The Romance of Runnibede

Australia, 1928

Film
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Filmed in Sydney interiors and south-east Queensland locations, this melodrama is based on one of the incidents in Steele Rudd’s book involving the kidnapping of a woman from the family cattle station by First Nations people who believe that she is their ‘great white queen’. Beset by production problems and discord and marred by the inadequate performances of the two male leads, Runnibede was reshaped by an imported American director for the international market. The First Nations people in effect become head-hunters from Hollywood’s “darkest Africa” mythology. Cast includes Eva Novak, Gordon Collingridge, Claude Saunders and Dunstan Webb. Restored on video using original tinted nitrate reels of the film.

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If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/87696--the-romance-of-runnibede/ |title=The Romance of Runnibede |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=18 March 2025 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}