Sentimental Bloke, The

Synopsis: Feature film about working class barrowman redeemed by the love of a good woman. Bill, the bloke, decides to reform his drinking and gambling ways after he has been jailed for hitting a policeman during a raid on a two-up game. After his release from jail the bloke sees Doreen in the market and romance begins. Bill narrates the story of his courtship and marriage to Doreen including a visit to the theatre to see a production of Romeo and Juliet. Bill explains the action to Doreen in Australian idiom. The intertitles in the film derive largely from the original verse by C.J. Dennis who makes an on-screen appearance at the beginning of the film. The film was originally tinted and toned.
Country: Australia
Medium: Film
Technical information: Colour / Sound
Year of release: 1919
Recording date: 4 Oct 1919
Duration: 75 mins; 6,713 feet

Director

Raymond Longford

Producer

Raymond Longford

Cinematographer

Arthur Higgins

Writer

C.J. Dennis

Screenplay

Lottie Lyell; Raymond Longford

Cast

Arthur Tauchert	Bill, the Sentimental Bloke
Lottie Lyell	Doreen

Notes: Estimated budget £2000.
General: Filmed in the back streets of Woolloomooloo and other inner city suburbs of Sydney,

The film was remade in 1932, a copy of which is also held in the National Film and Sound Archive, Australia.
History: The film was not a success in the United States where test audiences failed to understand the language. Despite being recut with Americanised intertitles, having some scenes cut out, and being renamed for the American market as ‘The Story of a Tough Guy’ it was withdrawn from distribution. Since then the original negative sent to the US has been discovered (mislabelled as ‘The Sentimental Blonde’) at the Film Archive at George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester, New York. Found to be a different version and of a better quality print than any of the Australian copies, this ‘new’ version premiered at the 2004 Sydney Film Festival and has played at the 2005 London Film Festival [Wikipedia]. The reconstructed version is 97mins.

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