The Wagon and the Star (or The Waggon and the Star) is a 1936 New Zealand film by producer and director J.J.W. Pollard, who also wrote the screenplay. Only one reel of the film and some out-takes survived and is considered lost film by Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision.[1] The handbuilt camera used was built by Ted Coubray and "confiscated" by Alexander Markey on the set of Hei Tiki.
| The Wagon and the Star | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Directed by | J.J.W. Pollard |
| Written by | J.J.W. Pollard |
| Produced by | J.J.W. Pollard |
| Starring | John Peake Faye Hinchey William Buchan |
| Cinematography | Lee Hill |
| Music by | Howard Moody |
Release date |
|
| Country | New Zealand |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £15,000 |
The Wagon and the Star was the first sound feature film to be made in Southland.[2] The film included two original songs, for which Pollard wrote the words and a local composer, Howard Moody, the music.[3]
Premise
editTwo migrants from "Home", John Hawthron and Andy Henderson from Scotland, meet on a road building gang. John has not yet made his fortune in the new country, but he eventually builds up a large transport and accommodation business and marries Mary, the daughter of a local landowner, despite the presence of a villainous local lawyer.
Cast
edit- Most of the cast were amateurs from the local operatic society in Invercargill.
- John Peake as John Hawthron
- Faye Hinchey as Mary Tyson
- William Buchan as Andy Henderson
- TR Vanity (Tom Pryde) as Hubert Throstle, the lawyer
- Moira O'Neill as Anne
- Richard Grenfell as the landowner
- Mary MacEwan as Mary's aunt
Reception
editThe film had its premiere in Invercargill in July 1936. The Southland Times reported enthusiastically the next day: "The story is a slight one, but it is well-connected, more logical than those of most screen scenarists, and is admirably suited for conveying, without over-emphasis, the fact that Southland is a place of beauty."[4]
References
edit- ^ "Aotearoa New Zealand's first talkies". www.ngataonga.org.nz. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "At the Theatres". Southland Times: 11. 15 July 1936.
- ^ "Picture Theatres". Evening Star: 21. 29 August 1936.
- ^ "Entertainments". Southland Times: 4. 17 July 1936.
- New Zealand Film 1912-1996 by Helen Martin & Sam Edwards p48 (1997, Oxford University Press, Auckland) ISBN 019 558336 1
External links
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