Le Voyageur des plaines

This is a brilliant little film that is also something of an archaeological dig.

It is set against a backdrop of Australian culture and attitudes, which are now about as extinct as those of the Hittites. At the time, the lifestyle it depicted was fading fast if not already gone.

Peter Finch plays Jim Macauley, who rescues his young daughter, Buster, from her mother's unsavoury lifestyle in a Sydney noticeably devoid of high rise buildings. He takes her with him on his journey as an itinerant worker, a swaggy, around rural Australia.

"The Shiralee" is a British film from Ealing studios (one of five made in Australia) with Australian and English actors; even Syd James is in it. Peter Finch plays Jim Macauley. At the time, his character would have been seen as the quintessential Aussie male: forthright, independent, scrappy, game for anything and with a well-developed sense of fairness. He had played just about the same character as Joe Harman in "A Town Like Alice". Jim and Joe are close relatives of George Johnston's "My Brother Jack".

I saw this film in 1957. Back then we were amazed to see Australia depicted on the screen at all, especially by British studios and Hollywood. We were decades away from Australians regularly picking up Oscars at Academy Award ceremonies.

Many of the characters have Australian accents as yet uninfluenced by decades of overseas television, and Dana Wilson as Buster Macauley delivers a performance that would be hard to beat from any child star; sadly she died this year (2015) aged only 66.

It's a poignant story in many ways with complex characters and situations, but it also has a broad vein of humour. One troubling aspect of the story is that Jim seems overly trusting when he leaves Buster in the care of others. However, most of the characters are honourable and well-intentioned.

This was Peter Finch's favourite among his films. Superbly photographed in black and white, in many ways "The Shiralee" is like opening a time capsule.

In that Australia, you could go a long way before encountering any kind of body piercing let alone a woman with a tattoo, and ice was something you had with your scotch and soda. The 1957 version is probably hard to find today, but let's hope it doesn't disappear altogether.

Given the plot line, this could easily have been cutesy or mawkish. It isn't, though. Peter Finch is brilliant in his understated playing and the supporting cast is very fine.

Maybe because I've known men estranged from their wives who have taken their children on their quests through life, I was fascinated and very moved. The last half or gets a little busy and the (anti)hero's leaving his daughter with an unknown wanderer is implausible. But Finch holds the hole together brilliantly. And the actress playing his little girl is a natural. She never tries to charm us. Perhaps that is a credit to the director as much as to the performer.

There are simialrities (if memory serves) between this and the later, better known and lauded "Paper Moon." Of the two, I prefer this by a hundred thousand miles.

It is a charmer and a bit of a heart-breaker -- much like the character played by Finch.

A really enjoyable film that shows a mans love for his little daughter and her love for him. He sometimes dismisses her but comes to realise that he is more fond of her than he cares to admit when she nearly dies.

Also the attractive shopgirl reminds us how nice women were in the fifties!! Great film - dated of course - but still wonderful. Just thought it ended rather abruptly and left us wanting more.........

I'm surprised at how few reviews this very good film has so far.

Very well cast and acted especially the wee girl of course. I presume that, like every other country, this way of life has gone almost seventy years later.

Odd to see Sid James without his trademark laugh appearing at regular intervals but this was not a comedy film of course.

I had expected some native Australians to make an appearance but there was none to be seen.

It runs along very nicely with an interesting plot with a few sub plots to keep the viewer interested through the whole film.

Well worth watching so let's see some more reviews appearing soon.

I've seen this film twice, and on both occasions I found it immensely enjoyable. A simple tale, where a less than responsible husband and father, after finding out his wife is having an affair, decides to leave her, and taking his young daughter, Buster, with him, sets out on the road to find work. Peter Finch is perfectly cast as the dour, itinerant worker, drifting from job to job, with Buster, played by the delightful and irrepressible Dana Wilson. Finch, as Jim Macauley, dominates the screen with his physicality, toughness and sheer doggedness in trying to keep body and soul together while travelling across rugged terrain, with the added, awesome responsibility of looking after his daughter - his 'shiralee' (burden). The coherent and entertaining storyline, together with the 'punchy' dialogue and authentic looking locations, the film maintains interest right to the end. There is an economy of words from the laconic Peter Finch, as he sets out to negotiate every barrier which he comes up against. He immerses himself into the role of Jim Macauley to such an extent that he wins the audience over to his unenviable position. But Dana Wilson as 'Buster' takes huge credit for her 'tomboyish' persona and her extraordinary performance as the girl who loves her father so much, she will go that 'extra mile.' The film captures brilliantly the rough, tough love relationship between father and daughter, which never becomes too sugary. I would highly recommend this film.