The Man from Snowy River (Beaumont Smith, 1920) Beaumont Smith's Productions, wr. Beaumont Smith, from poems by AB Paterson, dp Al Burne, Lacey Percival; Cyril Mackay, Stella Southern, Tal Ordell, Hedda Barr; 5500 ft
Although nominally based on 'Banjo' Paterson's verse, the film offered little but familiar plot situations and stock characters.
Local reviews were generally polite but an English trade paper, Kine Weekly, 21 September 1921, found it 'a very mediocre affair'; the climactic race scene 'quite fails in its effect', largely because it was impossible to identify the horses. 'The scenario is very loosely constructed and contains little dramatic material.... The acting throughout bears the impress of amateurism and lifeless direction.' Pike & Cooper: 99-100.
Cf. The Man from Snowy River (George Miller, 1982) prod. Geoff Burrowes for Michael Edgley International, Cambridge Films, wr. John Dixon, Fred 'Cul' Cullen, from poem by 'Banjo' Paterson, dp Keith Wagstaff, music Bruce Rowland, design Leslie Binns, ed. Adrian Carr; Kirk Douglas, Tom Burlinson, Sigrid Thornton, Jack Thompson, Lorraine Bayly, Tony Bonner, Chris Haywood, Gus Mercurio; Eastman colour, 35mm, widescreen, 100 min.
Cf. also The Man From Snowy River 2 (Geoff Burrowes, 1988) aka Return to Snowy River II, The Untamed; Brian Dennehy, Tom Burlinson, Sigrid Thornton
Garry Gillard | New: 28 November, 2012 | Now: 22 October, 2022