''That Certain Something'' is a 1941 Australian musical film directed by

Clarence G. Badger Clarence G. Badger (June 9, 1880 – June 17, 1964) was an American film director of feature films in the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s. His films include '' It'' and ''Red Hair'', more than a dozen features and shorts starring Will Rogers, and two feat ...

and starring Megan Edwards and

Thelma Grigg Thelma Grigg (born Thelma Emerson, 13 September 1911 – 29 May 2003) was an Australian actress. She was first hired as an extra for Cinesound Productions in 1937. She made her stage debut in a 1939 production of '' The Women'' by Clare Boothe L ...

. 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.

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

*Megan Edwards as Patsy O'Connell *

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 Raymond Longford (born John Walter Hollis Longford, 23 September 18782 April 1959) was a prolific Australian film director, writer, producer and actor during the silent era. Longford was a major director of the Australian films: 1896–1919, sile ...

*Ross Vernon *William Beresford *John Byrne *Arundel Nixon *Francis Birtles as bushman

Production

The film was the first from

Argosy Films Argosy Films was an Australian production company, best known for the feature films ''That Certain Something'' (1941) and '' The Power and the Glory'' (1941). It was formed by people formerly involved with National Productions. About The compa ...

and was made with the assistance of a bank overdraft from the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

government. It was directed by

Clarence Badger Clarence G. Badger (June 9, 1880 – June 17, 1964) was an American film director of feature films in the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s. His films include '' It'' and ''Red Hair'', more than a dozen features and shorts starring Will Rogers, and two feat ...

, a Hollywood director who had retired to Australia. The original title was ''Daughters of Australia''. Megan Edwards had only appeared in a few stage shows before being cast in the lead. She later received a three-year contract from a Hollywood manager. The seven-week shoot took place at

Pagewood Studios Pagewood Studios was a film studio in Sydney, Australia, that was used to make Australian, British and Hollywood films for twenty years. Creation The studio was built in 1935 for National Productions by National Studios Ltd, it was originally kno ...

, the first movie made there in three years. The colonial sequence was especially researched. The camera crew included notable cameraman John Howes, who died aged 29.

Release

Despite securing distribution from RKO, reception to the film from critics and the public was poor.

References

External links

''That Certain Something''
in the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

''That Certain Something''
at Oz Movies {{Clarence G. Badger 1941 films Australian musical drama films Films directed by Clarence G. Badger 1941 musical films Australian black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s Australian films