''That Certain Something'' is a 1941 Australian

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

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. 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 * Thelma Grigg 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 Marshall Crosby (18 February 1882 – 1 January 1954) born as Joseph Alexander Crosby, was a popular Australian actor and singer of vaudeville, theatre, radio, film and television. Biography Crosby was born the twelfth of thirteen children in ...

*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 silent film era of the Australia ...

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

Production

The film was the first from Argosy Films and was made with the assistance of a bank overdraft from the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

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 (1927 film), It'' and ''Red Hair (film), Red Hair'', more than a dozen features and shorts st ...

, 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 20 years. Creation The studio was built in 1935 for National Productions by National Studios Ltd and was originally known as ...

; it was 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, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

''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 1940s Australian musicals English-language musical films