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Harmony Row (film)

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Harmony Row
Directed byF. W. Thring
Written byGeorge Wallace
Based onstage show by George Wallace
Produced byF. W. Thring
StarringGeorge Wallace
Phyllis Baker
CinematographyArthur Higgins
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • 11 February 1933 (1933-02-11)
Running time
78 mins
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Budget£11,000[1][2]
Box office£18,000[3]

Harmony Row is a 1933 Australian musical comedy directed by F. W. Thring and starring popular stage comedian George Wallace. It marked the film debut of Bill Kerr.[4]

Plot

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George enlists in the police force and is assigned to Harmony Row, a haunt of criminals such as Slogger Lee. He makes several friends, including the pretty street musician Molly, and boy soprano Leonard. He is persuaded to fight Slogger Lee in a boxing tournament. He manages to defeat Slogger and win, and is united with Molly.

Cast

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  • George Wallace as Contable Dreadnought
  • Phyllis Baker as Molly
  • Marshall Crosby as the sergeant
  • John Dobbie as Slogger Lee
  • Bill Kerr as Leonard
  • Bill Innes as Detective Brooks
  • Edwin Brett as the father
  • Norman Shepherd as the butler
  • Norman French as the husband
  • Bebe Scott as the wife
  • Gertrude Boswell as the housekeeper
  • Leonard Stephens as the Ferrett
  • Dan Thomas
  • Nell Fleming
  • Nell Crane
  • Elza Stenning
  • Thelma Scott
  • Dorothy Weeks
  • Johnny Marks
  • Campbell Copelin

Original play

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Harmony Row
Written byGeorge Wallace
Date premiered23 August 1924 [5]
Place premieredNewtown Majestic, Sydney
Original languageEnglish
Genrecomedy revue
SettingHarmony Row

The film was based on a revue Wallace had performed in the 1920s.[6] It was one of a series of "revusicals" written by Wallace during this period.[7]

In Harmony Row Wallace played "Dreadnought" an incompetent policeman called Dreadnaught.[8]

The Bulletin said "George. Wallace’s new revue, a fourth-rate coster turn with splashes of local color to make it look like home, is a wearisome affair. Only the ballet, George Wallace’s clowning and the boxing scene at the finish save it from being a dreadful example."[9]

The revue was a success and toured through Australia.[10]

Production

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Wallace and F.W. Thring decided to make a film together resulting in His Royal Highness. This was followed by Harmony Road. Wallace said the two films cost £35,000 between them.[11] In August 1932 Wallace and Thring would sign a five year contract.[12]

Most of the cast were stage actor making their film debut.[13] The film marked the feature film debut of Bill Kerr who had been cast by Thring in a proposed movie called Pick and the Duffers. That movie was not made but he was then cast in Harmony Row.[14][15]

Filming began in Melbourne on 4 July 1932 and was finished in four weeks.[15][16][17]

The full version of the film features a haunted house sequence where George unravels a mystery in a mansion. In some versions of the film this sequence was cut and replaced with one where George arrests a high society gentlemen (Campbell Copelin), thinking he's a thief.[1]

Reception

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The film was released on a double bill with Diggers in Blighty and was a success at the box office.[1] The two films grossed £8000 in Melbourne and £3070 in two weeks in Sydney.[18] However Thring complained he only received a small portion of returns.[19]

Critical

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The critic from The Sydney Morning Herald called it "the first really successful picture that Efftee Films have produced."[20]

Everyones wrote, "George Wallace again proves his ability as a screen comedian, and George Wallace from now on he must be considered as a box-offlce factor. “Harmony Row” lacks the production quality of “His RoyalHighness”; it is far less ambitious technically; but it provides considerably more humor."[21]

The film was released in England.

Re-release

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Pat Hanna bought the rights to Efftee's films and kept them in circulation for many years. In 1952 Harmony Row and Diggers in Blighty were hugely successful in country towns, prompting them to be re-released in Melbourne.[22][23]

The Age called it "scarcely more than a vaudevilllan mixture of routine situations and weak double-entendres. Easily the most interesting item is the precarious tenure of George Wallace's trousers."[24]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 160.
  2. ^ "Counting the CASH in Australian Films. "Selection Nets Rert Bailey £14,000 What Others Cost and Lost—Stars' Salaries and Story Prices.", Everyones, Sydney: Everyones Ltd, 12 December 1934, nla.obj-577835346, retrieved 25 August 2024 – via Trove
  3. ^ 'Counting the Cash in Australian Films', Everyones 12 December 1934 p 19 quoted in Fitzpatrick p179
  4. ^ Vagg, Stephen (23 December 2019). "Australian Film Musicals You Probably Didn't Realise Existed". Filmink.
  5. ^ "NEWTOWN MAJESTIC—VAUDEVILLE AND REVUE". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 27, 031. New South Wales, Australia. 23 August 1924. p. 16. Retrieved 25 August 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Majestic Theatre". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 3 November 1924. p. 9. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  7. ^ "George Wallace Revue Company" at Australian Variety Theatre Archive. (Sighted 6 December 2012)
  8. ^ "NEWTOWN VAUDEVILLE". The Daily Telegraph. No. 13, 950. New South Wales, Australia. 23 August 1924. p. 16. Retrieved 25 August 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "Sundry Shows", The Bulletin, Sydney, N.S.W: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald, 12 March 1925, nla.obj-693254899, retrieved 25 August 2024 – via Trove
  10. ^ ""HARMONY ROW"". The Newcastle Sun. No. 2612. New South Wales, Australia. 19 April 1926. p. 6. Retrieved 25 August 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "COST £35,000 TO PRODUCE". News. Vol. XIX, no. 2, 822. South Australia. 4 August 1932. p. 14. Retrieved 25 August 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "COMEDIANS' CONTRACT". The Herald. No. 17, 252. Victoria, Australia. 30 August 1932. p. 8. Retrieved 25 August 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ "THINGS YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT FILM CELEBRITIES". The Sun News-pictorial. No. 3092. Victoria, Australia. 13 August 1932. p. 22. Retrieved 25 August 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "Saturday Night". The Northern Times. Carnarvon, WA: National Library of Australia. 4 April 1934. p. 5. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  15. ^ a b "NEW EFFTEE FEATURE". The Herald. No. 17, 202. Victoria, Australia. 2 July 1932. p. 27. Retrieved 25 August 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ "SPEED RECORD IN FILM PRODUCTION". The Herald. No. 17, 230. Victoria, Australia. 4 August 1932. p. 26. Retrieved 25 August 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ^ "Melbourne", Everyones, Sydney: Everyones Ltd, 29 June 1932, nla.obj-559972800, retrieved 25 August 2024 – via Trove
  18. ^ "Australian Films". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 24 February 1934. p. 16. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  19. ^ "Thring Asks Film Enquirer to Grant Australian Quota, Alleges English Producers Don't Want Local Opposition. Protests Against Restriction of Theatre Licenses.", Everyones., Sydney: Everyones Ltd, 10 January 1934, nla.obj-579003253, retrieved 25 August 2024 – via Trove
  20. ^ "New Films". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 10 April 1933. p. 5. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  21. ^ "Reviews of Recent Releases. Condid Criticisms Dependable Box-office Estimates", Everyones., Sydney: Everyones Ltd, 12 April 1933, nla.obj-560253465, retrieved 25 August 2024 – via Trove
  22. ^ "SCREEN Why cant Australian films be better produced?". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 33, 004. Victoria, Australia. 14 June 1952. p. 8. Retrieved 25 August 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  23. ^ "The stars as Wanda knew them". The Mail (Adelaide). Vol. 42, no. 2, 104. South Australia. 4 October 1952. p. 6 (SUNDAY MAGAZINE). Retrieved 25 August 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  24. ^ "SCREEN REVIEW--". The Age. No. 30, 358. Victoria, Australia. 16 August 1952. p. 15. Retrieved 25 August 2024 – via National Library of Australia.

Notes

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  • Fitzpatrick, Peter, ''The Two Frank Thrings, Monash University, 2012
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