Ken G. Hall | |
|---|---|
 Hall in 1950 | |
| Born | Kenneth George Hall (1901-02-22)22 February 1901 Paddington, New South Wales, Australia[1] |
| Died | 8 February 1994(1994-02-08) (aged 92) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupations |
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| Spouse | [2] |
Kenneth George HallAO OBE (22 February 1901 – 8 February 1994) was an Australian film producer and director, considered one of the most important figures in the history of theAustralian film industry. He was the firstAustralian to win anAcademy Award.
Kenneth George Hall[2] was born inPaddington, a suburb ofSydney, New South Wales, in 1901, the third child of Charles and Florence Hall.[1] He was educated atNorth Sydney Boys' High School.[3]
At age 15, with the help of his father, he gained a cadetship at the SydneyEvening News,[1] where he became friends with a youngKenneth Slessor, then a cadet for another paper.[4] Two years later, he became a publicist for Union Theatres, initially working as an assistant toGayne Dexter.[1] He had a six-month stint as manager for the Lyceum Theatre then returned to publicity, working his way up to national publicity director, "the highest post in film publicity in Australia" at that time.[5]
In 1924, Hall joined the American distribution companyFirst National Pictures as a publicist, and visited Hollywood the following year.
Hall began making films in 1928 when at First National he was assigned to recut and shoot additional sequences for a German movie about theBattle of Cocos,Our Emden. The resulting film,The Exploits of the Emden, was a local hit.
Hall moved back to Union Theatres, running publicity for the State Theatre in Sydney, and working on the campaign against the proposed entertainment tax fromStanley Bruce's government. He eventually became assistant toStuart F. Doyle, managing director of the company.
Doyle establishedCinesound Productions to make local films and assigned Hall to direct a number of shorts includingThar She Blows! (1931), about the whaling industry, andThat's Cricket (1931). He then gave Hall the job of directing a film adaptation of the popular playOn Our Selection, adapted byBert Bailey from the writings ofSteele Rudd about the adventures of a fictional Australian farming family, the Rudds, and the perennial father-and-son duo, 'Dad and Dave'. Hall persuaded Bailey to reprise his stage performance as Dad Rudd. The result was amassively popular film, which was among the top four most popular films in Australian cinemas in 1932,[6] earning £46,000 in Australia and New Zealand by the end of 1933.[7][8]
Hall and Cinesound decided to follow it with another adaptation of a play written by Bailey,The Squatter's Daughter (1933). It was a melodrama set in the Australian bush, and starred a discovery of Hall's,Jocelyn Howarth, who later had a Hollywood career as "Constance Worth". It was successful at the box office. During this time he made a short documentaryGhosts of Port Arthur (1933).
Hall's third feature wasThe Silence of Dean Maitland (1934), another melodrama based on a play (which had been based on a novel). It starred English stage starJohn Longden. The film encountered censorship issues but was highly popular.[9][10]Dean Maitland was released on a double bill withCinesound Varieties (1934), a short film directed by Hall featuring several musical acts.
Hall's fourth feature,Strike Me Lucky (1934), was a vehicle for stage comedianRoy "Mo" Rene, one of the most popular performers in Australia. It was Hall's first feature that was a film original, and not based on other material. However the film was not well received and Hall later said it was the only one of his movies not to go into profit.[11]
Needing a sure-fire hit, Hall then persuaded Bert Bailey to reprise his role as Dad Rudd inGrandad Rudd (1935), based on a play co-written by Bailey. It was popular, although not as big a hit asOn Our Selection.[12]
Hall intended to follow this movie with a version ofRobbery Under Arms but decided not to proceed because of uncertainty arising from a ban the NSW government had on films about bushrangers.[13] Cinesound ceased production for several months in 1935 to enable Hall to travel to Hollywood and research production methods.[14]
Hall returned to Australia with new filmmaking equipment and an American screenwriterEdmond Seward, who was to take over Cinesound's story department. Seward wroteThoroughbred (1936), a horse racing drama based on the life ofPhar Lap. It starred imported Hollywood actorHelen Twelvetrees and was a success.[15]
Seward also wrote Hall's next film,Orphan of the Wilderness (1936), the story of a boxing kangaroo. It was meant to be a 50-minute movie in the vein ofCinesound Varieties but Hall decided to expand it to feature length.[16]
Hall returned to comedy withIt Isn't Done (1937), based on an idea by its star,Cecil Kellaway. It was the first movie Hall made from a script by Frank Harvey, who would write most of his subsequent films. It was also the film debut ofShirley Ann Richards.[17]
Richards was the female lead in Hall's next film,Tall Timbers (1937), an adventure tale set in logging country, based on a story byFrank Hurley.[18] It was followed byLovers and Luggers.[19]
Hall made two films with comicGeorge Wallace:Let George Do It (1938) andGone to the Dogs.[20] In between these two, he made a third Rudd film,Dad and Dave Come to Town (1938), which featured a performance from a youngPeter Finch. This has been described as one of Hall's most personal movies.[21]
Hall gave Finch a bigger role inMr Chedworth Steps Out (1939), a vehicle forCecil Kellaway.[22] Hall produced and co-wrote, but did not direct,Come Up Smiling (1939), a vehicle forWill Mahoney.[23] He made a fourth and final Rudd,Dad Rudd, M.P. (1940), which introducedGrant Taylor.[24]
Film production at Cinesound ground to a halt with the advent of World War II, although Hall kept busy during this period producing and directing newsreels, documentaries and short subjects, includingRoad to Victory (1941) andAnzacs in Overalls (1941).
Hall also did shorts with dramatised segments, such asAnother Threshold (1942), and short features,100,000 Cobbers (1942) andSouth West Pacific (1943).[25][26]
His most notable newsreel was the Oscar-winningKokoda Front Line! (1942) – the first time an Australian film/documentary was awarded an Oscar.[27][28]
After the war Hall returned to feature film production, enjoying a big success withSmithy, a film biography of Australia's most famous aviator,Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, which he produced, co-wrote and directed. This film was financed byColumbia Pictures, who went on to offer its star,Ron Randell, a long-term contract in Hollywood.[29]
However, attempts by Hall to make further feature films (particularly an adaptation of the novelRobbery Under Arms, which he later described as "the film I wanted to make more than any other"[30]) were not successful, partly because the Greater Union cinema chain, who had backed all of Cinesound's films in the 1930s, were no longer enthusiastic about investing in local production. He was also stymied by the fact that the Australian government refused to allow money over a certain amount to be raised for films.[31] In particular, an attempt to raise £160,000 to make two films in collaboration withEaling Studios, including a version ofRobbery Under Arms, was refused government permission.[32]
His short subjects includedCan John Braund Cure Cancer? (1948),Fighting Blood (1951), andOverland Adventure (1956).
His last documentary wasThe Kurnell Story (1957).
In 1956, Hall became the first general manager forChannel Nine in Sydney, where he remained until 1966.[33] There he instigated the practice of showing feature films uncut; previously in Australia they had been cut to fit the television schedules.[34]
On 1 January 1972, Hall was awarded theOrder of the British Empire for his services to the "Australian motion picture industry."[35] TheAustralian Film Institute recognised his ability to convey the unique Australian character on film, and his important contribution to the development of the Australian film industry, with aRaymond Longford Award for "Lifetime Achievement" in 1976. In 1985, he was inducted into theLogie Hall of Fame. He was a freemason.[36]
Hall was vocal in his criticism of theAustralian New Wave, remarking in 1979, "the market for Australian films is flooded with mediocre to weak product. Too many of these films cannot stand up to the competition and will drown."[2] He supported the production of local commercial films, his motto being "Give the audience what they want."[2]
Hall suffered astroke in 1993.[2] He died in Sydney on 8 February 1994.[2] He wrote an autobiography,Directed by Ken G. Hall (1977), later updated asAustralian Film: The Inside Story (1980). His wife since 1925, Irene Addison, had died in 1972. Hall never remarried.[37]
In 1995, the AustralianNational Film and Sound Archive (Screensound) inaugurated the annual Ken G. Hall Award, which is presented by the Archive each year to a person, organisation or group that has made an outstanding contribution to Australian film preservation. Past winners of the Award are Alan Rydge andRupert Murdoch (1995),Peter Weir (1996),Kodak Australasia Pty Ltd (1997),Joan Long AM (1999),Anthony Buckley (2000),Murray Forrest (2001),Judy Adamson (2002),Tom Nurse (2003) and archivist and historianGraham Shirley (2004).
Stage 3 atFox Studios in Sydney is named after him.[38]
