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Fellers (film)

Fellers is a 1930 Australian comedy about three friends in the Australian Light Horse during the Palestine Campaign of World War I starring Arthur Tauchert, who was the lead in The Sentimental Bloke (1919). The film is mostly silent with a recorded music score as an accompaniment, but the last reel was synchronised with a few minutes of dialogue and a song.[5]

Fellers
Daily Pictorial 23 August 1930
Directed byAustin Fay
Arthur Higgins
Written byAshley Druham[1]
StarringArthur Tauchert
Les Coney
CinematographyTasman Higgins
Music byBarney Cuthbert
Production
company
Artaus Productions
Release date
  • 23 August 1930 (1930-08-23)[2]
Running time
8,000 feet[3]
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Budget"several thousand pounds"[4]

Plot

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Three friends serve in the Australian Light Horse during the Palestine Campaign of World War I. One of them enlisted for excitement; another because he thought he killed a man in a fight over a girl; the third because he thought the girl he loved (Jean Duncan) was in love with another. The second man is killed laying a pipe to supply the army with water.

To save the girl back home from heartbreak (her father has recently died), the third man swaps identification tags with the dead man, and has himself reported as dead. He then finds out that the girl loves him. After the war, the complications are resolved and the third man is reunited with the girl[6][3]

Cast

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  • Arthur Tauchert as Roughie
  • Jean Duncan as the girl
  • Arthur Clarke
  • Joan Milton as a nurse
  • Grace Quine
  • Peggy Pryde
  • Les Coney
  • Arthur Greenaway
  • Mrs. G. B. Los Coney
  • Fred Barling
  • Belle Cole
  • Keith Hughes
  • Moira Cooney
  • Lance Vane
  • David L. Delzeil[7]
  • George Chalmers
  • Stan Odgers

Production

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In December 1929 it was announced that a company, Artaus, had been formed to make the film and shooting would begin by January 1930. Filming was pushed forward to qualify for the Commonwealth Government Film Competition.[8] Tasman Higgins and Austin Fay had previously collaborated together on Odds On.[9]

Filming commenced in early 1930 and the film was finished by March.[10] According to Everyones, the filmmakers claimed Fellers "the first Australian picture filmed on Pan K and Pan 2 stock, said to be the most sensitive and fastest working in the world; and that it is the first Australian picture made with noiseless incandescent lighting" and "the first Australian picture that records faithfully the Australian Light Horse in Palestine."[11]

According to the company’s announcement, “supporting players have reduced the Poverty Point congregation by another seventy-four pros, and near-pros.”[12]

Scenes set in the Palestinian desert were shot in sandhills at Kensington near Sydney and in Western New South Wales. The film incorporates documentary footage of the real campaign.[13] The silent sequences were direct by Arthur Higgins and the sound ones by Austin Fay.

The film took eight and a half months to make and featured 208 people.[4]

Film competition

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The film was entered in the £10,000 It was awarded third prize of £1,500 – there was no second and first prize as the judges felt none of the entries were good enough.[14][15][16]

Higgins and Fay argued that their films had been given enough prints under the judging system to warrant the second prize of £2,500 and threatened to sue, but the government did not change its mind.[17][18]

Fay refused to accept the prize. The issue was raised in Parliament.[19][20]

Austin Fay requested government assistance and a quota ensuring one Australian film per year, adding "It seems a remarkable fact that every industry in Australia has been assisted from time to time by tariff duties, etc., etc., and yet the greatest money-making industry of the lot, and the one that costs Australia more than any other is being neglected."[21]

The film received little attention from distributors.[22]

Reception

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The film premiered at the Theatre Royal in Sydney in August 1930 for a two week season. Arthur Tauchert, les Coney and Grace Quine appeared at some sessions.[23][24]

It was about ten percent synchronous dialogue with the rest of sound on disk.[3]

Critical response

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Contemporary reviews were poor, the critic from the Sydney Morning Herald (reviewing the film several months before Fellers was commercially released complaining that the film:

Leaves much to be desired. The technique of its production is amateurish; its acting forced and stilted. It has an absurd, trivial story. In its attempts at humour it is stolidly unamusing. The only thing that saves the picture from utter mediocrity is the series of scenes supposed to be taken in the Palestinian deserts... The directors go to endless trouble and expense transporting their apparatus and the members of their company from place to place in order to secure the correct local colour for their stories; yet as regards the plots themselves, and still more as regards the captions, they seem to think that anything will suffice... The plot bristles with absurdities... The change of identification discs in the desert was so puzzling in its consequences that it left the beholders yesterday completely at a loss.[13]

The Sydney Sun said " It is unsophisticated In plot and acting, but some of the scenes are excellent, particularly good being representations of pipe-laying in the desert and photographs of the Light Horse."[25]

Everyone's said:

After the photography has been praised as the best yet seen in an Australian picture, “Fellers” has few points for commendation beyond some shots of the Light Horse in Palestine which constitute neat pieces of camera-craft. The plot is both unconvincing and wearisome; direction is uninspired; the acting weak; the attempts at comedy laborious... Musical synchronisation throughout does not reach standard, and the talking sequence occupies a few minutes at the very end. It is in no way important; moreover the recording is irregular... As a whole “Fellers” shows no advancement over Australian productions of the last few years. In a sound house, this reviewer doubts that the audience will be content with synchronisation; but in an unwired theatre the silent print of “Fellers” may prove a welcome break because its mediocrity will not be so noticeable to an audience which has grown accustomed to lowered silent standards. "[3]

Labor Daily called it "an honest attempt to present the diggers as they really were".[26]

The Daily Pictorial called it "disappointing. The story is rambling, the photography no better than that of the earliest Australian ventures, and the addition of synchronised music and a very brief talkie sequence are serious handicaps."[27]

Box office

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Commercial results appear to have been disappointing.[5] According to Everyone's the film "opened poorly and stayed that way."[28][29] The same paper claimed "Business so bad that newspaper advertising has been withdrawn and the management is simply sitting back and taking its licking. Free seats issued to the unemployed in the hope of stimulating word-of mouth."[30]

Arthur Tauchert complained about the lack of box office response.[31]

London release

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The film was released in England. According to Everyone's, "the London trade press, generally lenient towards Empire efforts, has greeted it with brickbats."[32] Some of the reviews were positive, however.[33]

Preservation status

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This is now considered a lost film.[34]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "SCENES FROM WINNING FILM IN COMMONWEALTH GOVERNMENT'S PRIZE COMPETITION". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 28, 823. New South Wales, Australia. 22 May 1930. p. 14. Retrieved 15 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ "STAGE & SCREEN". The Labor Daily. No. 2095. New South Wales, Australia. 21 August 1930. p. 7. Retrieved 15 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ a b c d "Reviews of Recent Releases", Everyones., 11 (549 (27 August 1930)), Sydney: Everyones Ltd, nla.obj-562227192, retrieved 6 March 2024 – via Trove
  4. ^ a b "£1500 FILM PRIZE TO SYDNEY MEN". Daily Pictorial. No. 15, 740. New South Wales, Australia. 22 May 1930. p. 2. Retrieved 7 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ a b Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, p153
  6. ^ "AUSTRALIAN FILM COMPETITION". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 22 May 1930. p. 16. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  7. ^ "ALONG FILM ROW.", Everyones., 11 (524 (5 March 1930)), Sydney: Everyones Ltd, nla.obj-577869043, retrieved 6 March 2024 – via Trove
  8. ^ "AUSTRALIAN TALKIE". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 28, 686. New South Wales, Australia. 12 December 1929. p. 16. Retrieved 15 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "AUSTRALIAN FILMS". Sunday Times (Perth). No. 1679. Western Australia. 30 March 1930. p. 11. Retrieved 15 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "Local Film "Fellers" Completed March 31", Everyones., 10 (512 (11 December 1929)), Sydney: Everyones Ltd, nla.obj-577279690, retrieved 6 March 2024 – via Trove
  11. ^ "Higgins Finishes "Fellers." Tauchert Talks First.", Everyones., Sydney: Everyones Ltd, 19 March 1930, retrieved 15 February 2024 – via Trove
  12. ^ "Arthur Higgins Starts Cast of "Fellers."", Everyones., 11 (522 (19 February 1930)), Sydney: Everyones Ltd, nla.obj-577315848, retrieved 6 March 2024 – via Trove
  13. ^ a b ""FELLERS."". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 24 May 1930. p. 17. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  14. ^ "AUSTRALIAN FILM". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 22 May 1930. p. 11. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  15. ^ "£10,000 Film Contest Flops. 3rd Prize Only. £5,000 and £2,500 Prizes Withheld by Appeal Board. "Fellers" Gets £1,500.", Everyones., Sydney: Everyones Ltd, 21 May 1930, retrieved 15 February 2024 – via Trove
  16. ^ "Kicks Follow Commonwealth Film Contest Flop. Producers of "Fellers" Demand Second Prize. Judging System Should Be Changed.", Everyones., 11 (536 (28 May 1930)), Sydney: Everyones Ltd, nla.obj-577610146, retrieved 6 March 2024 – via Trove
  17. ^ "COMMONWEALTH FILM COMPETITION". The Sunday Times. Perth: National Library of Australia. 25 May 1930. p. 9. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  18. ^ "PRIZE REFUSED". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 28, 824. New South Wales, Australia. 23 May 1930. p. 11. Retrieved 15 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. ^ "FILM PRIZE". The Canberra Times. Vol. 4, no. 818. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 5 June 1930. p. 5. Retrieved 15 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  20. ^ "FEDERAL PARLIAMENT". The Age. No. 23449. Victoria, Australia. 5 June 1930. p. 11. Retrieved 15 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  21. ^ "IS AUSTRALIA YET ABLE TO MAKE GOOD TALKIES?". Smith's Weekly. Vol. XII, no. 17. New South Wales, Australia. 7 June 1930. p. 11. Retrieved 15 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  22. ^ "OFFICIAL COLD SHOULDER IN FIRST BIG FILM CONTEST". Sunday Times (Perth). No. 1690. Western Australia. 15 June 1930. p. 1 (Second Section). Retrieved 15 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  23. ^ "Advertising". Daily Pictorial. No. 15, 817. New South Wales, Australia. 20 August 1930. p. 20. Retrieved 6 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  24. ^ "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 28, 901. New South Wales, Australia. 21 August 1930. p. 2. Retrieved 6 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  25. ^ ""FELLERS"". The Sun. No. 1430. New South Wales, Australia. 24 August 1930. p. 6 (CRICKET STUMPS). Retrieved 6 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  26. ^ "FELLERS". The Labor Daily. No. 2098. New South Wales, Australia. 25 August 1930. p. 7. Retrieved 15 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  27. ^ "A PRIZE TALKIE DISAPPOINTS". Daily Pictorial. No. 15, 821. New South Wales, Australia. 25 August 1930. p. 8. Retrieved 6 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  28. ^ "Box – Office Barometer.", Everyones., 11 (549 (27 August 1930)), Sydney: Everyones Ltd, nla.obj-562227137, retrieved 6 March 2024 – via Trove
  29. ^ "Thring's Project Only Hope for Australian Production 1931.", Everyones., 11 (564 (10 December 1930)), Sydney: Everyones Ltd, nla.obj-564399313, retrieved 6 March 2024 – via Trove
  30. ^ "Box – Office Barometer.", Everyones., 11 (550 (3 September 1930)), Sydney: Everyones Ltd, nla.obj-562220910, retrieved 6 March 2024 – via Trove
  31. ^ "AN AUSTRALIAN FILM". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 28, 915. New South Wales, Australia. 6 September 1930. p. 16. Retrieved 6 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  32. ^ "London Trade Critics Wallop "Fellers."", Everyones., 12 (587 (20 May 1931)), Sydney: Everyones Ltd, nla.obj-575530105, retrieved 6 March 2024 – via Trove
  33. ^ "Candid Comments on Pictures and People.", Everyones., 12 (588 (27 May 1931)), nla.obj-575541923, retrieved 6 March 2024 – via Trove
  34. ^ Australia's 'Lost' Films, [1] Archived 15 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine at National Film and Sound Archive
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