Painted Daughters

Painted Daughters is a 1925 Australian silent film directed F. Stuart-Whyte. Only part of it survives today.

Painted Daughters
Directed byF. Stuart-Whyte
Based onFlorodora
StarringZara Clinton
Marie Lorraine
CinematographyLacey Percival
Production
company
Australasian Films (Master Pictures)
Distributed byUnion Theatres
Release date
23 May 1925
Running time
6,000 feet (est.)
CountryAustralia
LanguageSilent film
English intertitles
Budget₤4,000[1]

Plot

Mary Elliott and Courtland Nixon are dancing partners in a stage show called Florodora. Mary leaves Courtland and marries a wealthy admirer, who soon goes bankrupt and kills himself, leaving Mary to raise their daughter, Maryon.

Maryon grows up to become a dancer. A theatrical press agent, Ernest, reunites the cast of Floradora and Courtland is reunited with Mary. There is a fire in which both Mary and Courtland are injured, but they survive and decide to get married. So too do Maryon and Ernest.

Cast
  • Zara Clinton as Mary Elliott
  • Nina Devitt as Maryon Fielding
  • Billie Sim as Rita Railton
  • Marie Lorraine as Evelyn Shaw
  • Loretta May as Sheila Kay
  • Fernande Butler as Nina Walcott
  • Lucille Lisle as Olive Lennox
  • Peggy Pryde as wardrobe mistress
  • Belle Bates as Salvation Nell
  • Phyllis du Barry as Saharab
  • Rawdon Blandford as Courtland Nixon
  • Martin Walker as Warren Fielding
  • William O'Hanlon as Ernest Glenning
  • Compton Coutts as Harry Selby
  • Billy Ryan as Eric Thurston
  • Herbert Walton as Harry Gratton
  • Grafton Williams as Edward Thayne
  • Roland Conway as Charles Dailey
  • Louis Witts as Peter Flynn
  • S Hackett as Flash

Production

The movie was the first in a series of films produced by Australasian Films and released through Union Pictures under the banner of "Master Pictures". It was part of an attempt by Australasian Films and Union Theatres, led by Stuart F. Doyle, to make world-class films for the international market. He ended up spending over £100,000 on developing a new studio at Bondi and making a series of features from 1925-28. For this first movie, Australasian decided to import a director from overseas.[1]

F. Stuart-Whyte, a Scotsman who worked in Hollywood for fifteen years, arrived in Sydney in November 1924 to commence pre-production.[2] The movie was shot in a studio at Rushcutter's Bay in Sydney with former Hollywood star Louise Lovely assisting with screen testing.[3] The majority of cast and crew were Australian,[4] but the cast included British music hall star Peggy Pryde, who was then living in Australia.[5]

During production, a portion of the movie worth ₤600 was stolen from the production office.[6]

Reception

The movie was popular at the box office. The success of this and Sunrise (1926) prompted Australasian to announce they would make twelve new films over the next twelve months.[7] This did not eventuate however the company did make several more films.

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References
  1. Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 125-126.
  2. "THE FILM INDUSTRY." The Sydney Morning Herald 17 Mar 1925: 8 accessed 9 December 2011
  3. "AMUSEMENTS." The Sydney Morning Herald 15 Jan 1925: 6 accessed 9 December 2011
  4. "PAINTED DAUGHTERS.". The Advertiser (Adelaide) 25 Feb 1925: 16 accessed 9 December 2011
  5. Pryde on the Internet Movie Database
  6. "FILM STOLEN." The Brisbane Courier 3 Mar 1925: 8 accessed 9 December 2011
  7. "AUSTRALIAN FILMS." The Sydney Morning Herald 30 Sep 1925: 15 accessed 9 December 2011
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