A Son Is Born (1946)

This family melodrama, a tale of desertion, vengeful seduction, coincidental meeting and catharsis, spans more than two decades from 1920 to World War II. A woman imprisoned in a loveless marriage finds the courage to leave her husband but is disturbed to find that her son, David, refuses to go with her. She does not give up on him and manages to establish a new life for herself. Her world is turned upside down when David reluctantly moves in with her, determined to ruin their lives. Set against the backdrop of the Second World War, David is about to be sent to New Guinea which may make or break any future relationship he has with the people who love him. A notable aspect of the film is a production design which belies the low budget.

Date of release
1946-09-20
TMDB
7.0 / 10 (1)
Runtime
1h 25m
Director
Eric Porter

Casting

Interesting facts

A Son Is Born is a 1946 Australian melodrama directed by Eric Porter and starring Ron Randell, Peter Finch, John McCallum and Muriel Steinbeck. It was one of the few films made in Australia in the 1940s. Filmink called it modestly budgeted and scheduled, unpretentious movie made with skill that showcased some exciting stars, deployed a common genre with a strongly Australian setting, found an appreciative audience, and made a profit. It offered a perhaps more realistic financial model for local filmmakers than The Overlanders or Smithy', two other films that came out the same year.

Production

Eric Porter was a cartoonist and ran his own studio. Gloria Bourner was one of his employees. Bourner wrote the script and Porter storyboarded the entire film prior to filming, which was announced in September 1944.

Porter put up half the budget himself, with the balance coming from Charles Munro and some private investors. The budget was a reported £10,000.

Peter Finch, Ron Randell, Muriel Steinbeck and John McCallum were all well established actors when the film was made.

Jane Holland was a 22-year-old radio actor who later moved to England and married Leo McKern.

Kitty Bluett was a musical comedy star, the daughter of comedian Fred Bluett.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

Recommended