| Thar She Blows! | |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Ken G. Hall |
| Written by | Ken G. Hall |
| Narrated by | Lionel Lunn |
| Cinematography | Walter Sully |
| Studio | Cinesound Productions |
| Release date(s) | 1931 |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
Thar She Blows! is a 1931 short Australian film, the first production from Cinesound Productions. It is a documentary on the West Australian whaling industry.
Contents |
The action takes place at Point Close station, 500 miles north of Perth. A steamer sights a whale, plunges a harpoon into it, then draws the carcass to the ship's side, whereupon it is attacked by a school of sharks. The whale is towed ashore, where it is stripped of it's blubber and prepared for market.[1]
Ken G. Hall got hold of some spectacular footage shot by Walter Sully on board a whaler off the coast of West Australia, including scenes of a shark attacking a whale carcass. Hall wrote a commentary, had Lionel Lunn record it, and added a soundtrack to the film. Sound recording was primitive in Australia at the time and Hall could not add music or dub in an effects track.
Nonetheless the film was released in support of a Hollywood feature and received good reviews, particularly from Kenneth Slessor, then a critic for Smith's Weekly. This success encouraged Cinesound to make another short, That's Cricket, before moving into feature production with On Our Selection (1932).[2]