The Octoroon is an Australian film directed by George Young based on a popular play by Dion Boucicault which had recently enjoyed a popular run in Australia. It is considered a lost film.
Contents
Synopsis
In the deep south of 1850s USA, an octoroon is given her freedom by her white father but is later bought as a slave by the evil Jacob McCloskey.
Plantatlon of Terrobonne
The Free Papers of Zoe Stolen
Murder of Paul and Theft of the Mail Bags
The Great Slave Sale
M'Cloakey Buys Zoe
The Murder Discovered
The Ship Is Fired
The Red Man's Vengeance
The Knife Fight
Death of M'Closkey
Zoe Takes Poison
To the Rescue
Too Late! Too Late!!
Death Defore Dishonour.
Production
It was an early film from the Australian Film Syndicate. According to articles from the time, other films made from this company included The Shadow of the Rockies, Black Talbot and The Diamond Cross.
The film was shot in Sydney with an old paddle steamer, Narrabeen, standing in for a Mississippi river boat.
Significance
The writer Bruce Dennett has commented on the selection of this material to make an Australian film. "The identifiable influence of Southern stories and characters at such an early stage in the history of Australian film is hard to ignore. The Octoroon is especially notable because it deals with questions of race and blood, issues that were important and enduring social and historical preoccupations of the young Australian nation, as they continued to be for the United States."