The Getting of Wisdom (film)

The Getting of Wisdom is a 1977[2] Australian film directed by Bruce Beresford and based on the 1910 novel of the same title by Henry Handel Richardson.

For 1910 novel, see The Getting of Wisdom.

The Getting of Wisdom
Directed byBruce Beresford
Produced byPhillip Adams
Written byEleanor Witcombe
Based onThe Getting of Wisdom
by Henry Handel Richardson
StarringSusannah Fowle
Hilary Ryan
Barry Humphries
CinematographyDonald McAlpine
Edited byWilliam M. Anderson
Production
company
Southern Cross Films
Distributed byRoadshow
Release date
15 June 1977
Running time
101 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
BudgetA$525,000[1]
Box officeA$982,000

The film is set in 1890s Victoria, when Laura (Susannah Fowle) enters an exclusive Melbourne ladies' college based on Presbyterian Ladies' College. The film follows her struggle for acceptance, conformity, romance, friendship and achievement over the next four years. Lesbian overtones between a schoolgirl and a music teacher are made explicit in the film, more so than in Richardson’s novel.

It also starred Barry Humphries, John Waters and Terence Donovan, and featured early career appearances by Kerry Armstrong, Sigrid Thornton, Noni Hazlehurst, Maggie Kirkpatrick and Julia Blake.

A musical theme runs through the story, with piano works by Beethoven, Schubert and Thalberg played by Sarah Grunstein.

Plot

Laura Rambotham is sent to attend boarding school in Melbourne at the turn of the century. During her second year she tells everyone about a made-up romance between herself and the school's minister, Reverend Shepherd. She forms an attachment with her music teacher, Evelyn. When Evelyn leaves, Laura throws herself into her studies and wins the school literary and music prizes.

Cast
  • Susannah Fowle as Laura Tweedle Rambotham
  • Hilary Ryan as Evelyn
  • Terence Donovan as Tom McNamara
  • Patricia Kennedy as Miss Chapman
  • Sheila Helpmann as Mrs. Gurley
  • Candy Raymond as Miss Zielinski
  • Barry Humphries as Rev. Strachey
  • John Waters as Rev. Shepherd
  • Julia Blake as Isabella Shepherd
  • Diana Greentree as Maisie Shepherd
  • Monica Maughan as Miss Day
  • Dorothy Bradley as Miss Hicks
  • Kay Eklund as Mrs. Rambotham
  • Maggie Kirkpatrick as Sarah
  • Phillip Adams, cameo role as mathematics teacher
  • Kerry Armstrong as Kate, one of the worldly-wise students
  • Sigrid Thornton as Maria, one of the worldly-wise students
  • Celia De Burgh as M.P.
  • Kim Deacon as Lilith
  • Alix Longman as Chinky
  • Jo-Anne Moore as Tilly
  • Amanda Ring as Cupid
  • Janet Shaw as Bertha
  • Karen Sutton as Pin, Laura's sister

Production

Bruce Beresford wanted to make the film after The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972) and tried to get finance from Reg Grundy. Grundy said he would think about it if Beresford made a McKenzie sequel. Beresford made Barry McKenzie Holds His Own (1974) but Grundy declined to make Wisdom.[3]

The film was the first production from the newly formed Victorian Film Corporation, who provided $100,000 with additional funding from the Australian Film Commission and the Nine Network. Six thousand girls were interviewed for the school pupil roles. It was shot at the Methodist Ladies' College and in the town of Eddington in January and February 1977.[1]

Production crew
  • Bruce Beresford - Director
  • Michael Lake- Assistant Director
  • Russel Karel - Production Manager
  • Donald Alpine - Director of Photography
  • John Stoddart - Production Designer
  • William Anderson- Editor
  • Anna Senior - Costume Designer
  • Desmond Bone-Sound Recording
  • Gary Wilkins- Sound Recording
  • Peter Fenton-Sound Mixing
  • Moya Iceton - Continuity

Box office

The Getting of Wisdom grossed $982,000 at the box office in Australia,[4] which is equivalent to $4,517,200 in 2009 dollars.

Awards

The Getting of Wisdom was nominated for five AFI Awards in 1978 and won in the Best Adapted Screenplay (Eleanor Witcombe) category.

See also

References
  1. Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998 p316-317
  2. Hal Erickson The Getting of Wisdom (1977) Review summary in The New York Times,
  3. David Stratton, The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival, Angus & Robertson, 1980 p46
  4. Film Victoria - Australian Films at the Australian Box Office

Further reading
  • Murray and Scott (ed.) (1994). Australian Cinema. St.Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin/AFC. p. 255. ISBN 1-86373-311-6.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  • Tibbetts, John C., and James M. Welsh, eds. The Encyclopedia of Novels Into Film (2nd ed. 2005) pp 150–151.
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