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Cult Review
Archivist John
Senior Editor
Should you watch this today? Honestly, only if you have a soft spot for really old history or you just want to see what Australia looked like a hundred years ago.
If you're the kind of person who needs a fast plot or people actually talking, you're going to have a bad time. 😴
It’s a silent film from 1928, so you have to be in a very specific mood for it.
I found myself staring at the background scenery more than the actors sometimes.
There is something just... cool about seeing the actual Australian bush from 1928 without any modern stuff in the way.
The movie is about this little girl who loses her parents and gets raised by a copper named O'Brien.
It’s set in the Ned Kelly era, which usually means horses, dust, and people looking very serious in hats.
What’s actually crazy is that this movie exists at all.
Most Australian films from this time are just gone, burned up or rotted away in a basement somewhere.
But Trooper O'Brien is here, in its entirety, which feels like a small miracle.
The acting is exactly what you'd expect from a melodrama of this age.
Lots of big gestures and wide eyes.
There’s a scene where the little girl is crying and it feels like it goes on for a lifetime.
I kept thinking, "Okay, we get it, she's sad," but the camera just stays there.
It’s funny how different our attention spans are now compared to 1928.
The Trooper himself is played by Charles Stanford (I think, the credits are a bit fuzzy), and he’s got that classic stiff-upper-lip vibe.
He’s very brave and very noble, which makes him a bit boring if I’m being honest.
I preferred the villains, mostly because they looked like they were having more fun with their evil sneers.
The pacing is... well, it’s a silent movie.
Sometimes a character will walk across a room and it feels like it takes five minutes of screen time.
But then something happens, like a chase or a confrontation, and it suddenly gets very energetic.
The horses are probably the best actors in the whole thing.
They look so much more natural than the humans do in their heavy makeup.
I noticed a few moments where the film quality gets real grainy, but it adds to the charm.
It’s like looking through a window into a world that doesn’t exist anymore.
It reminded me a little bit of The Law of the Mounted, but with a more local, Aussie flavor.
There’s a bit of a subplot with the outlaws that feels a bit rushed toward the end.
I think they wanted to fit in as much action as possible before the reels ran out.
Some of the title cards have weird spelling or just strange phrasing that made me chuckle.
It’s not a masterpiece, let’s be real.
It’s a bit clunky and the story is as basic as it gets.
But there’s a heart to it that you don't see in stuff like The Life of Reilly.
You can tell they really wanted to make a "big" epic movie with a small budget.
I liked the way they used the light in the outdoor scenes.
The sun looks so harsh and real, unlike the soft studio lighting you see in American films from the same time.
It feels very Australian in that way—just dry and bright.
I did find myself checking my phone once or twice during the middle section.
The melodrama gets a bit thick, especially with the orphan girl subplot.
She’s very sweet, but man, the movie really wants you to pity her every single second.
If you've seen things like The Little 'Fraid Lady, you know the drill.
Overall, I’m glad I watched it, mostly for the history lesson.
It’s not something I’d put on for a movie night with friends unless they are also film nerds.
But as a piece of survival, it’s pretty fascinating. 🇦🇺
The ending is exactly what you think it will be, but it’s satisfying in a simple way.
Sometimes you just want the good guy to win and the kid to be okay.
I’ll probably forget the plot in a week, but I’ll remember the way the dust looked on the Trooper's boots.
IMDb —
1919
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