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.

While best known for their UK set comedies Ealing Studios also made several movies in Australia and this is one of them .It is based on a fine novel by D'Arcy Niland and revolves around Jim Macauley (played by a genuine Aussie ,the great Peter Finch).He is an itinerant salesman -a swag man in 'Strine (Aussie English)who on returning from his latest walkabout finds his wife (Elizabeth Sellars)is living with another man -one able to offer her the material comforts she seeks .He decides to go on his travels again this time taking with him his daughter Buster (Dana Wilson).she is his "shiralee"-the Aboriginal word for "burden".the movie deals with the way they come to learn from each other and is an emotionally moving look at father-daughter relationships as they work through illness,hardship and threats of separation.

It is free of sentimentality and the Finch-Wilson double act is captivating .the monochrome photography of Paul Beison is superb and the only minor blot is the slightly misfiring comedy sequences revolving around Sid James and Tessie O'Shea -scenes others may well enjoy more than I did An Australian made mini-series ,later edited into a single episode version,starring Bryan Brown is also worthwhile but this little known gem is the better picture

Peter Finch is terrific as a traveling swagman, traversing the Australian outback in search of work and shelter. Finding his Sydney based wife shacked up with another man, he takes his daughter (Dana Wilson) and resumes his wandering ways. The film does a good job of keeping a lid on sentiment and features outstanding cinematography by Paul Beeson, who usually worked on less inspired fare like Tarzan Goes to India, Die Monster Die!, and Starcrash. One of the last efforts of Ealing Studios, and a good one, though certainly not on a par with their Alec Guinness comedies.

Peter Finch's first film for Ealing was 'Eureka Stockade' and nearly ten years later he returned down under to make one of their last Australian productions; a film of which very few have heard but was actually the star's personal favourite of his own films, considering it most representative of his antipodean roots.

Finch is for once cast as a bona fide Australian and uncharacteristically rough round the edges. The film is a drama with an Australian setting rather than a travelogue with settings rather plainly rendered in black & white. A strong female contingent includes Tessie O'Shea, Elisabeth Sellars and a very young Rosemary Harris.

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.