Dab solver - Sons of Matthew

Most tools require the use of JavaScript. If you are using Firefox with the NoScript addon, please mark toolserver.org as trusted. See the Help page for details.

Feedback / Report a bug

1 point on this page / 19,066 points earned collectively this month / Disambiguate pages on your watchlist

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2012}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2012}}
{{Infobox film
|name = Sons of Matthew
|image = 
|caption = 
|producer = Charles Chauvel
|director = [[Charles Chauvel (filmmaker)|]]
|writer = Charles Chauvel<br />Elsa Chauvel<br />Maxwell Dunn
| based on = novels by Bernard O'Reilly
|narrator = Wilfred Thomas
|music = 
|cinematography = Carl Kaiser<br>Bert Nicholas
|editor = Terry Banks
|starring = [[Michael Pate]]<br />[[Ken Wayne]]<br />
| studio = Greater Union Theatres<br>Universal Pictures
|distributor =  Universal Pictures
|released = 16 December 1949 (Australia)<br>26 January 1950 (UK)<br>5 January 1950 (USA)
|runtime = 107 min. (Australia)<br />97 min. (USA)
|country = Australia
|language = English
|budget = ₤120,000^ref or £500,000^ref
| gross = over £50,000 (Australia)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article98350463 |title=THE RESEARCH BUREAU HOLDS AN AUTOPSY. |newspaper= |location=Brisbane) (Qld. |date=17 February 1952 |accessdate=28 April 2013 |page=11 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
}}
Sons of Matthew is a 1949 [[Australia]]n film directed by [[Charles Chauvel (filmmaker)|]]. The film was shot in 1947 on location in [[Queensland]], Australia and the studio sequences in [[Sydney]]. Sons of Matthew took 1.5 years to complete, but it was a great success with Australian audiences when it finally opened in December 1949.

Sons of Matthew is a legendary film in the history of [[Australian cinema]], partly because of the adverse conditions in which it was made. Maxwell Dunn wrote later in his book How they Made Sons of Matthew that during filming it was the wettest season in 80 years in Queensland. For UK and US release [[Universal Studios|Universal]] cut the film by 30 minutes, added some American narration and renamed it The Rugged O'Riordans.^ref
46 lines hidden (2273 characters)
Chauvel commissioned Maxwell Dunn and Gwen Meredith to write a script about the O'Reillys and Bernard O'Reilly's rescue of survivors from the crash of a Stinson aeroplane in 1937. (An event filmed in 1987 as [[The Riddle of the Stinson]].)^ref James Bancks also worked on the script. Eventually Chauvel decided to make an original story of pioneers.

Chauvel's normal backer, [[Herc McIntyre]] of [[Universal Pictures]], agreed to invest in the movie. He persuaded [[Norman Rydge]] of [[Greater Union]] to join him in partnership. The budget was originally announced as being ₤100,000.^ref The Queensland government contributed ₤3,000 to production costs.^ref

Casting took several months, with most of the actors being unknowns.^ref It was the first lead role for Michael Pate, Wendy Gibb and Ken Wayne. Boxer Tommy Burns was given an important support role.^ref

== Production ==

In March 1947 a unit of about 70 people set off for the main location near .^ref Filming coincided with near-constant rain - the first three months of shooting saw only three weeks of weather suitable for filming.^ref Locations sometimes had to be reached by pack horse and foot. A second unit under Carl Kayser was brought out to location to assist production.^ref

After six months on location, the unit moved to the studios of [[Cinesound Productions]] in Bondi. They filmed there for two months then returned to Queensland for a further five months. In March 1948 they returned to the Bondi studio and reshot several scenes. Shooting took eighteen months in total. Charles Chauvel then shot an alternative ending in the Blue Mountains. This ending was eventually discarded.

While Chauvel was filming in Sydney, his home was robbed.^ref

Single scrollbar

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2012}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2012}}
{{Infobox film
|name = Sons of Matthew
|image = 
|caption = 
|producer = Charles Chauvel
|director = [[Charles Chauvel (filmmaker)|Charles Chauvel]]
|writer = Charles Chauvel Elsa Chauvel Maxwell Dunn
| based on = novels by Bernard O'Reilly
|narrator = Wilfred Thomas
|music = <<link:0>>
|cinematography = Carl Kaiser Bert Nicholas
|editor = Terry Banks
|starring = [[Michael Pate]] [[Ken Wayne]] <<link:1>>
| studio = Greater Union Theatres Universal Pictures
|distributor = Universal Pictures
|released = 16 December 1949 (Australia) 26 January 1950 (UK) 5 January 1950 (USA)
|runtime = 107 min. (Australia) 97 min. (USA)
|country = Australia
|language = English
|budget = ₤120,000<ref name="pike">Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 209.</ref> or £500,000<ref name="argus">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22830057 |title=AUSTRALIAN-and proud of it. |newspaper=[[The_Argus_(Australia)|The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1956)]] |location=Melbourne, Vic. |date=19 May 1950 |accessdate=4 August 2012 |page=9 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
| gross = over £50,000 (Australia)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article98350463 |title=THE RESEARCH BUREAU HOLDS AN AUTOPSY. |newspaper=<<link:2>> |location=Brisbane) (Qld. |date=17 February 1952 |accessdate=28 April 2013 |page=11 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
}}
'''''Sons of Matthew''''' is a 1949 [[Australia]]n film directed by [[Charles Chauvel (filmmaker)|Charles Chauvel]]. The film was shot in 1947 on location in [[Queensland]], Australia and the studio sequences in [[Sydney]]. ''Sons of Matthew'' took 1.5 years to complete, but it was a great success with Australian audiences when it finally opened in December 1949.

''Sons of Matthew'' is a legendary film in the history of [[Australian cinema]], partly because of the adverse conditions in which it was made. Maxwell Dunn wrote later in his book ''How they Made Sons of Matthew'' that during filming it was the wettest season in 80 years in Queensland. For UK and US release [[Universal Studios|Universal]] cut the film by 30 minutes, added some American narration and renamed it '''''The Rugged O'Riordans'''''.<ref>[http://australianscreen.com.au/titles/sons-of-matthew/ Australian screen; curator’s notes by Paul Byrnes]</ref>

==Plot summary==
Irishman Matthew O'Riordan and his English wife Jane raise a family of five sons and two daughters on their farm in the valley of Cullenbenbong in northern New South Wales. They battle drought, flood and fire. The wife of neighbour Angus McAllister dies and they help raise their daughter Cathy.

Years go by and the children grow up. Eldest brother Shane is inspired by his uncle Jack, who tells them about virgin rainforest on Lamington plateau in southern Queensland. They decide to move there and establish a farm. They are accompanied by Angus and Cathy McAllister. By this stage Cathy is engaged to the second son, Barney.

The O'Riordan brothers clear the land and start building a slab hut. Cathy realises she is in love with Shane and he falls for her. A huge storm his the farm and the brothers fight. Barney knocks out Shane, hurting his spine.

Shane recovers, Barney earns his forgiveness by working hard. Shane and Cathy are married.

==Cast==
{{div col|cols=2}}
*[[Michael Pate]] as Shane O'Riordan
*[[Ken Wayne]] as Barney O'Riordan
*[[Tommy Burns (Australian boxer)|Tommy Burns]] as Luke O'Riordan
*John Unicomb as Terry O'Riordan
*[[John Ewart]] as Mickey O'Riordan
*Wendy Gibb as Cathy McAllister<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27906510 |title=Sydney Actress For "Sons Of Matthew" Film. |newspaper=[[Sydney_morning_herald|The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954)]] |location=NSW |date=5 February 1947 |accessdate=22 August 2012 |page=4 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
*John O'Malley as Matthew O'Riordan
*[[Thelma Scott]] as Jane O'Riordan
*[[Dorothy Alison]] as Rose O'Riordan
*Diane Proctor as Mary O'Riordan
*Tom Collins as young Shane
*Max Lemon as young Barney
*Rodney Fielder as young Luke
*Doug Smith as young Terry
*Jimmy White as young Mickey
*Marion Dickson as young Rose
*Baby Lawson as young Mary
*John Fegan as Jack Farrington
*Robert Nelson as Angus McAllister
*Barbara Armstrong as young Cathy
*Laurel Young as Bessie Benson
*Nonnie Peifer as Molly Benson
*Betty Orne as Selina Benson
*John Fleeting as doctor
*Carrie Moore as midwife
*Alan Poolman as Dan McGregor
{{div col end}}
==Development==
Chauvel had long wished to make a movie about the O'Reilly family, who had settled in the mountains in south east Queensland.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48950896 |title=CHAUVEL PLANS QUEENSLAND FILM. |newspaper=[[Courier-Mail|The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954)]] |location=Brisbane, Qld. |date=9 November 1944 |accessdate=22 August 2012 |page=2 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> In the mid-1940s he bought the rights to two books O'Reilly had written about his family, ''Green Mountains'' (1940) and ''Cullenbenbong'' (1944) and announced plans to film them. [[Grant Taylor (actor)|Grant Taylor]] was mentioned as a possible star.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55861152 |title=Questions. |newspaper=[[Sunday_Mail_(Adelaide)|The Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1954)]] |location=Adelaide, SA |date=28 April 1945 |accessdate=22 August 2012 |page=8 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

Chauvel commissioned Maxwell Dunn and Gwen Meredith to write a script about the O'Reillys and Bernard O'Reilly's rescue of survivors from the crash of a Stinson aeroplane in 1937. (An event filmed in 1987 as ''[[The Riddle of the Stinson]]''.)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27916787 |title=CHAUVEL MAKING NEW FILM. |newspaper=[[Sydney_morning_herald|The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954)]] |location=NSW |date=5 February 1946 |accessdate=19 August 2012 |page=5 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> James Bancks also worked on the script. Eventually Chauvel decided to make an original story of pioneers.

Chauvel's normal backer, [[Herc McIntyre]] of [[Universal Pictures]], agreed to invest in the movie. He persuaded [[Norman Rydge]] of [[Greater Union]] to join him in partnership. The budget was originally announced as being ₤100,000.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17999155 |title=Australian's Books For Feature Film. |newspaper=[[Sydney_morning_herald|The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954)]] |location=NSW |date=16 October 1946 |accessdate=22 August 2012 |page=3 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The Queensland government contributed ₤3,000 to production costs.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18132755 |title=Film's Nude Girl Fails To Shock. |newspaper=[[Sydney_morning_herald|The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954)]] |location=NSW |date=17 November 1949 |accessdate=22 August 2012 |page=7 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

Casting took several months, with most of the actors being unknowns.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27906488 |title=BOYS PLAY FAIR AT FILM TEST. |newspaper=[[Sydney_morning_herald|The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954)]] |location=NSW |date=5 February 1947 |accessdate=22 August 2012 |page=4 Supplement: Playtime |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> It was the first lead role for Michael Pate, Wendy Gibb and Ken Wayne. Boxer Tommy Burns was given an important support role.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27906706 |title=BOXER RELEASED FOR FILM. |newspaper=[[Sydney_morning_herald|The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954)]] |location=NSW |date=14 February 1947 |accessdate=22 August 2012 |page=10 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

==Production==
In March 1947 a unit of about 70 people set off for the main location near <<link:3>>.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18020729 |title=Australian Film News... "SONS OF MATTHEW" ON LOCATION. |newspaper=[[Sydney_morning_herald|The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954)]] |location=NSW |date=10 April 1947 |accessdate=22 August 2012 |page=10 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Filming coincided with near-constant rain - the first three months of shooting saw only three weeks of weather suitable for filming.<ref>[http://aso.gov.au/titles/features/sons-of-matthew/notes/ Paul Byrne, ''Curators Notes on Sons of Matthew''] at [[Australian Screen Online]]</ref> Locations sometimes had to be reached by pack horse and foot. A second unit under Carl Kayser was brought out to location to assist production.<ref name="pike"/>

After six months on location, the unit moved to the studios of [[Cinesound Productions]] in Bondi. They filmed there for two months then returned to Queensland for a further five months. In March 1948 they returned to the Bondi studio and reshot several scenes. Shooting took eighteen months in total. Charles Chauvel then shot an alternative ending in the Blue Mountains. This ending was eventually discarded.

While Chauvel was filming in Sydney, his home was robbed.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18089909 |title=FILM MAN'S LOSS. |newspaper=[[Sydney_morning_herald|The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954)]] |location=NSW |date=5 February 1949 |accessdate=22 August 2012 |page=1 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

==Reception==
The movie had cost so much money it needed to be successful in Australia and overseas. The film was very popular at the local box office being seen by an estimated 750,000 Australians.<ref name="argus"/>

The movie was cut for overseas release, with narration added and thirty minutes removed, including a scene where Wendy Gibb bathes nude.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47682183 |title=U.S. CUTS IN FILM. |newspaper=[[Perth_Gazette|The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954)]] |location=Perth, WA |date=10 November 1949 |accessdate=22 August 2012 |page=4 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Initial response in the UK and USA was poor, with the film being pulled from a cinema in New York after only a week.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26684612 |title=Australian Film Fails In U.S. |newspaper=[[The_Mercury_(Hobart)|The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954)]] |location=Hobart, Tas. |date=16 January 1950 |accessdate=22 August 2012 |page=4 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18141876 |title=U.S. RECEPTION OF AUSTRALIAN FILM. |newspaper=[[Sydney_morning_herald|The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954)]] |location=NSW |date=7 January 1950 |accessdate=22 August 2012 |page=3 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

However after a slow start the film took off commercially in the UK, helped by a competition with a prize of a trip to Australia, which over half a million people entered.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18189095 |title=Gossip From The Studios. |newspaper=[[Sydney_morning_herald|The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954)]] |location=NSW |date=30 November 1950 |accessdate=22 August 2012 |page=17 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Eventually the movie made a small profit. Overseas reviews were mixed.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18138913 |title=What London Says Of "Matthew". |newspaper=[[Sydney_morning_herald|The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954)]] |location=NSW |date=28 January 1950 |accessdate=22 August 2012 |page=3 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

[[Ken G. Hall]] later blamed the difficulties involved in making this film on scaring off Norman Rydge from investing in feature film production, contributing to Hall's failure to make another feature after 1946.

Several of the cast attempted to forge careers overseas, including Michael Pate, Tommy Burns,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22903323 |title=Screen k.o. for Burns. |newspaper=[[The_Argus_(Australia)|The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1956)]] |location=Melbourne, Vic. |date=6 July 1950 |accessdate=22 August 2012 |page=3 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and Wendy Gibb.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23035081 |title=Wendy was so shy. |newspaper=[[The_Argus_(Australia)|The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1956)]] |location=Melbourne, Vic. |date=20 March 1951 |accessdate=22 August 2012 |page=10 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*{{cite book |last=Murray  |first=Scott  |coauthors=(ed.)  |title=Australian Cinema  |publisher= Allen & Unwin/AFC |location= St.Leonards, NSW. |year=1994  |month=  |page=  |pages=30, 295  |isbn= 1-86373-311-6 }}

==External links==
*{{imdb title|0041900|title=Sons of Matthew}}
*[http://australianscreen.com.au/titles/sons-of-matthew/ ''Sons of Matthew''] at [[Australian Screen Online]]
*[http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/summary/summary.w3p;adv=;group=;groupequals=;page=0;parentid=;query=%22sons%20of%20matthew%22;querytype=;resCount=10 ''Sons of Matthew''] at [[National Film and Sound Archive]]
*[http://sensesofcinema.com/2011/58/%22you-and-the-earth-cathy-that’s-all-i-want-%22-sons-of-matthew-charles-chauvel-1949/ Andrew Katsis, "You and the earth, Cathy. That’s all I want." Sons of Matthew (Charles Chauvel, 1949) ''Senses of Cinema'' 13 March 2011]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sons of Matthew}}
[[Category:Australian films]]
[[Category:1949 films]]
[[Category:Australian drama films]]
[[Category:English-language films]]

Edit summary:
This is a minor edit Watch this page

Cancel

Dab solver - Sons of Matthew

Tools

Interaction