Friday, November 30, 2012

Movie review - "The Native Born" (1913) by Bert Bailey and Edmund Duggan

The third in Bailey/Duggan's unofficial "squatter's daughter trilogy" where the material from a successful first play were rather ruthlessly rehashed: a handsome lead actor, a comic co-lead (written as a lead for Bailey), comic relief law enforcement, dastardly villains and his even more villainous off sider, a squatter's daughter heroine who is feisty and brave but actually doesn't do much action, a comic spinster, a piece of paper, rescues. This has the benefit of being set in Mount Kosciusko in the alpine region which is different.

There are some first rate comedy scenes, no doubt indicating the success of On Our Selection. The partnership of Duggan and Bailey soon wound up but they had an impact on Australian theatre like few others.

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