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==Plot summary==
==Plot summary==
Matthew and Jane O'Riordan raise a family of five sons and two daughters on their farm in the valley of Cullenbenbong. Years go by and the five sons decide to establish a home on Lamington plateau in southern Queensland. They are accompanied by Angus McAllister and his daughter Cathy.
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 gradually establish themselves. Shane and Barney both fall in love with Cathy, resulting in a schism in the family. A cyclone hits, threatening everyone's lives, but they survive. Shane and Cathy get together and the family is reunited.

The O'Riordan brothers clear the land and start building a log house. 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==
==Cast==
Line 58: Line 62:
*Alan Poolman as Dan McGregor
*Alan Poolman as Dan McGregor
{{div col end}}
{{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 Queesnland. In 1945, he bought the rights to two books O'Reilly had written about his family, ''Green Mountains'' (1940) and ''Cullenbenbong'' (1944).

⚫
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> Eventually Chauvel decided to make an original story of pioneers.

Chauvel's normal backer, Herb McIntyre of [[Universal Pictures]], agreed to invest in the movie. He persuaded [[Norman Rydge]] of [[Greater Union]] to join him in partnership.

==Production==
==Production==
In March 1947 a unit of about 70 people set off for the main location near [[Beaudesert]]. Filming coincided with near-constant rain - the first three months of shooting saw only three weeks of weather suitable for filming. 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"/>
⚫
An original draft of the script was written by Gwen Meredith but she is not credited in the final film.<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>


==Reception==
==Reception==
The film was highly successful at the box office being seen by an estimated 750,000 Australians.<ref name="argus"/>
The film was highly successful at the local box office being seen by an estimated 750,000 Australians.<ref name="argus"/>


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 07:54, 22 August 2012

Sons of Matthew
Directed byCharles Chauvel
Written byCharles Chauvel
Elsa Chauvel
Maxwell Dunn
Produced byCharles Chauvel
StarringMichael Pate
Ken Wayne
Tommy Burns
Narrated byWilfred Thomas
CinematographyCarl Kaiser
Bert Nicholas
Music byHenry Krips
Production
companies
Greater Union Theatres
Universal Pictures
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release dates
16 Dec 1949 (Australia)
26 Jan 1950 (UK)
5 Jan 1950 (USA)
Running time
107 min. (Australia)
97 min. (USA)
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Budget₤120,000[1] or £500,000[2]

Sons of Matthew is a 1949 Australian film directed by 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 cut the film by 30 minutes, added some American narration and renamed it The Rugged O'Riordans.[3]

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 log house. 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

  • Michael Pate as Shane O'Riordan
  • Ken Wayne as Barney O'Riordan
  • Tommy Burns as Luke O'Riordan
  • John Unicomb as Terry O'Riordan
  • John Ewart as Mickey O'Riordan
  • Wendy Gibb as Cathy McAllister
  • 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

Development

Chauvel had long wished to make a movie about the O'Reilly family, who had settled in the mountains in south east Queesnland. In 1945, he bought the rights to two books O'Reilly had written about his family, Green Mountains (1940) and Cullenbenbong (1944).

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.)[4] Eventually Chauvel decided to make an original story of pioneers.

Chauvel's normal backer, Herb McIntyre of Universal Pictures, agreed to invest in the movie. He persuaded Norman Rydge of Greater Union to join him in partnership.

Production

In March 1947 a unit of about 70 people set off for the main location near Beaudesert. Filming coincided with near-constant rain - the first three months of shooting saw only three weeks of weather suitable for filming. 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.[1]

Reception

The film was highly successful at the local box office being seen by an estimated 750,000 Australians.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 209.
  2. ^ a b "AUSTRALIAN-and proud of it". The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1956). Melbourne, Vic.: National Library of Australia. 19 May 1950. p. 9. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  3. ^ Australian screen; curator’s notes by Paul Byrnes
  4. ^ "CHAUVEL MAKING NEW FILM". The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954). NSW: National Library of Australia. 5 February 1946. p. 5. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  • Murray, Scott (1994). Australian Cinema. St.Leonards, NSW.: Allen & Unwin/AFC. pp. 30, 295. ISBN 1-86373-311-6. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

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