''Painted Daughters'' is a 1925 Australian
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
directed F. Stuart-Whyte. Only part of it survives today.
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
Isabella Mercia McDonagh (3 January 1899 – 5 March 1982), also known as Marie Lorraine, was an Australian actress who often worked in collaboration with her sisters Paulette and Phyllis. Isabella, alongside her two sisters made history by ow ...
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 to 1928. For this first movie, Australasian decided to import a director from overseas.
F. Stuart-Whyte, a Scotsman who worked in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
for fifteen years, arrived in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
in November 1924 to commence pre-production. The movie was shot in a studio at
Rushcutters Bay
Rushcutters Bay is a harbourside Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government ar ...
in Sydney with former Hollywood star
Louise Lovely
Louise Lovely (born Nellie Louise Carbasse; 28 February 1895 – 18 March 1980) was an Australian film actress of Swiss-Italian descent. She is credited by film historians for being the first Australian actress to have a successful career i ...
assisting with screen testing. The majority of cast and crew were Australian, but the cast included British
music hall
Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...
star
Peggy Pryde, who was then living in Australia.
During production, a portion of the movie worth £600 was stolen from the production office.
Reception
The movie was popular at the box office. The success of this and ''
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) prompted Australasian to announce they would make twelve new films over the next twelve months.
Australian Films
''Sydney Morning Herald'' 30 September 1925 page 15 accessed 9 December 2011 This did not eventuate however the company did make several more films.
References
External links
*{{IMDb title, id=0016196
''Painted Daughters''
at National Film & 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 c ...
1925 films
Australian drama films
Australian silent feature films
Australian black-and-white films
1925 drama films
American drama films
Films from Australasian Films
1920s American films