Efftee Studios was an early Australian film and theatre production studio, established byF.W. Thring (the name 'Efftee' deriving from his initials, 'FT' for Francis Thring) in 1930. It existed until Thring's death in 1935. InitiallyEfftee Films was based inMelbourne and used optical sound equipment imported from the US.
In 1931, the company produced the first commercially viable Australian made sound feature film,Diggers. Over the next five years, Efftee produced nine features, over 80 shorts and several stage productions, including the Australian musicalsCollits' Inn (1933) andThe Cedar Tree (1934). Notable collaborators includeC. J. Dennis,George Wallace andFrank Harvey.
In 1934, Thring suspended Efftee's operations[1] to pressure the government to establish a quota for Australian films, threatening to move production to London. He relocated production to Sydney to take advantage of the New South Wales Cinematograph Films (Australian Quota) Act 1935.[2][3]
Efftee was also the first operator ofMelbourne radio station3XY which began broadcasting on 9 September 1935.
Thring traveled to Hollywood in March 1936 to look for scriptwriters and actors[4] and returned in June but died soon after.
Founder F.W. Thring was the father of the Australian and international actor,Frank Thring.
