| Around the Boree Log | |
| Director: | Phil K. Walsh |
| Based On: | poems of Patrick Joseph Hartigan |
| Starring: | Molly O'Donohue[1] |
| Cinematography: | Lacey Percival |
| Studio: | Phil K. Walsh Productions |
| Released: | [2] |
| Runtime: | 7,100 feet |
| Country: | Australia |
| Language: | Silent film English intertitles |
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.[3] [4]
Unlike many Australian silent films, a copy of it survives today.
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.
The movie was shot on location in the New South Wales bush, mostly at the Wollondilly River area near Goulburn, in early 1925.[6] The director had previously worked as an assistant on While the Billy Boils (1921) and would direct The Birth of White Australia (1928).[3] He also tried to make a film of the novel Love Blind but was unable to raise finance.[7]
Most of the cast were anonymous people who lived in the area.[8] Unlike The Birth of White Australia, which was funded by the residents of Young, this film received no financial assistance from Goulburn.[9]
The film met with resistance from distributors who felt it was Roman Catholic propaganda.[10] It was also criticised for having little plot and consisting mostly of a travelogue of scenery and incidents in the country.[8]
Other reviewers however gave it unqualified praise;[11] it screened throughout Australia and New Zealand, made money for its backers, and created renewed interest for Hartigan's book.[12]
Box office success appears to have been strong.