The Shiralee (1957 film)
| The Shiralee | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | Leslie Norman |
| Produced by | Michael Balcon |
| Written by | Leslie Norman Neil Paterson |
| Based on | novel by D'Arcy Niland |
| Starring |
Peter Finch Dana Wilson Elizabeth Sellars |
| Narrated by | Charles Tingwell |
| Music by | John Addison |
| Cinematography | Paul Beeson |
| Edited by | Gordon Stone |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
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Release date
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11 July 1957 (UK) August 1957 (Australia) |
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Running time
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99 min. |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $597,000 |
| Box office | $920,000 |
The Shiralee is a 1957 British film made by Ealing Studios, directed by Leslie Norman and based on the novel by D'Arcy Niland. Although all exterior scenes were filmed in Sydney, Scone (where the film had its Australasian premiere} and Binnaway, New South Wales and Australian actors Charles Tingwell, Bill Kerr and Ed Devereaux played in supporting roles, the film is really a British film made in Australia, rather than an Australian film.
An itinerant rural worker named Macauley —sometimes described as a "swagman" or "swaggie"—suddenly finds himself taking responsibility for his child. Having returned from "walkabout", he finds his wife entwined in the arms of another, and so he takes the daughter, Buster, with him. The child is the "shiralee", an Irish or Aboriginal word meaning "swag", or metaphorically, a "burden."
In their time together, father and daughter explore new depths of understanding and bonding. The barren landscapes of the outback provided both a backdrop to the richness of the relationship, as well as explaining the swagman's love for the country.
Jim and Buster stay with the Parkers, whose daughter Liz was an old lover of Jim's and fell pregnant to him. Jim tries to abandon Buster but she refuses to leave. Buster is injured in a car accident, and father and daughter are reunited.
Leslie Norman said he read the book, "loved it" and sent it to Michael Balcon at Ealing. According to Norman, "Mick roasted me, said it was full of foul language and how dare I? I said that it wouldn't be in the film, so he said all right and to get him a script."
Ealing had paid a reported £10,000 for the film rights to the book.
Norman says he wrote a script, showed it to Balcon who "claimed it was a different story, so we called in Neil Patterson to rewrite. He only rewrote one scene but it was enough to appease Mick. I suffered a lot from Mick."
Ealing signed an agreement with MGM for the latter studio to distribute their films worldwide; The Shiralee was to be the first movie they made together.
Leslie Norman arrived in Sydney in April 1956 to begin preproduction. Finch arrived in July and an extensive talent search was conducted to find the actress to play Buster. Eight-year-old Dana Wilson of Croydon, Sydney, was cast.
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