South Australia's firm Southern Cross, led by David Gordon, backs films made by Raymond Longford from 1917
The Sentimental Bloke (1919), starring Lottie Lyell and Arthur Tauchert, was one of the major successes for South Australian Southern Cross Feature Film Company, led by Adelaide businessman David Gordon (inset).
Images courtesy National Film and Sound Archives
In its short life, South Australia’s Southern Cross Feature Film Company made some of Australia's most famous silent films, mostly directed by Raymond Longford.
Adelaide businessman David Gordon was a prime mover in setting up Southern Cross company, with offices in Grenfell Street, Adelaide, in 1917. One hundred shares were offered at £1 a share.
Southern Cross said it would make five dramas and three comedies over the next 12 months. Another report predicted making “six or eight five reelers” over 12 months. Its first planned picture was The Black Opal..
It offered cash for Australian stories but initially employed American Walter May Plank as film director. When Plank left Australia, Raymond Longford was called in.
Longford’s first feature for Southern Cross was the successful The Woman Suffers (1918), followed by two hits in the UK and USA, The Sentimental Bloke and Ginger Mick, based on the poems of South Australian-born C. J. Dennis.
In 1920, the buoyant company paid a dividend of a shilling per share. In that year, Southern Cross Picture Productions Ltd was incorporated with a value of £37,600 and directors including E.J. Carroll, Snowy Baker and David Gordon. Carroll-Baker Australian Productions made films starring Snowy Baker and had a five-twelfths interest in Southern Cross Picture Productions.
The company made The Jackeroo of Coolabong, Rudd’s New Selection and The Blue Mountains Mystery. Southern Cross financed an interstate film, Longford’s The Sentimental Bloke (1919), which became the most profitable Australian feature film to date. The company also had success with Ginger Mick, also based on a character created by C. J. Dennis.
