Australasian Films, full name Union Theatres and Australasian Films, was an Australian film distribution and production company formed in 1913 that was wound up in the 1930s to merge into

Greater Union Greater Union Organisation Pty Ltd, trading as Event Cinemas, Greater Union, GU Film House, Moonlight Cinema and Birch Carroll & Coyle (BCC Cinemas), is the largest movie exhibitor in Australia and New Zealand, with over 140 Multiplex (movie the ...

. The Union Theatres and Australasian Films dominated

cinema in Australia The cinema of Australia had its beginnings with the 1906 production of ''The Story of the Kelly Gang'', arguably the world's first feature film. Since then, Australian crews have produced many films, a number of which have received internati ...

in the 1910s and 1920s.

Origins

In 1912,

West's Pictures West's Pictures was a short-lived Australian film production and exhibition company during the silent era. It was established by English theatrical entrepreneur Thomas James West (1885-1916) who helped turn the company into one of Australia's large ...

merged into Amalgamated Pictures, and then Amalgamated Pictures merged with Spencer's Pictures to create the General Film Company of Australasia. The following year this company combined with the Greater JD Williams Amusement Co, a large exhibition and film supply outfit, to create Union Theatres and Australasian Films. The company had a capital of £300,000; its first directors included

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ...

and Charles Cozens Spencer.

Feature Production

Spencer encouraged Australasian to enter feature production with the 1914 silent film ''

The Shepherd of the Southern Cross ''The Shepherd of the Southern Cross'' is a 1914 Australian silent film about an Englishwoman torn between two men.Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Pres ...

'' but the film was not a success at the box office and Spencer was forced out of the company. Thereafter Australasian only produced movies sporadically until the mid-1920s when the company came under the stewardship of Stuart F. Doyle. In 1925 they purchased the Centennial Roller Skating Rink site at 65 Ebley St, Bondi Junction and converted it into a £60,000 film studio. They used it as a skating rink during the night and a studio during the day. Starting with '' Painted Daughters'' in 1925, Australasian produced a number of features, including works from director

Raymond Longford Raymond Longford (born John Walter Hollis Longford, 23 September 18782 April 1959) 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 ...

. They made five in 12 months, none of which made much impact internationally, so they decided to embark on two major productions, ''

For the Term of His Natural Life ''For the Term of His Natural Life'' is a story written by Marcus Clarke and published in ''The Australian Journal'' between 1870 and 1872 (as ''His Natural Life''). It was published as a novel in 1874 and is the best known novelisation of life ...

'' (1927) and ''

The Adorable Outcast ''The Adorable Outcast'' is a 1928 Australian silent film directed by Norman Dawn about an adventurer who romances an island girl. The script was based on Beatrice Grimshaw's novel ''Conn of the Coral Seas''. It was one of the most expensive f ...

'' (1928), both of which featured American stars and director,

Norman Dawn Norman O. Dawn (25 May 1884 – 2 February 1975) was an early American film director. He made several improvements on the Matte (filmmaking), matte shot to apply it to motion picture, and was the first director to use rear projection in film pro ...

Together these movies lost an estimated £30,000.Graham Shirley and Brian Adams, ''Australian Cinema: The First Eighty Years'', Currency Press, 1989 p 93 The company soon withdrew from production but in June 1932 it re-emerged as

Cinesound Productions Cinesound Productions Pty Ltd was an Australian feature film production company, established in June 1931, Cinesound developed out of a group of companies centred on Greater Union Theatres, that covered all facets of the film process, from produ ...

Filmography

*''

'' (1914) *''

The Loyal Rebel ''The Loyal Rebel'' is a 1915 Australian silent film directed by Alfred Rolfe set against the background of the Eureka Rebellion. It is considered a lost film.Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film P ...

'' (1915) *''

How We Fought the Emden ''How We Fought the Emden'' is a 1915 Australian silent documentary film from cinematographer Charles Cusden about the Battle of Cocos during World War I. It was also known as ''The Fate of the Emden''.Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian F ...

'' (1915) *'' Australia Prepared'' (1916) *'' Cupid Camouflaged'' (1918) *'' Painted Daughters'' (1925) *''

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology Al ...

'' (1926) *'' The Pioneers'' (1926) *'' Tall Timber'' (1926) *'' Hills of Hate'' (1926) *''

The Grey Glove ''The Grey Glove'' is a 1928 Australian silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion vis ...

'' (1927) *''

'' (1928) *''

That's Cricket ''That's Cricket'' is a 1931 Australian featurette from director Ken G. Hall about the game of cricket and its importance to the British Empire. It features appearances from some of Australia's top cricketers of the day and footage of the Austr ...

'' (1931)

References

External links

Australasian Films
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Australasian Films
at

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...

*{{cite web, website=Australian National University, url=https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/109798/2/b10157529-pike_A_F.pdf , title=The History of an Australian Film Production Company: Cinesound, 1932-70, first=Andrew Franklin, last=Pike Film production companies of Australia

Origins

Feature Production

Filmography

See also

References

External links