Cinema
The Flying Doctor
Miles Mander · 1936
Synopsis
Sandy Nelson, a vagrant, works on a farm and marries the farmer's daughter, Jenny, whom he abandons on the very day of the wedding. In Sydney, he paints the harbour bridge and takes up wrestling; injured, he goes to consult Dr John Vaughan, whom he finds in the middle of a cricket match against Don Bradman, takes his side when he is attacked in the crowd and spends a month in prison. Vaughan joins the flying doctors. On his release, Sandy heads for the outback, finds gold and grows rich, then loses his sight in a bar brawl; the flying doctors evacuate him by plane.
Context
The film was produced by National Productions, linked to the Pagewood studio in Sydney, with the support of Gaumont British; according to Filmink, it was among the productions born of the quota introduced in 1935 in New South Wales and cost 40,000 pounds. The director left for Hollywood before the end of the shoot, and J. O. C. Orton, credited with the screenplay, completed it. Released in Australia on 23 September 1936, it was poorly received and earned little, but prompted an influx of donations for the flying doctor service. The print intended for London sank with a seaplane off Crete; recovered, it was used for a shorter British version.
Who it is for
A film in English of an hour and a half in its Australian version, cut to sixty-seven minutes for the United Kingdom.
Prizes and reception
A fiasco full of elegance for Filmink; Variety reproached the story for wandering and the direction for its jerkiness.
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