The Betrayer
The Betrayer is a 1921 Australian-New Zealand lost film from director Beaumont Smith about an interracial romance between a white Australian man and a Māori girl.[2]
| The Betrayer | |
|---|---|
 Original newspaper advertisement | |
| Directed by | Beaumont Smith |
| Written by | Beaumont Smith |
| Produced by | Beaumont Smith |
| Starring | Stella Southern |
| Cinematography | Lacey Percival |
Production company | Beaumont Smith Productions |
| Distributed by | Beaumont Smith |
Release date | 19 March 1921[1] |
Running time | 5,500 feet |
| Countries | Australia New Zealand |
| Language | English |
Plot
Australian Stephen Manners (Cyril Mackay) travels to New Zealand and has sex with a Māori girl. He goes home and she dies giving birth to their daughter, Iwa. Iwa is raised by her grandfather Hauraki (Mita), who explains to Manners what happens when he returns to New Zealand twenty years later. Manners takes Iwa (now played by Stella Southern) back to Sydney, Australia, but does not tell her that he is her father.
Travelling with Manners is John Barris (John Cosgrove), whom Hauraki tells on his deathbed that Iwa's real father actually is a missionary, not Manners. Barris keeps this information to himself and makes advances on Iwa, which are stopped by Manners.
Iwa tells Manners she is in love with him, so Manner explains he is her father and she returns to Rotarua. Barris' wife (Bernice Vere) tells Manners the truth so he returns to New Zealand and is reunited with Iwa, this time as a romantic couple.[3]
Cast
- Stella Southern as Iwa
- Cyril Mackay as Stephen Manners
- John Cosgrove as John Barris
- Marie D'Alton as Mrs Manners
- Mita, Chief of the Arawa as Hauraki
- Bernice Vere as Eleanor Barris
- Maggie/Bella Papakura
- Guide Susan
- Herbert Lee
- Raymond Hatton
- Dunstan Webb
Production
The film was shot on location in Rotorua and Auckland, New Zealand, at Coogee Beach and the Wentworth Hotel in Sydney,[4] with about twelve cast and crew.[5] Among them was Smith's assistant, Rudall Hayward, who later became one of New Zealand's most prolific directors.[6]
Most stories of interracial romance at this time ended unhappily but this one finished with a white man marrying a Māori woman.[7]
Release
The movie was originally entitled Our Bit o' the World, but this was changed out of fear audiences would think it was a travelogue.[8]
In 1922, Smith re-edited the film for the British market, adding a racecourse scene and a chase between a car and a train, probably taken from his earlier movie, Desert Gold (1919). He retitled the movie The Maid of Maoriland, a title under which the film was re-released in Australia.[4][9]
References
- "Hoyt's De Luxe and Lyceum". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 21 March 1921. p. 8. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
- Ross Cooper,"Filmography: Beaumont Smith", Cinema Papers, March–April 1976 p333
- ""THE BETRAYER."". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 18 May 1921. p. 9. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
- Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 104.
- "AUSTRALIAN DRAMA AT WEST'S". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 26 May 1921. p. 8. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
- L. R. Shelton. 'Hayward, Rudall Charles Victor – Biography', from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 1-Sep-10. Retrieved 22 November 2012
- Helen Martin and Sam Edwards New Zealand Film, 1912-1996. (1997) Auckland: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-558336-1 p28
- ""THE BETRAYER."". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 30 May 1921. p. 3. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- "ENTERTAINMENTS". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 18 February 1922. p. 10. Retrieved 19 May 2012.