''Thoroughbred'' is a 1936 Australian race-horse drama film directed by

Ken G. Hall Kenneth George Hall, AO, OBE (22 February 1901 – 8 February 1994), better known as Ken G. Hall, was an Australian film producer and director, considered one of the most important figures in the history of the Australian film industry. ...

, partly based on the life and career of

Phar Lap Phar Lap (4 October 1926 – 5 April 1932) was a champion New Zealand–bred Thoroughbred racehorse who is widely regarded as New Zealand's greatest racehorse ever. Achieving incredible success during his distinguished career, his initial ...

. Hollywood star

Helen Twelvetrees Helen Marie Twelvetrees ( Jurgens; December 25, 1908 – February 13, 1958) was an American actress. She starred in Hollywood films in the sound film era from 1929 to 1939. Many of her roles were of "suffering women". She has a star on the Holly ...

was imported to Australia to appear in the film. The film also stars

Frank Leighton Frank Leighton (1908–1962) was an Australian actor best known for two leading roles in films for Ken G. Hall, ''Thoroughbred'' (1936) and '' Tall Timbers'' (1937). Biography Leighton was born in Sydney and studied at St John's School, Darlinghur ...

and

John Longden John Longden (11 November 1900 – 26 May 1971) was an English film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1926 and 1964, including five films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Biography Longden was born in the West Indies, the son o ...

Plot summary

A Canadian horse trainer, Joan, is the adopted daughter of horse trainer and breeder Ma Dawson. She buys an unwanted thoroughbred colt named Stormalong. Joan nurses the horse back to health with the help of Ma's son Tommy, and Stormalong starts to win races. He becomes the favourite to win the

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbou ...

which attracts the interest of a gambling syndicate who try to dope the horse and kill it in a stable fire. They then kidnap Tommy prior to the race. Stormalong manages to participate in the Cup, and although is mortally wounded by a sniper, lives long enough to come first place. Tommy escapes and helps the police capture the gangsters.

Cast

as Joan *

as Tommy Dawson *

as Bill Peel *Nellie Barnes as Judy Cross *Elaine Hamill *Ronald Whelan *Les Warton *Harold Meade * Edmond Seward as Mr Terry

Production

The film was the first made by Cinesound after the studio ceased production in 1935 enabling Hall to visit Hollywood for a number of months. While in Hollywood there he signed contracts with American star

and writer Edmond Seward to work on the film. (

Sally Blane Sally Blane (born Elizabeth Jane Young; July 11, 1910 – August 27, 1997) was an American actress who appeared in over 100 movies. Early life Blane was born in Salida, Colorado. She was the sister of actresses Polly Ann Young and Loretta Young ...

and

Norman Foster Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

had been originally considered). He also purchased a rear-projection unit which was used extensively in the film. The budget was originally announced as £25,000. Twelvetrees was paid £1,000 a week, reportedly the highest salary ever paid by the Australian film industry to an actor. (Another source said £200 a week.) Her co-stars would be Australian leading man

and English actor

who was having an extended stay in Australia. According to

, Twelvetrees and Leighton had an affair during filming, despite the actress having been accompanied to Australia by her husband and baby. Her husband found out and threatened to kill Leighton. Hall told Stuart F. Doyle who arranged for some detective friends to force Twelvetrees' husband to leave Australia. This was the first movie with Cinesound for actor Ron Whelan, who joined the company as assistant director and also worked as an actor in several films. Australia's Prime Minister

Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the List of prime ministers of Australia by time in office, 10th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1932 until his death in 1939. He ...

visited the set during filming. The horses races were shot in part by a camera man being towed on a sled. The climax is similar to the 1934 Frank Capra film, '' Broadway Bill''. Hall claimed he was unaware of this and blamed it on Seward.

Release

The film was popularAndrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 172. although reviews were mixed, with some criticism of the script. The film received a release in the UK, but was subject to cuts from the censor on the grounds of scenes depicting cruelty to animals, in particular the stable fire. The movie was not a success at the English box office. A novelised version of the screenplay sold out within three days, at a rate of 1,000 copies a day."'Thoroughbred' Novel into Third Edition", ''Everyones'', Wednesday, 25 March 1936, p7

References

Notes

Hall, Ken G. ''Directed by Ken G. Hall: Autobiography of an Australian Filmmaker'', Lansdowne Press, 1977

External links

''Thoroughbred''
in the

Internet Movie Database 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, ...

''Thoroughbred''
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 ...

''Thoroughbred''
at Oz Movies
Correspondence relating to copyright of script
at

National Archives of Australia The National Archives of Australia (NAA), formerly known as the Commonwealth Archives Office and Australian Archives, is an Australian Government agency that serves as the national archives of the nation. It collects, preserves and encourages ...

(including copy of shooting script)
Review of film
at ''Variety'' {{Ken G. Hall 1936 films Films directed by Ken G. Hall Australian sports drama films Australian black-and-white films 1930s sports drama films 1936 drama films 1930s Australian films 1930s English-language films Cinesound Productions films