Flawed, though watchable

Posted by Kenneth Orme on Jul 4th 2015

This early feature film version of THE SHIRALEE supplies the basic story line of an utterly dysfunctional Australian family unraveling due to unfaithfulness of both spouses. Father drinks too much and has a playboy philosophy completely unsuited to a paterfamilias. He only sporadically supervises his young daughter, only really showing concern about her when she becomes ill with probable pneumonia and after recovering from that setback runs off from an ad hoc caretaker and gets herself hit by a car. Nonetheless, the "Shiralee" prefers life with dad to remaining with mom and her boyfriend, a small-time operator with underworld connections. The best solution to the child's uprootedness, living with a friendly settled couple, is torpedoed in favor of an unconvincing final reunion between her natural mother and negligent dad. Peter Finch fails to make Dad charismatic and Elizabeth Sellars overacts quite annoyingly. Cinematography is fine, music acceptable.