Red Sky at Morning

Probably best described as a historical romance where the setting is the New South Wales colony of 1812. A young Peter Finch, Australia's own 'wild colonial boy' of stage and screen, plays an Irish political prisoner shipped to the colonies who has a severe case of the hots for the wife of a sea captain, who for various reasons is "on the run." Now true love never runs smooth and neither of these two are exactly devoid of problems to start with.

The screenplay by Hartney J. Arthur himself, was adapted from the stage play of the same name by Dymphna Cusack. Although at 55 minutes, only a very short film, it is a pleasantly agreeable old drama with genuinely good performances. (Finch was always great value!)

Curiously, it was re-released in 1951 as ESCAPE AT DAWN. There appears to be no evidence that this strategy caused a sudden rush at the box-office!