Browning Battles On
Page 20
15.See 'Box Office' Browning, pp. 1–43.
16.George Raft, 1895–1980, appeared in many Hollywood gangster films. An ex-boxer and dancer, his most notable part was as the coin-tossing hoodlum Guido Rinaldi in Howard Hawks' Scarface (1932). Raft, who was alleged to have connections with real-life criminals, apparently never outgrew this role, either in his screen career or in reality.
17.In the 1932–33 Test cricket series, the English fast bowlers directed their attack to the leg side with the intention of injuring or intimidating the batsmen.
18.Presumably, Browning means to refer to the line from Wordsworth's 'My heart leaps up'—The Child is father of the Man.
19.Smith's Weekly, a magazine which offered a mixed diet of political and social comment, news, satire and humour.
20.Directed by Charles Chauvel and released in 1940, this film romanticised the campaign of the Australian Light Horse in the Sinai desert in World War I. It enjoyed huge success in Australia and won respectful notices overseas, particularly for the scenes depicting cavalry charges.
21.Southwell's three Kelly films were The Kelly Gang (1920), When the Kellys Were Out (1923) and When the Kellys Rode (1934). For Browning's involvement in the first of these, see 'Box Office' Browning, pp. 144–54.
22.A Son is Born was Eric Porter's first and only feature. Later, Porter was the producer of Australia's first animated feature-length movie, Marco Polo Jnr. versus the Red Dragon (1972). See Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977, Oxford University Press, 1988, pp. 266, 343.
23.Finch played Oscar Wilde in the 1960 Ken Russell film The Trials of Oscar Wilde. Browning's reference to Ceylon raises the intriguing possibility that he may have been associated with the 1954 film Elephant Walk, in which Finch played opposite Elizabeth Taylor, who had taken the role over from Vivien Leigh. The transcription of later tapes may throw light on this matter.
24.See 'Box Office' Browning, pp. 20–1.
25.See Browning PI.
26.See Browning in Buckskin, pp. 15–6 and Browning PI, pp. 206–7.
27.William Desmond Taylor was a film director who was shot dead on 1 February 1922. The killer was never found. Mabel Normand was an actress, one of the many with whom Taylor's name was linked. The investigation of Taylor's death revealed much of the seamy side of Hollywood at the time—drugs, sexual deviation and blackmail. Many scurrilous stories about Taylor and Normand circulated and no doubt it was one of these that Browning related to Ushi.
28.See 'Box Office' Browning, pp. 82–3, 210–11.
29.John Andrew (Jack) Davey, 1910–59, was a New Zealander who came to Australia in the early 1930s to work as a scriptwriter and singer. He made several records, but achieved extraordinary success as a compere of radio quiz shows. An expert ad libber, he commanded a radio audience of half a million at the peak of his career. Davey was an enthusiastic sportsman, gambler and nightclubber.
30.For Les Darcy see notes to 'Box Office' Browning; for Mickey Walker see Browning in Buckskin; for 'Sugar Ray' Robinson see notes to Browning PI.
31.Darby Munro was a successful jockey then at the peak of his long career. He had won the Melbourne Cup on Sirius the year before and would win again on Russia in 1946. A 'schlenter' is a fixed fight.
32.Phizz-gig, a police informer.
33.See 'Box Office' Browning, pp. 18–22.
34.Dr Reginald Stuart-Jones was an abortionist, sly-grog merchant, playboy and 'sportsman'. Born in London of Welsh/Scottish parents, he arrived with them as a migrant to Australia in 1912. An outstanding student, he won private school scholarships and graduated in medicine from Sydney University. After working as a GP he set up as a specialist in gynaecology. Working as an abortionist brought him a large income and into associations with criminal identities. He owned nightclubs, managed boxers and was involved in fixing horse races. He survived an attempt on his life in October 1944, a few months before Ushi Tanvier entered his employment. In 1960 he was presented with a large tax bill and offered his customary explanation—that his conspicuous disposable income came from punting. He died suddenly of a heart attack in 1961. See David Hickie, The Prince and the Premier, Angus & Robertson, 1985, pp. 135–8.
35.See Browning in Buckskin, pp. 62–7.
36.Ron Randell was born in Sydney in 1918. He was a child radio and stage actor and had a long career in British, American and European films and television. Most of his work, however, was in supporting parts.
37.See 'Beverley Hills' Browning, pp. 199 ff.
38.Browning is mistaken. Porter's film was not released until 1946 and according to film historians it achieved 'solid results'. Porter abandoned Storm Hill and returned to making documentaries and commercials, presumably for more pressing financial reasons. See Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977, 1980, p. 266.