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Around the Boree Log is a 1925 Australian silent film by Phil K. Walsh adapted from the poems of "John O'Brien" (Patrick Joseph Hartigan). It tells stories of a priest's life around the 1870s in the Goulburn area.

Unlike many Australian silent films, a copy of it survives today.

Plot

A priest reads from the book of poems by John O'Brien and recalls his earlier life in the country. He remembers travelling hawkers, his first school, a bishop inspection, childhood romance, and the marriage of a girl to another man.

Cast

• Molly O'Donohue (or O'Donohoe) as Laughing Mary

Production

The movie was shot on location in the New South Wales bush, mostly at the Wollondilly River area near Goulburn, in early 1925. The director had previously worked as an assistant on While the Billy Boils (1921) and would direct The Birth of White Australia (1928). He also tried to make a film of the novel Love Blind but was unable to raise finance.

Most of the cast were anonymous people who lived in the area. Unlike The Birth of White Australia, which was funded by the residents of Young, this film received no financial assistance from Goulburn.

Release

The film met with resistance from distributors who felt it was Roman Catholic propaganda. It was also criticised for having little plot and consisting mostly of a travelogue of scenery and incidents in the country.

Other reviewers however gave it unqualified praise; it screened throughout Australia and New Zealand, made money for its backers, and created renewed interest for Hartigan's book.

Box office success appears to have been strong.

References

1. "Majestic". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 9 February 1926. p. 11. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
2. "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 28 September 1925. p. 2. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
3. ^ Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 128.
4. "The Majestic". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 8 February 1926. p. 9. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
5. "Advertising". The Daily Standard (Brisbane). Queensland, Australia. 8 February 1926. p. 2. Retrieved 12 March 2020 – via Trove.
6. "The Majestic". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 8 February 1926. p. 9. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
7. "Distinguished Film Producer". Windsor and Richmond Gazette. NSW: National Library of Australia. 23 April 1926. p. 3. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
8. ^ "New Films". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 28 September 1925. p. 5. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
9. "Slow Goulburn". Goulburn Evening Penny Post. New South Wales, Australia. 10 February 1925. p. 2. Retrieved 10 March 2020 – via Trove.
10. "Film Inquiry". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 9 June 1927. p. 6. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
11. "Entertainments". Warwick Daily News. Queensland, Australia. 21 June 1926. p. 7. Retrieved 12 March 2020 – via Trove.
12. "Australian Success". The Gosford Times and Wyong District Advocate. New South Wales, Australia. 29 July 1926. p. 4. Retrieved 10 March 2020 – via Trove.
13. ""Boree Log" at Singleton.", Everyones., 4 (300 (2 December 1925)), Sydney: Everyones Ltd, nla.obj-574055638, retrieved 2 March 2024 – via Trove

External links

• Around the Boree Log at IMDb
• Around the Boree Log at National Film and Sound Archive
• Around the Boree Log (1925) at the John O'Brien Museum, Narrandera
• Peter Malone's summary and review
• Full text of original poem at Project Gutenberg

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• 1925 films
• Australian silent feature films
• Australian black-and-white films
• 1925 drama films
• Irish-Australian culture
• Silent Australian drama films
• 1920s English-language films
• English-language drama films
• Silent Australian film stubs