The Lure of the Bush
| The Lure of the Bush | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Claude Flemming |
| Written by | Percy Reay as "Jack North" |
| Starring | Snowy Baker |
| Cinematography | Franklyn Barrett |
Production company | Snowy Baker Films |
| Distributed by | E. J. Carroll |
Release dates |
|
Running time | six reels |
| Country | Australia |
| Languages |
|
| Budget | £1,500[1][2] |
| Box office | £20,000[1] |
The Lure of the Bush is a 1918 Australian silent film starring renowned Australian sportsman Snowy Baker. It is considered a lost film.
Synopsis
Hugh Mostyn (Snowy Baker) is sent from his family station to England for an education and returns to Australia years later as a "gentleman", complete with a white suit and monocle. He seeks work as a jackeroo and is teased by station hands who pretend to hold him up as bushrangers, but he beats them all up. He also breaks into a wild brumby, takes part in a kangaroo hunt, defeats the station bully (Colin Bell) in a boxing match, wins the heart of the manager's daughter, and later rescues her from a rejected suitor.[3]
Colin Bell was a real-life boxer and his on-screen fight with Baker went for five minutes.[4]
Cast
- Snowy Baker as Hugh Mostyn
- John Faulkner
- Rita Tress as Trixie Stanley
- Claude Flemming as Harry Darvell
- Colin Bell
- Joan Baker as rider
Production
The script was the prize winner in a competition held by the Bulletin.[1]
The film was shot in a property near Gunnedah.[5] The female lead, Rita Tress, was a real life squatter's daughter.[6]
Baker visited Hollywood in 1919 and re-shot some sequences there at Jesse Lasky's studios for its American release.[7]
References
The film was enormously popular and earned an estimated £20,000 in profit.[2]
References
- ^ a b c Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 83.
- ^ a b "OUR FILMS GETTING FACE LIFT". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 5 June 1944. p. 4. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ^ "THE LURE OF THE BUSH." The Mercury (Hobart) 25 January 1919: 11, retrieved 18 December 2011
- ^ Colin Bell boxing record
- ^ "THEATRE ROYAL." The Register (Adelaide) 9 Dec 1919: 9. Retrieved 18 December 2011
- ^ "'THE LUKE OF THE BUSH."". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 2 December 1919. p. 9. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
- ^ "AUSTRALIAN FILMS." The Register (Adelaide) 6 Jan 1919: 9. Retrieved 18 December 2011