The Shiralee (1957)

The Shiralee (Dir: Leslie Norman, 1957). 

One of the final productions from Ealing Films, released through MGM, The Shiralee was one of a handful of movies the company shot in Australia. 

Aussie swagman Jim Macauley (Peter Finch) returns home to find his wife Marge (Elizabeth Sellars) in the arms of another man. After giving her lover a beating he takes their young daughter Buster (Dana Wilson) and hits the road. Travelling from job to job with the youngster in tow she thus becomes his ‘shiralee’, an Aboriginal term for burden. Fighting his way from one town to the next and abandoning Buster for a tryst with a shop assistant, Macauley makes for a somewhat unlikable central character and is a little difficult to sympathise with. In spite of which, Peter Finch does well in the lead.

Some comedy relief arrives in the form of Tessie O’Shea and Sidney James which, while a welcome break from the otherwise bleak narrative, represents such a shift in tone it feels like it belongs in a different movie. Presumably the Leslie Norman and Neil Paterson screenplay or, perhaps, the D’Arcy Niland novel from which it is sourced are to blame. As such, The Shiralee, while an easy film to admire, is a difficult film to wholeheartedly enjoy. 

As director the underrated Norman is as efficient as ever and cinematographer Paul Beeson’s location footage from the streets of Sydney to the Outback is beautiful. A couple of Tommy Steele numbers on the soundtrack was a pleasant surprise. 

While not among the very best work of Leslie Norman or Peter Finch, The Shiralee still has much to recommend it, from its beautifully shot locales to its stellar cast. A commendable effort to expand the range of the already dying Ealing Studios but not an entirely successful one.