Argosy Films

Argosy Films was an Australian film production company established in the late 1930s and associated with the development of locally produced feature films during a period when the Australian industry was seeking stronger domestic production capacity. The company was formed by individuals who had previously been involved with National Productions, linking it to an existing Australian production network rather than to an overseas studio group. It was registered in 1937 with stated capital of £50,000, and Frederick Daniell served as its general manager. The company’s recorded subscribers were Frederick Daniel, George B. Bennett, Ronald H. Wolff, Cecil V. Stevenson, Noel Monkman, Harold L. Gray, and Joseph A. Byron. Argosy’s most substantial production initiative emerged in 1940, when the company announced plans for two feature films. The New South Wales government was reported to have guaranteed 60 percent of the cost, providing important financial support for a domestic production venture. The proposed films were initially titled Daughters of Australia and Man Without a Country, with each assigned a budget of £12,500. During development, the projects were retitled That Certain Something and The Power and the Glory. Both films were released in 1941 and remain the company’s best-known productions. The two features represented an attempt to build commercially viable Australian screen production around locally made stories and production resources. Their government-backed financing structure also reflected the broader institutional interest in supporting an Australian film industry during the period. Argosy Films was not, however, able to establish a sustained production slate. Plans for additional projects, including a film based on the Stingaree stories, were announced or considered but did not reach completion. The company was liquidated in 1948. As a result, Argosy Films had a relatively short corporate life, with its historical importance concentrated in its 1937 formation, its 1940 production program, and the release of its two 1941 feature films. The company should be distinguished from a separate British film company that used the same name. Its surviving historical record is primarily relevant to scholarship on Australian cinema, wartime-era production, government participation in film financing, and the country’s early attempts to maintain a domestic feature-film industry.

Argosy Films was established in Australia in 1937 by people formerly associated with National Productions. The company was registered with capital of £50,000, and its listed subscribers were Frederick Daniel, George B. Bennett, Ronald H. Wolff, Cecil V. Stevenson, Noel Monkman, Harold L. Gray, and Joseph A. Byron. Frederick Daniell was appointed general manager. These details place Argosy within the network of Australian production ventures that sought to develop locally controlled feature-film production before and during the Second World War. The company’s main production program was announced in 1940. Argosy planned to make two feature films, with substantial assistance from the New South Wales government. Contemporary information cited a government guarantee covering 60 percent of the production costs. The projects were initially identified as Daughters of Australia and Man Without a Country, each budgeted at £12,500. They were subsequently retitled That Certain Something and The Power and the Glory. Both films were released in 1941 and became the productions most closely associated with Argosy Films. Their development illustrates the importance of public support to Australian feature filmmaking at the time, when local producers faced the challenge of assembling finance, production capacity, and distribution for domestic films. Argosy’s program was ambitious relative to the company’s short operating life, but it did not develop into a continuing studio operation. Further projects were considered, including a proposed screen version of the Stingaree stories. Those plans were not completed. Argosy Films was liquidated in 1948, ending its corporate existence after roughly eleven years. Its historical record therefore centers on its formation, government-supported production effort, and two surviving feature-film credits rather than on a large catalogue or long-running commercial organization. Argosy Films is also distinct from a British film company of the same name. The company’s surviving significance lies in its contribution to the history of Australian cinema and in the evidence it provides of early efforts to support a national feature-film industry.

• 1948

  Company liquidated

  [1]Argosy Filmsen.wikipedia.org

  Argosy Films was liquidated after proposed further productions failed to proceed.

• 1941

  Two feature films released

  [1]Argosy Filmsen.wikipedia.org

  The projects originally titled Daughters of Australia and Man Without a Country were released as That Certain Something and The Power and the Glory.

• 1940

  Two-feature production program announced

  [1]Argosy Filmsen.wikipedia.org

  Argosy announced two planned feature films, supported by a reported New South Wales government guarantee covering 60 percent of their costs.

• 1937

  Company registered

  [1]Argosy Filmsen.wikipedia.org

  Argosy Films was registered in Australia with stated capital of £50,000 and a group of subscribers connected with the company’s formation.

A domestic Australian feature-film producer focused on locally made productions during the late 1930s and early 1940s.

• Feature film · 1941

  That Certain Something

  An Australian feature film produced by Argosy Films and released in 1941. It was developed from the project initially announced under the title Daughters of Australia and is one of the two productions for which Argosy is principally known.

• Feature film · 1941

  The Power and the Glory

  An Australian feature film produced by Argosy Films and released in 1941. The project was initially announced as Man Without a Country and formed part of the company’s two-film production program supported by a reported New South Wales government guarantee.

• 1948

  Liquidation of the companyOther

  Background

  Plans for additional productions, including a proposed version of the Stingaree stories, did not come to fruition.

  Action taken

  Argosy Films was liquidated.

  Aftermath

  The company ceased operating as a film production business.

  Source

• 1940

  Proceed with a two-film feature programProduct launch

  Background

  Argosy Films announced plans to produce two Australian feature films at a time when domestic production depended heavily on private finance and institutional support.

  Action taken

  The company developed Daughters of Australia and Man Without a Country, later retitled That Certain Something and The Power and the Glory.

  Aftermath

  Both films were released in 1941, but the company did not establish a continuing production program.

  Source

1. 1Argosy Filmsen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Argosy Films — National Film and Sound Archivenfsa.gov.au