos. They lacked the artistry of the uninhibited fauna." [3]
Chut is a kangaroo whose mother is killed by hunters. He wanders through the bush and eventually arrives at a homestead, where he is befriended by a farmer, Tom Henton. Years later, Tom puts Chut in a travelling circus run by Shorty McGee. Tom's girlfriend Margot performs in the circus and says she'll look after Chut.
McGee trains Chut as a boxing kangaroo and becomes famous around Australia. Neither Margot or Tom are aware that Shorty whips the kangaroo prior to bouts. One day Chut fights back against McGree and takes off into the bush, pursued by men with rifles and dogs. Tom and his station hands eventually ride to the rescue and Tom beats up McGee.
Chut settles down on Tom's property.
When Ken Hall returned from Hollywood in 1935, he announced that his first three films would be Thoroughbred, Big Timber and Robbery Under Arms. [4] Stuart F. Doyle wanted Hall to make a 50-minute short to support Thoroughbred similar to the way Cinesound Varieties was used to support The Silence of Dean Maitland (1934). Hall says Edmond Seward discovered the story in Cosmopolitan magazine and was attracted to its originality and setting. [5]
Eventually as scripting progressed, Hall decided to expand the story to feature length and add a romantic subplot.
Harry Abdy owned the kangaroo who played Chut in the movie. He had travelled in Australia and the US as a boxing kangaroo. [1]
Hall cast two newcomers in the leads, Brian Abbot and Gwen Munro.
Shooting took place in May and June 1936, on location at Burragorang Valley and Camden, and at Cinesound's studios in Bondi. J Alan Kenyon created a large bushland set inside the studio, 140 feet by 70 feet. [6]
Production was difficult due to the problems of dealing with animals, who were unused to studio lights and following direction, especially kangaroos. Shooting held up for several days due to an illness of Gwen Munro. [7] Harry Abdy was injured sparring with a kangaroo. [8] Some cast and crew were injured in a car accident on the way back from location. [9] Hall says he also had trouble with his actors:
When you're asked for a low-cost second or B feature, your inclination can be to approach it as a quickie. Mine was, initially, and that was a bad mistake. On this one we used too many raw people in the cast as a sort of break-in for them. This not only slowed us down in trying to get performances from inexperienced people, but that inexperience showed up in some of them in the finished picture. But not fatally. And certainly not in Gwen Munro...or Harry Abdy. [10]
Worried about accusations of cruelty to animals on Hollywood movies, Hall arranged for representatives from the RSPCA to supervise filming. He offered free admission to people to attend the circus sequences so he did not have to pay extras. [11]
After seeing the film, Doyle decided not to release it as a second feature but instead issue on its own at Christmas time. Reviews were generally positive. [12]
The film was not a massive success at the local box office, due in part to the fact many of the tickets were bought by children at concession prices. But it was popular and sold well overseas. [13] [14]
It was the first Australian movie to be sold to England before it had even been completed [15] The film was released in the US as Wild Innocence [16] and screened widely in Europe. It was banned in England for a time because it depicted cruelty to animals and did not achieve release until 1938 after several cuts had been made. [17]
In 1936 it was voted the film of the year by the newly formed Film Critics of Australia Guild. [1]
At one stage Cinesound had plans to make another animal movie from a script by Frank Hurley and Kenneth Wilkinson, but these were abandoned prior to Orphan of the Wilderness being shot. [18]
Kenneth George Hall was an Australian film producer and director, considered one of the most important figures in the history of the Australian film industry. He was the first Australian to win an Academy Award.
Cinesound Productions Pty Ltd was an Australian feature film production company. Established in June 1931, Cinesound developed out of a group of companies centred on Greater Union Theatres that covered all facets of the film process, from production to distribution and exhibition. Cinesound Productions established a film studio as a subsidiary of Greater Union Theatres Pty Ltd based on the Hollywood model. The first production was On Our Selection (1932), which was an enormous financial success.
Mr. Chedworth Steps Out is a 1939 Australian comedy film directed by Ken G. Hall starring Cecil Kellaway. Kellaway returned to Australia from Hollywood to make the film, which features an early screen appearance by Peter Finch.
The Broken Melody is a 1938 Australian drama film directed by Ken G. Hall and starring Lloyd Hughes, based on a best-selling novel by F. J. Thwaites. Hall later said in 1974 that "This was a film that I’m particularly keen about still."
Edmond Seward was a Hollywood screenwriter who had originally attended Northwestern University and worked as a journalist, before doing some writing for Disney.
Strike Me Lucky is a 1934 Australian comedy musical film starring popular stage comic vaudevillian Roy Rene in his first and only film. It was the fourth feature film from Cinesound Productions but proved a box office disappointment. Director Ken G. Hall claimed it was the only one of his features not to go into profit within a few years of release, although the film eventually covered costs.
Grandad Rudd is a 1935 comedy featuring the Dad and Dave characters created by Steele Rudd and based on a play by Rudd. It was a sequel to On Our Selection, and was later followed by Dad and Dave Come to Town and Dad Rudd, MP.
Thoroughbred is a 1936 Australian race-horse drama film directed by Ken G. Hall, partly based on the life and career of Phar Lap. Hollywood star Helen Twelvetrees was imported to Australia to appear in the film. The film also stars Frank Leighton and John Longden.
It Isn't Done is a 1937 Australian comedy film about a grazier who inherits a barony in England.
Lovers and Luggers is a 1937 Australian film directed by Ken G. Hall. It is an adventure melodrama about a pianist who goes to Thursday Island to retrieve a valuable pearl.
Tall Timbers is a 1937 action melodrama set in the timber industry directed by Ken G. Hall and starring Frank Leighton and Shirley Ann Richards.
Let George Do It is a 1938 comedy starring popular stage comedian George Wallace. It was the first of two films Wallace made for Ken G. Hall at Cinesound Productions, the other one being Gone to the Dogs (1939). Hall later called Wallace "in my opinion, easily the best comedian that this country has produced."
Gone to the Dogs is a 1939 musical comedy vehicle starring George Wallace. It was the second of two films he made for director Ken G. Hall, the first being Let George Do It (1938).
Dad Rudd, M.P. is a 1940 comedy that was the last of four films made by Ken G. Hall starring Bert Bailey as Dad Rudd. It was the last feature film directed by Hall prior to the war and the last made by Cinesound Productions, Bert Bailey and Frank Harvey.
Come Up Smiling is a 1939 Australian comedy film starring popular American stage comedian Will Mahoney and his wife Evie Hayes. It was the only feature from Cinesound Productions not directed by Ken G. Hall.
Typhoon Treasure is a 1938 Australian adventure film directed by Noel Monkman and starring Campbell Copelin, Gwen Munro, and Joe Valli. It is set in New Guinea although shot on the Great Barrier Reef and the Queensland coast. It was Monkman's first dramatic feature film after several years making documentaries.
Gwendolyn Mina Munro was an Australian actress best known for playing the female lead in Orphan of the Wilderness (1936).
Alec Kellaway was a South African–born actor best known for his work in Australian theatre and film, notably playing a number of character roles for director Ken G. Hall. He was the brother of Cecil Kellaway. He also worked as a producer in vaudeville and helped run the Talent School at Cinesound Productions.
Cinesound Varieties is a 1934 Australian variety short film from director Ken G. Hall made to go out on a double-bill with the full-length feature, The Silence of Dean Maitland (1934). Only 18 minutes of the film survive today.
Pagewood Studios was a film studio in Sydney, Australia, that was used to make Australian, British and Hollywood films for 20 years.