The Sundowner is an Australian film shot in Victoria."Advertising." The North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times (Tas.) 2 Nov 1911: 3. Retrieved 31 December 2011 Set in the Australian bush, it was billed as "a romance with many startling adventures"."Advertising." The Brisbane Courier 23 August 1911: 2, retrieved 31 December 2011
It is not known who directed the movie, but it may have been E. I. Cole as it featured his Bohemian Dramatic Company.Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 23.
It is considered a lost film.
It is not the be confused with the Australian stage play The Sundowner (play).
Plot A farmer refuses to let his daughter marry her admirer until he can show he can take care of her. The admirer turns out to be a villain. The girl marries a neighbouring squatter and they have a baby. The scorned admirer returns after a few years seeking revenge. He kidnaps the baby and there is a chase.
The Goulbourn Post said "it is alleged that the picture gives a faithful illustration of the wanderings of that typical colonial character called the Sundowner, but it developed into one of the many chase pictures peculiar to cinematography, and left a lot to be desired in the nomad's life."
Cast Vera Remee Frank R. Mills Bohemian Dramatic Company
Production The film was shot in Victoria. One newspaper said it "was photographed out west in the Never Never country."
Reception According to contemporary reports, the film was well received by audiences in a number of states."THE NEW PRINCESS." The Examiner (Launceston, Tas.) 9 Sep 1911: 5 Edition: DAILY Retrieved 31 December 2011
The Launceston Daily Telegraph said the film was "cleverly acted with the scenes cleanly depicted."
The Brisbane Telegraph said it "Is a very acceptable addition to the all too small numbor of national stories which we possess."
Another report said: The Sundowner is a capital story of unbounded interest and excitement. The life in the Never, Never country, with its awesome loneliness and characteristic beauty, is defined throughout the lengthy picture with such incredible exactness that with small imagination the spectator is carried direct to the spot. "The Sundowner", being one of Pathe Freres' first efforts in dramatic photography in our country, particular care has been paid in making it a pronounced success. Localities were explored and carefully considered, the site of operations being ultimately found out in the far west. A company of the first rank of colonial actors was selected to assume the many characters involved, and a staff of skilled photographic operators was deputed to carefully absorb this delightful dramatic story into photographic form for presentation to the many to whom this class of picture appeals
References
External links
The Sundowner at AustLit