The Sentimental Bloke

Clip 3: ‘My precious bit of fluff’

3 min 17 sec

Taken from the feature The Sentimental Bloke (1919)

Original title classification not known – this clip chosen to be PG

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Please note: this clip is silent

Curator’s clip description

Bill (Arthur Tauchert) and Doreen (Lottie Lyell) celebrate their marriage with a ‘beano’ at her mother’s house. Ginger Mick (Gilbert Emery) gives a tipsy speech, before the young couple depart in a handsome cab, for the train.

Curator’s notes

Noticeable warmth in this scene of a ‘proper wedding’ with all the trimmings. The tone is comical, but not cruel. Note the use of irised close-ups (putting a dark circle around the happy couple, by closing down the iris of the camera, in the tradition of a photographic portrait), and the use of real locations, such as the journey to the train, and a shot from within the carriage. These were very unusual at the time, because most films stuck to more accessible locations or studios. The traditions of working class comedy continue in Australian films such as The Castle and in Australian television (Kath and Kim).

Paul Byrnes, curator

australian screen