''The Breaking of the Drought'' is a 1920 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 ...

from director

Franklyn Barrett Walter Franklyn Barrett (1873 – 16 July 1964), better known as Franklyn Barrett, was an Australian film director and cinematographer. He worked for a number of years for West's Pictures. It was later written of the filmmaker that "Barrett's visu ...

based on the popular play by

Bland Holt Bland Holt (born Joseph Thomas Holt, (24 March 1851 – 28 June 1942)Dennis Shoesmith,, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 4, MUP, 1972, pp 413-414. Accessed 1 August 2009 was a comedian and theatrical producer, active in Australia. ...

and Arthur Shirley. According to Graham Phillips, this film is one of the most damaged films in Australia's film archive, although few sequences have severe damage in the film.

Plot

The Breaking of the Drought 1920 SLV MS8827 13 PHO183

Drought causes Jo Galloway to lose possession of Wallaby Stationn to the bank. He moves to the city with his wife and daughter Marjorie to stay with his son Gilbert only to discover that Gilbert has been embezzling family funds, and fallen in with conman Varsy Lyddleton and femme fatal Olive Lorette. Lyddleton murders Olive then kills himself. Marjorie's boyfriend Tom Wattleby saves Gilbert from a bushfire, just as the drought breaks, restoring the family's fortunes.

Cast

Trilby Clark Trilby Clark (born Gwendolyn Gladys Blakely Clark; 30 August 1896 – 7 July 1983) was an Australian actress who appeared in British films beginning in the silent film era. She was a lead role, leading lady in British films during the 1920s and ...

as Marjorie Galloway *

Dunstan Webb Dunstan Webb was an Australian actor and director, who was a particular favourite of Australasian Films. Filmography *''In the Last Stride'' (1916) – actor *''The Breaking of the Drought'' (1920) – actor *''The Man from Snowy River (1920 film ...

as Tom Wattleby *Charles Beetham as Jo Galloway *Marie La Varre as Olive Lorette *

John Faulkner John Philip Faulkner (born 12 April 1954) is an Australian former Labor Party politician who was a Senator for New South Wales from 1989 to 2015. He was a Cabinet Minister in the Keating, Rudd and Gillard Governments. After his election to ...

as Varsy Lyddleton * Rawdon Blandford as Gilbert Galloway *Nan Taylor as Mrs Galloway *Arthur Albert as Walter Flour *Ethel Henry as Molly Henderson

Original Play

The film was based on a 1902 Australian play written for

by English playwright Arthur Shirley. Scene from stage production The breaking of the drought SLV MS8827 13 PHO193

Synopsis

In 1902, at drought-stricken Wallaby Station in New South Wales, a squatter, Jo Galloway, lives with his wife and daughter Marjorie while his son Gilbert trains to be a doctor in Sydney. Gilbert falls in with bad company, in the shape of financier Varsey Lyddleton, who encourages him to forge his father's name on some cheques and ruins his family. A neighbouring squatter, Tom Wattleby, who loves Marjorie Galloway, returns from a trip to India to find the father working as a lamp cleaner and the daughter was a maid. The neighbour rescues the family and the father swears vengeance on his son. However, during a bush fire that ends in a heavy rain that breaks the drought, the hero rescues Gilbert.

Reception

The play made its debut at the end of 1902 and was very popular. Audiences and critics were particularly impressed by the stage design, which included things like real horses, recreations of Paddy's Market, swimming pools and real trees.

Annette Kellerman Annette Marie Sarah Kellermann (6 July 1887 – 6 November 1975) was an Australian professional swimmer, vaudeville star, film actress, and writer. Kellermann was one of the first women to wear a one-piece bathing costume, instead of the then ...

appeared in a 1903 production. Holt later adapted another play of Shirley's, ''The Path of Thorns'', to an Australian setting, calling it ''Besieged in Port Arthur''.

Production

Bland Holt had refused offers to film his play for a number of years until approached by Barrett and Percy Rea. Shooting began in December 1919 in

Narrabri Narrabri ( ) is a locality and seat of Narrabri Shire local government area in the North West Slopes, New South Wales, Australia on the Namoi River, northwest of Sydney. It sits on the junction of the Kamilaroi Highway and the Newell Highway. At ...

and Moree, with interiors filmed at a temporary studio at the Theatre Royal in Sydney. An additional sequence was shot consisting of a water ballet and a diving display by "water nymphs", shot in the National Park near Sydney. This sequence is missing from most versions of the film.

Reception

Female lead

went to the US after filming and worked in theatre and movies.

Controversy

A New South Wales MP, Mr Wearne, asked questions in parliament complaining that the film's depiction of drought could create a bad impression overseas. An investigation was launched by the Chief Secretary's office, who later assured Wearne that new legislation meant that the export of the film could be banned by the Minister of Customs if he deemed it to be "harmful to the Commonwealth".Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 97.

Lost Film

The film was thought lost until 1976, when several rusty film cans containing it were found under a house in Hornsby.

References

External links

Images of scenes from the film ''The Breaking of the Drought''
at

State Library Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in the ...

. *
''The Breaking of the Drought
' at

Australian Screen Online 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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breaking of the Drought, The 1920 films Australian drama films Australian silent feature films Australian black-and-white films 1920s rediscovered films 1920 drama films Rediscovered Australian films Films directed by Franklyn Barrett Silent drama films