The Sentimental Bloke

Last updated

The Sentimental Bloke
Arthur Tauchert.jpg
Arthur Tauchert, in The Sentimental Bloke
Directed by Raymond Longford
Written by Lottie Lyell [1]
Based on The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke by C. J. Dennis
Produced byRaymond Longford
Starring Arthur Tauchert
Lottie Lyell
Gilbert Emery
Cinematography Arthur Higgins [2]
Production
company
Distributed by E. J. Carroll
Release dates
  • 26 November 1918 (1918-11-26)(Adelaide) [3]
  • 4 November 1919 (1919-11-04) [4]
Running time
106 minutes
CountryAustralia
Languages Silent film
English intertitles
Budget£2,000 [5]

The Sentimental Bloke is a 1918 Australian silent film based on the 1915 verse novel The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke by C. J. Dennis. Produced and directed by Raymond Longford, the film stars Arthur Tauchert, Gilbert Emery, and Lottie Lyell, who also co-wrote the film with Longford.

Contents

A major critical and commercial success upon its release in Australia, the film was also popular in New Zealand and Great Britain, and is generally considered the greatest Australian silent film, and one of the best Australian movies of all time. [6] The film inspired a sequel, Ginger Mick (1920), and a 1932 remake. In 2004, the National Film and Sound Archive released a fully restored version of The Sentimental Bloke, making it one of the few Australian silent films to survive intact.

Plot

Bill is a Woolloomooloo larrikin, who vows to abandon his life of gambling (playing Two-up) and drinking after a spell in gaol following a raid on a two up game. He falls in love with Doreen (Lyell), who works in a pickle factory, but faces competition from a more sophisticated rival, Stror 'at Coot.

Bill and Doreen argue, but are eventually reunited and get married. Bill gives up drinking and hanging out with his mate, Ginger Mick, and becomes a family man. He gets an offer from his uncle to manage an orchard in the country, and he and Doreen settle down there with their baby.

Cast

Development

Tauchert, Emery and Lyell during the filming of The Sentimental Bloke The Sentimental Bloke 1918.jpg
Tauchert, Emery and Lyell during the filming of The Sentimental Bloke

C. J. Dennis' original book had been a best seller since its publication in 1915. It was read by executive J. D. Williams who gave Raymond Longford a copy and suggested it might make a good movie. Longford gave it to his partner Lottie Lyell and she was supportive.

Finance was provided by an Adelaide company, the Southern Cross Feature Film Company who had funded The Woman Suffers . C. J. Dennis was reluctant to give away the movie rights for fear it would affect book sales, however he eventually agreed after prolonged negotiations and a royalty payment of £1,000, half the film's budget. [7] (Another account says Dennis' fee was £950. [1] )

In March 1918 it was announced that Southern Cross had bought the rights and Longford would produce. [8] In April Dennis arrived in Adelaide to give his thoughts on the script. He said Bloke had sold over 100,000 copies while its sequel Ginger Mick had sold more than 70,000 copies. [9]

Dennis had tried to write the script himself but found it too difficult, so Lottie Lyell did it. [1] The script relocated the story from Melbourne to Woolloomooloo in Sydney.

Arthur Tauchert had extensive experience working in suburban vaudeville but had only made two short movies prior to this.

Production

The movie was shot in 1918 on location in Woolloomooloo, with the orchard scenes done at Hornsby Valley near Sydney, and interiors at open-air sets at Wonderland City, Bondi (which meant Longford could avoid paying excessive rental for using sets at the Rushcutters Bay Studio). Some shots of sunsets and sunrises for the inter titles were done in Adelaide. [10]

Sydney authorities refused to allow police uniforms to be depicted, or for shooting to take place in the city's gaols. However Longford managed to persuade Commonwealth dockside officials to appear as policemen and let him use an old watch house in Woolloomooloo.

Dennis appeared as himself at the beginning and found the experience nerve-wracking. [1]

Reception

Previews

The movie was first screened privately at Adelaide Wondergraph on 26 November 1918 in the presence of Dennis and the filmmakers. [11]

The Adelaide Register called it a "triumph" adding "the acting was excellent throughout, and the orchestra provided a special musical synchronisation. Enthusiastic applause was forthcoming from the audience, at the conclusion of the picture". [12]

The Advertiser said " The photography and general setting of the picture are admirable... it is deeply human and true to the nature of a big class of city dwellers in the crowded areas. When it goes abroad it will reveal to the world outside something of the originality and unconventionality of the Australian. The company should be heartily congratulated up this example of its effort." [13]

On 3 December 1918 the film was shown privately in Melbourne at the Majestic Theatre. The Argus called it "an excellent adaptation of the book." [14] The Age said " In the picture, as the book, the pure sentiment has a kind of divine alchemy, in which the slang has a quite natural place. " [15]

Weekly Times said "Mr Dennis's work has been visualised with a masterly appraisement of tone values." [16]

Release

It took a while for the film to be released as Australasian Films refused to screen the movie in the Union Theatre chain. However it was seen by E. J. Carroll who decided to distribute it in Australia and overseas.

The Sentimental Bloke uses intertitles taken from the original poem written in Australian slang and was a hit when it opened in Melbourne Town Hall on 4 October 1919, breaking all existing box office records. It was also popular in Britain and New Zealand, but did not succeed in the U.S., where test audiences failed to understand the language. Despite being recut with Americanised intertitles, having some scenes cut out, and being renamed for the American market as The Story of a Tough Guy, it was withdrawn from distribution. [17] [18]

Variety called it "the best Australian made feature to date." [19]

The initial success of The Sentimental Bloke prompted a sequel in 1920, Ginger Mick , and a remake in 1932 using the latest sound recording equipment from the United States. The sequel was a hit but the remake, although directed by the prolific actor and partner of Hoyts, F. W. Thring, did not fare as well as the original.

E. J. Carroll also sponsored a stage version of the book in 1922 produced by Bert Bailey and starring Walter Cornoch as the Bloke and Tal Ordell as Ginger Mick.

In 1931 Raymond Longford claimed that the film had been made for £900 and grossed £50,000 around the world. [20]

Rediscovery

The Sentimental Bloke

A 1952 fire in a Melbourne film library destroyed all but two boxes of film archives. [21] The boxes revealed a complete 35mm nitrate positive of The Sentimental Bloke, which the following year were sent to a Sydney laboratory for duplication on to new 16mm acetate stock. The original nitrate copies were believed to have been destroyed in the 1960s. The new print was screened at the 1955 Sydney Film Festival to great acclaim, although Longford was not invited, as the organisers did not realise he was still alive. [22]

The film also screened at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival. [23]

An original 35mm negative of the film was discovered in 1973 at the Film Archive at George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester, New York. The canisters had been mislabelled as The Sentimental Blonde but were discovered by luck. The film was the U.S. version which had some scenes deleted and included intertitles for the American audience. It was however, a better quality print than any of the Australian copies, and provided a base for a complete restoration.

The National Film and Sound Archive commenced on a full restoration project for the film in 2000 using the various pieces of archive material available. The project included colour tinting as close as possible to the original. This 'new' version premiered at the 2004 Sydney Film Festival and has played at the 2005 London Film Festival. It has since been released as a two DVD set which includes a booklet describing the film's history. [22] [24]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. J. Dennis</span> Australian poet

Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis, better known as C. J. Dennis, was an Australian poet and journalist known for his best-selling verse novel The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke (1915). Alongside his contemporaries and occasional collaborators Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson, Dennis helped popularise Australian slang in literature, earning him the title 'the laureate of the larrikin'.

<i>The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke</i> 1915 book by C. J. Dennis

The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke is a verse novel by Australian poet and journalist C. J. Dennis. Portions of the work appeared in The Bulletin between 1909 and 1915, the year the verse novel was completed and published by Angus & Robertson. Written in the rough and comical Australian slang that was Dennis' signature style, the work became immensely popular in Australia, selling over 60,000 copies in nine editions within the first year of publication.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harold Frederick Neville Gye</span> Australian cartoonist and author (1887–1967)

Harold Frederick Neville Gye, was a prolific Australian artist, cartoonist and caricaturist under the name Hal Gye and a writer of verse and short stories under James Hackston. Gye's artwork was published in a number of newspapers and magazines including The Bulletin, a journal with which he had a long association both as an artist and a writer. Gye was also a noted book illustrator. His artwork was featured in the books of C. J. Dennis beginning with The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke in 1915 and he also illustrated books of verse by Will H. Ogilvie and Banjo Paterson. As 'James Hackston' Gye wrote verse and autobiographical short stories published in The Bulletin and the Coast to Coast series of anthologies. In 1966 his collected short stories were published as Father Clears Out.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lottie Lyell</span> Australian actress and film director

Lottie Lyell was an Australian actress, screenwriter, editor and filmmaker. She is regarded as Australia's first film star, and also contributed to the local industry during the silent era through her collaborations with director and writer Raymond Longford.

<i>The Blue Mountains Mystery</i> 1921 film

The Blue Mountains Mystery is a lost 1921 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford and co-directed by Lottie Lyell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond Longford</span> Australian filmmaker and actor (1878–1959)

Raymond Longford was a prolific Australian film director, writer, producer, and actor during the silent era. Longford was a major director of the silent film era of the Australian cinema. He formed a production team with Lottie Lyell. His contributions to Australian cinema with his ongoing collaborations with Lyell, including The Sentimental Bloke (1919) and The Blue Mountains Mystery (1921), prompted the Australian Film Institute's AFI Raymond Longford Award, inaugurated in 1968, to be named in his honour.

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.

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.

The Fatal Wedding is a play by Theodore Kremer and a 1911 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford based on the melodrama, which he and Lottie Lyell had toured around Australia.

The Silence of Dean Maitland is a 1914 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford. It is an adaptation of the 1886 novel of the same name by Maxwell Gray which was later filmed by Ken G. Hall in 1934. It is considered a lost film.

The Woman Suffers is a 1918 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford. It is a melodrama starring Lottie Lyell. Two-thirds of the movie still survives.

Ginger Mick is a 1920 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford based on The Moods of Ginger Mick by C. J. Dennis, which had sold over 70,000 copies. It is a sequel to The Sentimental Bloke (1919) and is considered a lost film.

The Dinkum Bloke is a 1923 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford. Despite the title and the presence of Arthur Tauchert and Lottie Lyell in the cast, the film is not a direct sequel to The Sentimental Bloke (1919) or Ginger Mick (1920).

<i>The Pioneers</i> (1926 film) 1926 film

The Pioneers is a 1926 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford. The script had been written by Lottie Lyell but she had died by the time filming started. It was considered a lost film but some surviving footage from it has recently emerged.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Tauchert</span> Australian actor

Arthur Michael Tauchert was an Australian acrobatic comedian, dancer, singer, film actor, and star of the Australian silent film, The Sentimental Bloke (1919).

Talone Ordell (1880–1948), better known as Tal Ordel, was an Australian actor, writer and director. Ordell was probably born in Calcutta, India, seventh child of Victorian-born parents William Odell Raymond Buntine, drover, and his wife Susanna, née Mawley. He worked extensively on stage and screen as an actor in the 1910s and 1920s, playing Dad Rudd twice for Raymond Longford and Dad Hayseed – a similar role – three times for Beaumont Smith. He was the original "Ginger Mick" in the stage version of The Sentimental Bloke. He toured Australia with Marie Tempest.

Gilbert Charles Warren Emery was an Australian actor best known for his performances as Ginger Mick in the silent films The Sentimental Bloke (1919) and Ginger Mick (1920). These were directed by Raymond Longford with whom Emery had acted on stage in The Fatal Wedding.

Southern Cross Feature Film Company was a short lived film production company that made some of Australia's most famous silent films, mostly directed by Raymond Longford. One of the key figures behind it was Sir David Gordon.

<i>The Sentimental Bloke</i> (1961 musical) 1976 Australian film

The Sentimental Bloke is a 1961 Australian musical by Albert Arlen, Nancy Brown and Lloyd Thomson based on Songs of a Sentimental Bloke by C.J. Dennis. Set in Melbourne, it is one of the most successful Australian musicals of the 20th century. The musical has also been adapted for television and ballet.

The Moods of Ginger Mick is a verse novel by Australian poet and journalist C. J. Dennis, published by Angus and Robertson, in 1916. The collection includes fifteen illustrated plates by Hal Gye.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Life's Phases on the Film". The Herald. No. 13, 110. Victoria, Australia. 8 June 1918. p. 11. Retrieved 5 January 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ "PRODUCTION OF MOVING PICTURES-- IN AMERICA AND AUSTRALIA". Australian Town and Country Journal . Vol. XCVIII, no. 2555. New South Wales, Australia. 18 December 1918. p. 20. Retrieved 21 November 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  3. ↑ ""THE SENTIMENTAL BLOKE."". The Register . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 27 November 1918. p. 9. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  4. ↑ "Raymond Longford", Cinema Papers, January 1974 p51
  5. ↑ "£100,000 SPENT." The Advocate (Burnie, Tas) 5 January 1928: 6, retrieved 6 December 2011
  6. ↑ Paul Byrnes, 'The Sentimental Bloke', Australian Screenonline. Retrieved 24 July 2012
  7. ↑ Graham Shirley and Brian£ Adams, Australian Cinema: The First Eighty Years, Currency Press 1989 p 54
  8. ↑ ""THE WOMAN SUFFERS."". The Advertiser . Vol. LX, no. 18, 543. South Australia. 20 March 1918. p. 8. Retrieved 5 January 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  9. ↑ "THE SENTIMENTAL BLOKE". The Advertiser. Vol. LX, no. 18, 561. South Australia. 10 April 1918. p. 7. Retrieved 5 January 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  10. ↑ Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 90.
  11. ↑ ""THE SENTIMENTAL BLOKE."". The Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 27 November 1918. p. 11. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  12. ↑ ""THE SENTIMENTAL BLOKE."". The Register (Adelaide) . Vol. LXXXIII, no. 22, 481. South Australia. 27 November 1918. p. 9. Retrieved 5 January 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  13. ↑ ""THE SENTIMENTAL BLOKE."". The Advertiser. Vol. LXI, no. 18, 759. South Australia. 27 November 1918. p. 11. Retrieved 5 January 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  14. ↑ ""SENTIMENTAL BLOKE" FILM". The Argus (Melbourne) . No. 22, 573. Victoria, Australia. 4 December 1918. p. 12. Retrieved 5 January 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  15. ↑ "GENERAL NEWS". The Age. No. 19, 874. Victoria, Australia. 4 December 1918. p. 10. Retrieved 5 January 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  16. ↑ "PLAYS AND PLAYERS". Weekly Times . No. 2, 574. Victoria, Australia. 7 December 1918. p. 56. Retrieved 5 January 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  17. ↑ Ina Bertrand, 'Raymond Longford's The Sentimental Bloke: The Restored Version.', Screening the Past, October 2009 Archived 8 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 24 July 2012
  18. ↑ "Motion Picture Classic - Lantern: Search, Visualize & Explore the Media History Digital Library". lantern.mediahist.org.
  19. ↑ Gorrick, Eric (5 December 1919). "In Australia". Variety. p. 7.
  20. ↑ "AUSTRALIAN FILMS". The Daily News . Perth: National Library of Australia. 18 December 1931. p. 11 Edition: HOME (FINAL) EDITION. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  21. ↑ Dominic Case. "3.2". Raymond Longford's Sentimental Bloke. National Film and Sound Archive. pp. 67–75.
  22. 1 2 Graham Shirley, Restoring and re-releasing 'The Sentimental Bloke', National Film and Sound Archive, 12 May 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2012
  23. ↑ "Festival de Cannes: The Sentimental Bloke". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 25 July 2009.
  24. ↑ Warren Brown, 'The Sentimental Bloke', Rewind, 5 September 2004. Retrieved 24 July 2012
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.