That Certain Something
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox film
| name = That Certain Something
| image =
| caption =
| director = Clarence G. Badger
| producer = Frederick Daniell
| writer = Clarence G. Badger
| narrator =
| starring = Megan Edwards
Thelma Grigg
| music =
| cinematography = Arthur Higgins
| editing = Frank Coffey
| studio = Argosy Films
| distributor = RKO{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17717575 |title=R.K.O. TO DISTRIBUTE STATE-BACKED FILM. |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=30 January 1941 |accessdate=17 February 2012 |page=4 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}
| released = {{Film date|1941}}
| runtime = 90 mins
| country = Australia
| language = English
| budget = £12,500{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17647149 |title=FOUR LOCAL FILMS. |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=13 March 1940 |accessdate=16 February 2012 |page=13 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}
}}
That Certain Something is a 1941 Australian musical film directed by Clarence G. Badger and starring Megan Edwards and Thelma Grigg. The plot concerns an American film director who decides to make a musical in Australia. It was the last film directed by Badger, a noted silent era director.{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|title=Australian Film Musicals You Probably Didn't Realise Existed|date=23 December 2019|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/australian-film-musicals-probably-didnt-realise-existed}}
Plot
A famous director, Robert Grimble, comes to Australia to make a film about pioneering women and seeks for an unknown to play the lead role. He casts socialist Miss Hemingway, who soon proves to be temperamental. She is tricked into walking off the job by Jimmie Jones who wants his girlfriend Patsy cast. He succeeds and Patsy becomes a star.
Cast
{{div col}}
- Megan Edwards as Patsy O'Connell
- Thelma Grigg as Miss Hemmingway
- Georgie Stirling as Blanche Wright
- Lou Vernon as Robert Grimble
- Charles Kilburn as Allan Burke
- Joe Lawman as Bill Lake
- Howard Craven as Jimmie Jones
- Ronald Morse as Marcel du Bois
- Leslie Victor as Maurice Appleby
- Marshall Crosby
- Connie Martyn
- Raymond Longford
- Ross Vernon
- William Beresford
- John Byrne]]
- Arundel Nixon
- Francis Birtles as bushman{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55736139 |title=Birtles, Commonwealth Wanderer Now Cast in "That Certain Something". |newspaper=The Mail |location=Adelaide |date=3 August 1940 |accessdate=19 February 2012 |page=12 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}
{{div col end}}
Production
The film was the first from Argosy Films and was made with the assistance of a bank overdraft from the New South Wales government. It was directed by Clarence Badger, a Hollywood director who had retired to Australia. The original title was Daughters of Australia.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article40862577 |title=More Australian Films. |newspaper=The Courier-Mail |location=Brisbane |date=25 April 1940 |accessdate=19 February 2012 |page=10 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}
Megan Edwards had only appeared in a few stage shows before being cast in the lead.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article25802183 |title=Badger With Argosy. |newspaper=The Mercury |location=Hobart, Tas. |date=11 May 1940 |accessdate=19 February 2012 |page=4 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55765146 |title=Megan Edwards Girl in Fruit Factory: Now Badger Star. |newspaper=The Mail |location=Adelaide |date=22 February 1941 |accessdate=19 February 2012 |page=20 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} She later received a three-year contract from a Hollywood manager.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17762574 |title=MEGAN EDWARDS TO GO TO U.S.A. |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=8 September 1941 |accessdate=19 February 2012 |page=9 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}
The seven-week shoot took place at Pagewood Studios; it was first movie made there in three years. The colonial sequence was especially researched.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article25822440 |title=AUSTRALIAN HISTORY. |newspaper=The Mercury |location=Hobart, Tas. |date=5 September 1940 |accessdate=16 February 2012 |page=3 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} The camera crew included notable cameraman John Howes, who died aged 29.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11365310 |title=NOTED CAMERAMAN DIES AT 29. |newspaper=The Argus |location=Melbourne |date=12 October 1944 |accessdate=19 February 2012 |page=7 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}
Release
Despite securing distribution from RKO, reception to the film from critics and the public was poor.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17741296 |title=FILM REVIEWS. |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=26 May 1941 |accessdate=17 February 2012 |page=3 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034271/ That Certain Something] in the Internet Movie Database
- [http://www.ozmovies.com.au/movie/that-certain-something That Certain Something] at Oz Movies
{{Clarence G. Badger}}
Category:Australian musical drama films
Category:Films directed by Clarence G. Badger
Category:Australian black-and-white films
Category:1940s English-language films
Category:1940s Australian films