Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

provided by

This clip shows men jostling for beer in a Sydney pub in the lead-up to 6 pm, after which no more drinks are served. A fight breaks out when one man suggests that Caddie (Helen Morse) would be ‘quicker on the bloody pick-up’ than at serving him beer, quipping that she is ‘only a bloody barmaid’. The publican announces closing time and the crowd clears, leaving Caddie looking exhausted and demoralised. This scene is juxtaposed with scenes in which Caddie recalls working in the more genteel setting of a tea-house.

Educational value points

• This clip is from the feature film Caddie, which reconstructs working-class urban life in the 1920s–30s from a woman’s perspective. Caddie became a classic Australian film for its authentic re-creation of the era and because it was one of the first Australian films to present a wholly female narrative. In addition to its period setting and costumes, the film’s dialogue recaptures the Australian working-class vernacular, for example in the phrase ‘as dry as a vulture’s crutch’.

• During the First World War (1914–18), Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia introduced laws requiring pubs to close at 6 pm. While Australian men were away fighting it was seen as morally corrupt for those at home to spend their evenings in public houses. In addition, there were concerns that extended hotel opening hours kept men from their families and caused them to squander household money.

• Instead of encouraging moderate drinking habits, the early closing time led to what became known as the ‘six o’clock swill’ in which men rushed to pubs after work and often drank too much, on empty stomachs and in a short period of time. As this clip dramatically depicts, pubs became frantic during the final hour before last drinks were served. Criminals catered for further drinking in ‘sly-grog shops’ when the hotels had closed.

• The clip opens with a roaming pan by the camera of a long bar, characteristic of hotels of the time. In 1938 the Working Men’s Club in Mildura built a bar 90 m long, listed in The Guinness Book of Records as the longest bar in the world. The importance of the long bar becomes apparent in this scene as the bar staff struggle to serve a large crowd in a short period of time.

• As 6 pm approaches, the tone of mounting tension and urgency is supported by an increasing dissociation of sound and image and a series of shots focusing on the faces and extended hands of the increasingly desperate customers.

• The lowly position of barmaids is suggested in the bar exchange in which a customer criticises Caddie for being too slow in serving him, saying: ‘I bet you’d be a damn sight quicker on the bloody pick-up’. The use of the term ‘pick-up’ may be a reference to prostitution. After another man says he should apologise, he replies ‘Why, she’s only a bloody barmaid …’

• The clip juxtaposes Caddie’s reality and her aspirations by contrasting the loud and aggressive scene in the bar with the recalled scene in the tea-house. Whereas the bar scene emphasises the urgency of the situation, everything about the tea-house is leisured. The slow camera movements, measured dance music and lingering eye contact between Caddie and her future husband hint at a level of gentility impossible in the pub.

• Lighting, editing and dialogue are used to contrast and link the bar and tea-house scenes. The bar scene is shot in brown tones while the tea-house scene is lit with soft blue tones. There is dramatic contrast when, in the tea-house, Caddie asks ‘Can I help you, sir?’ and the scene immediately reverts to the bar and the crass response ‘For Christ’s sake, hurry up will ya love?’

• Australian authors Dymphna Cusack (1902–81) and Florence James (1904–93), who co-authored Come in Spinner (1951), which also dealt with poverty, discrimination, abortion and death, encouraged their housekeeper to write Caddie: A Sydney Barmaid, a memoir about her experiences as a barmaid and sole parent of two in Sydney.

• Helen Morse won both the AFI Award for Best Actress in a Lead Role and the San Sebastiàn Award for Best Actress in 1976 for her performance in Caddie. She had earlier acted with Jacki Weaver, who appears as Josie in Caddie, in Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), and with another star of Caddie, Jack Thompson, in Peterson (1974).

This clip starts approximately 20 minutes into the feature.

The clock shows 5.45 pm in a noisy, crowded bar where the bar staff are very busy serving customers. An old man approaches the side of the bar, attempting to jump the queue.
Old man Oh, come on, cobber – a couple of beers.
The publican tells him to go to the front of the bar and wait in line. At the front of the bar working-class men jostle each other and harass the staff. Caddie is rushing around, pulling beers and collecting money.
Insistent man Come on Josie. Josie, here love, Josie. Hey, never mind about him, love! Josie, come on Josie… Josie! Come on.
He looks anxiously at the clock which now shows 5.50 pm. A man wearing a hat holds his empty glass up to Caddie.
Man 1 Hurry up, love. I’m as dry as a vulture’s crack.
Caddie looks down.

Slow music begins and Caddie has a flashback to her waitressing days. A well-dressed gentleman approaches her and smiles.
Caddie Can I help you, sir?

Caddie’s attention is pulled back to the present by the man in the hat speaking loudly to her.
Man 1 For Chrissake, hurry up will ya, love?
Carrie looks at him and sighs.

Her mind returns to the scene in the restaurant. She and another waitress approach the gentleman. The other waitress is smiling broadly at the gentleman but he speaks directly to Caddie.
Gentleman Hello there.
Caddie And what would you like today, sir?

Caddie’s attention is pulled back to the present by the man in the hat again.
Man 1 Bet you’d be a damn sight quicker in a bloody pick-up.
Man 2 Hey, you apologise to the lady.
Man 1 Why? She’s only a bloody barmaid. Anyway, what’s it got to do with you, ya mongrel?
The man in the hat begins elbowing the other man and a fight breaks out. Another man takes advantage of the space created in front of the bar to push his way through.
Man 3 And a beer thanks, love!
Insistent man Strike me, d’you see that?

Customers continue to compete for the bar staff’s attention. Caddie appears a little distressed. Men scull their beer, causing one man to throw up immediately afterward. Caddie and another barmaid look at each other in disgust. At 6.00 pm the publican announces that the pub is closing.
Publican Alright, beer’s off. Time, gentlemen, please! Grab your glasses, please. Come on, time’s up! Time, gentlemen, please! Time, gentlemen, please!
The sound in the bar begins to subside as men leave. Caddie puts her hands on her hips and her head down, clearly exhausted.