That Certain Something

That Certain Something is a 1941 Australian musical film directed by Clarence G. Badger and starring Megan Edwards and Thelma Grigg. The plot concerns an American film director who decides to make a musical in Australia. It was the last film directed by Badger, a noted silent era director.[3]

That Certain Something
Directed byClarence G. Badger
Written byClarence G. Badger
Produced byFrederick Daniell
StarringMegan Edwards
Thelma Grigg
CinematographyArthur Higgins
Edited byFrank Coffey
Production
company
Distributed byRKO[1]
Release date
1941
Running time
90 mins
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Budget£12,500[2]

Plot

A famous director, Robert Grimble, comes to Australia to make a film about pioneering women and seeks for an unknown to play the lead role. He casts socialist Miss Hemingway, who soon proves to be temperamental. She is tricked into walking off the job by Jimmie Jones who wants his girlfriend Patsy cast. He succeeds and Patsy becomes a star.

Cast
  • Megan Edwards as Patsy O'Connell
  • Thelma Grigg as Miss Hemmingway
  • Georgie Stirling as Blanche Wright
  • Lou Vernon as Robert Grimble
  • Charles Kilburn as Allan Burke
  • Joe Lawman as Bill Lake
  • Howard Craven as Jimmie Jones
  • Ronald Morse as Marcel du Bois
  • Leslie Victor as Maurice Appleby
  • Marshall Crosby
  • Connie Martyn
  • Raymond Longford
  • Ross Vernon
  • William Beresford
  • John Byrne
  • Arundel Nixon
  • Francis Birtles as bushman[4]

Production

The film was the first from Argosy Films and was made with the assistance of a bank overdraft from the New South Wales government. It was directed by Clarence Badger, a Hollywood director who had retired to Australia. The original title was Daughters of Australia.[5]

Megan Edwards had only appeared in a few stage shows before being cast in the lead.[6][7] She later received a three-year contract from a Hollywood manager.[8]

The seven-week shoot took place at Pagewood Studios; it was first movie made there in three years. The colonial sequence was especially researched.[9] The camera crew included notable cameraman John Howes, who died aged 29.[10]

Release

Despite securing distribution from RKO, reception to the film from critics and the public was poor.[11]

References
  1. "R.K.O. TO DISTRIBUTE STATE-BACKED FILM". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 30 January 1941. p. 4. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
  2. "FOUR LOCAL FILMS". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 13 March 1940. p. 13. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  3. Vagg, Stephen (23 December 2019). "Australian Film Musicals You Probably Didn't Realise Existed". Filmink.
  4. "Birtles, Commonwealth Wanderer Now Cast in "That Certain Something"". The Mail. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 3 August 1940. p. 12. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  5. "More Australian Films". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 25 April 1940. p. 10. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  6. "Badger With Argosy". The Mercury. Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 11 May 1940. p. 4. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  7. "Megan Edwards Girl in Fruit Factory: Now Badger Star". The Mail. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 22 February 1941. p. 20. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  8. "MEGAN EDWARDS TO GO TO U.S.A." The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 8 September 1941. p. 9. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  9. "AUSTRALIAN HISTORY". The Mercury. Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 5 September 1940. p. 3. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  10. "NOTED CAMERAMAN DIES AT 29". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 12 October 1944. p. 7. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  11. "FILM REVIEWS". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 26 May 1941. p. 3. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
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