Riding to Win is an Australian comedy drama silent film starring Australian gangster Squizzy Taylor and his girlfriend Ida Pender. Made in 1922 it was banned by the Victorian censor but obtained release in Sydney and Brisbane under the title Bound to Win.[5] It is considered a lost film.
| Riding to Win/Bound to Win | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Eric Harrison |
| Written by | Eric Harrison |
| Produced by | Eric Harrison |
| Starring | Squizzy Taylor Ida Pender |
Production company | Eric Harrison Photoplays |
Release dates | 29 October 1923 (Sydney)[1][2] 3 March 1925 (Brisbane)[3] |
Running time | 4,500 feet (under an hour)[4] |
| Country | Australia |
| Languages | Silent film English intertitles |
Plot edit
A heroic jockey (Taylor) saves his girlfriend (Pender), the daughter of a horse trainer, from a criminal gang determined to stop him from riding the race favourite to win in the Eclipse Steeplechase.
Production edit
At the peak of Squizzy Taylor's fame, he was contacted by producer-director Eric Harrison who convinced Taylor and his then-girlfriend Pender to star in a sporting comedy drama which would exploit Taylor's experience as a jockey. Shooting took place in 1922 in Melbourne, with scenes shot at Caulfield and Moonee Valley. The working title was In Emergency Colours.[4]
Reception edit
The film was banned from public screening by Victorian censor on the basis it was "representing two persons who figured recently in Criminal Court proceedings".[6] Eventually Harrison obtained a release for the movie in under the title of Bound to Win in Sydney in 1923[2] and Brisbane in 1925. It is not known how well the film performed financially although a contemporary newspaper report claimed "large numbers of people visited" the Majestic Theatre to see the Brisbane premiere.[3]
Taylor died in a gunfight in 1927.[7]
References edit
- ^ "Advertising". The Evening News. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 29 October 1923. p. 10. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
- ^ a b "Advertising". The Arrow. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 2 November 1923. p. 2. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
- ^ a b "MAJESTIC". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 4 March 1925. p. 19. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
- ^ a b Tenille Hands, "Squizzy Taylor, the reel-life gang-star", National Film and Sound Archive accessed 5 September 2013
- ^ Chris McConville, 'Taylor, Joseph Leslie (Squizzy) (1888–1927)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University accessed 5 September 2013
- ^ "A PROHIBITED PICTURE". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 3 November 1922. p. 14. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
- ^ "How "Squizzy" Taylor". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 3 December 1949. p. 28 Supplement: The Argus Week-End Magazine. Retrieved 5 September 2013.