Red Sky at Morning (1944 film)

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Red Sky at Morning
Directed by Hartney Arthur
Written byHartney Arthur
Based ona play by Dymphna Cusack
Starring Peter Finch
John Alden
Cinematography Rupert Kathner
Bob Gould
Edited by Alex Ezard
Ross Wood
Production
company
Distributed byCarlyle Pictures (UK)
Ray Rushmer (1948 Australia)
Release dates
  • 1948 (1948)(UK)
  • 1950 (1950)(Australia)
Running time
4,500 feet
48 min. (UK version)
55 min. (1950 Australian version)
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Budget£10,000 [1] or £8,000 [2]

Red Sky at Morning is a 1944 Australian melodrama set during the 19th century based on a play by Dymphna Cusack. It features an early screen performance by Peter Finch, who plays a convict who falls in love with the wife of a sea captain.

Contents

It was also known as Escape at Dawn.

Synopsis

In 1812 Australia, Alicia Farley flees from her sadistic husband, Captain Farley. During a storm, she takes refuge in an inn in Parramatta and forms a relationship with Irish rebel Michael. Captain Farley tracks her down but she manages to escape with Michael and they both leave the country.

Cast

Development

The film was based on the play of the same name by Dymphna Cusack which had been given amateur performances on stage but had been produced several times professionally on radio, as well as published in 1942. Film rights were bought by a new company Austral-American Productions who had just made A Yank in Australia . The general manager was Hartney Arthur who announced in early 1943 the company planned to make six films, starting with Red Sky at Morning. [3]

Arthur was Tasmanian, and his parents had owned an inn in Hobart. [3] He said he did not alter the original play much. "The six characters of the play remain. The story is practically unaltered. The ending, the last few minutes action, has been slightly changed." [4]

Arthur elaborated that “Austral-Americans think this film, dealing as it does with the early Australian background, will give the American people an understanding of this country. He added, "My company is providing a splendid chance for Australian writers and artists. With co-operation from the Press and other sources of publicity, Red Sky should be successful. It's a powerful story. And we’ve some competent actors interpreting it." [4]

A prospectus to raise finance for the film said it would cost at the most £6,000 and was likely to return £25,000 "in Australia alone". [5]

The cast included two of Australia's leading actors at the time, Peter Finch and John Alden. [6] Finch took leave from the army to appear in the film. [7] During filming Finch announced his engagement to Tamara Tchanova who became his first wife. [8]

Dorothy Dunstan was eighteen years old. [9]

Production

Filming started 18 January 1943. The film was mostly shot at Fanfare Studios, Rupert Kathner's small studio in North Sydney during February 1943, with some exteriors in Windsor and Mulgoa. [10] [11] [12]

In July 1943 the cast of the film performed their roles in a radio version of the play. [13]

The company intended to follow Red Sky at Morning with another film, Eureka Stockade, but this was never made. [4]

Release

In 1944 the film was rejected for registration under the quality clause of the New South Wales Film Quota Act and it only received sporadic distribution. [14]

The film was submitted for censorship in 1945. [15]

By December 1945 it was reported that the film was complete but that it had cost £10,000 not the planned £6,000. The £4,000 difference was provided by Wharton and Arthur. Smith's Weekly reported that Wharton said the film "is ha'ving certain minor alterations and is expected to be ready for a private screening of syndicate members any day." [1] This did not happen and there were complains about the syndicate. [16]

UK Release

In 1948 a 48-minute version of the film was screened in England by the distributor Carlyle Pictures, and received bad reviews. Kinematograph Weekly called the movie:

Heavy and vague in plot, badly acted, crudely dialogued and staged with touching economy, it fails utterly to justify its lengthy journey from 'Down Under.' And that's putting it mildly... Peter Finch, Jean McAllister, and John Alden... all exaggerate. The supporting players are, if possible, even worse... The time of the play is 1812, and the locale is Australian, but little else is clear. Incredibly old-fashioned and in articulate, it gets many unintentional laughs and might easily be mistaken for burlesque and parody. [17]

The Monthly Film Bulletin called it:

A thoroughly boring film which has absolutely nothing to justify its production. The story is weak, the settings are extremely monotonous, being almost entirely restricted to the interior of a house, and all the sound effects come from "off stage". In fact, this might well have been a photographed play, amateurishly produced. The cast are stiff and do little to bring to life the characters they play. Any semblance of good dialogue there might have been is lost by the extremely poor recording, and the quality of the photography is appalling. [18]

Re-release

Gordon Wharton of Austral-American arranged for Ray Rushmer to distribute the film. Rushmer arranged for several changes to be made by Sydney filmmaker James Pearson, including a new opening and ending. The film was retitled Escape at Dawn and ran for 55 minutes. It appears to have been released in 1950. [19] [20]

It was re-released in England under that title, emphasising the presence of Peter Finch in the cast. [10] Reviews were, again, poor. [21]

Preservation status

Red Sky at Morning is now considered a lost film. [22]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "PICTURE-PRODUCING SYNDICATES". Smith's Weekly . Vol. XXVII, no. 42. New South Wales, Australia. 15 December 1945. p. 6. Retrieved 13 March 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ "No Easy Money In Films". Smith's Weekly . Vol. XXIX, no. 22. New South Wales, Australia. 26 July 1947. p. 26. Retrieved 13 March 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  3. 1 2 "TASMANIAN FILM PRODUCER". The Examiner (Tasmania) . Vol. CI, no. 266. Tasmania, Australia. 16 January 1943. p. 5. Retrieved 13 March 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  4. 1 2 3 "AUSTRALIAN FILM PREVIEW: "RED SKY AT MORNING"", Pertinent., 2 (7 (March 1943)), Sydney: Pertinent Publishing Co, nla.obj-3088444347, retrieved 13 March 2024– via Trove
  5. ↑ ""A Yank in Australia" Share". The Guardian. No. 578. Western Australia. 5 May 1944. p. 3. Retrieved 13 March 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "A B C STARS OF THE AIR". Melton Express . No. 1925. Victoria, Australia. 3 April 1943. p. 4. Retrieved 13 March 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ "WHO GOES WHERE". The Sun. No. 2090. New South Wales, Australia. 18 April 1943. p. 10. Retrieved 13 March 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  8. ↑ "TALKING OF TALKIES". Truth. No. 2248. Queensland, Australia. 25 April 1943. p. 17. Retrieved 13 March 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  9. ↑ "SOLDIER SUBSCRIBES £1000". The Sun . No. 10386. New South Wales, Australia. 20 April 1943. p. 1 (LATE FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 13 March 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  10. 1 2 Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 197
  11. ↑ "Australian Films in the Making". The Mercury . Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 28 October 1944. p. 9. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  12. ↑ "AUSTRALIAN FILM AT NORTH SYDNEY". Daily Mirror. No. 547. New South Wales, Australia. 11 February 1943. p. 5 (Late Final Extra). Retrieved 13 March 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  13. ↑ "Coming on the air", ABC Weekly, 5 (30 (24 July 1943)), Sydney: ABC, nla.obj-1315256080, retrieved 13 March 2024– via Trove
  14. ↑ "YOUR QUERIES". The Mail . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 24 May 1947. p. 3 Supplement: SUNDAY MAGAZINE. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  15. ↑ "AUSTRALIAN FILMS". The Age . No. 28, 393. Victoria, Australia. 25 April 1946. p. 6. Retrieved 13 March 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  16. ↑ "BRUSH-OFF BY STOCK EXCHANGE COMMITTEE". Smith's Weekly . Vol. XXVIII, no. 16. New South Wales, Australia. 15 June 1946. p. 7. Retrieved 13 March 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  17. ↑ "THE STARRY WAY". The Courier-mail . No. 3633. Queensland, Australia. 17 July 1948. p. 2. Retrieved 13 March 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  18. ↑ Red Sky at Morning Monthly Film Bulletin15.169 (1 Jan 1948): 80.
  19. ↑ "Advertising". South Coast Times and Wollongong Argus . Vol. L, no. 87. New South Wales, Australia. 9 November 1950. p. 4. Retrieved 13 March 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  20. ↑ "Radio ROUNDABOUT", ABC Weekly, 12 (8 (25 February 1950)), Sydney: ABC, nla.obj-1691210296, retrieved 13 March 2024– via Trove
  21. ↑ "Critics Pan Australian Film "Escape at Dawn"". The Guardian. No. 691. Western Australia. 17 March 1950. p. 3. Retrieved 13 March 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  22. ↑ Australia's 'Lost' Films at National Film and Sound Archive
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