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Clip description
Lila (Robyn Nevin) and her husband George (Peter Whitford) rush to the train station. Logan (John Hargreaves) is leaving town, without signing the papers which would allow them to adopt his son, PS. Logan is drunk, along with Lila’s sister Vere (Geraldine Turner). He assures Lila that he will sign the adoption papers, but refuses her plea not to get on the train. Logan is in full flight, waltzing down the platform and kissing Lila goodbye, when George knocks him to the ground. Logan has no idea why. He jumps on the train and waves goodbye.
Curator’s notes
Even though he only has a few scenes, John Hargreaves plays a pivotal role in the story and creates a memorable character from the hopeless, unreliable but lovable Logan. This is one of the best screen appearances by one of the most gifted Australian actors of his generation. John Hargreaves died in 1996 at the age of 50, from AIDS.
Logan is a classic no-hoper. He dreams of striking it rich prospecting for gold, he abandoned his own son after the death of the boy’s mother in childbirth, and now he is leaving without signing the adoption papers. George hits him because that is all he can think to do; he is leaving Lila and George vulnerable and PS’s future undecided. It is the Great Depression, George is out of work, and Vanessa has a lot of money. She can fight them in court and take custody of the boy. Logan is their last hope and he is drunk and disorderly. The scene has an almost unbearable intensity and sadness, which culminates in Lila’s desperate call after the departing train: ‘Do something!’. The re-creation of Sydney’s Central Station in the era of steam is superbly done.
The character of Logan is one of a long line of Australian men who are unreliable and susceptible to alcohol, yet basically decent. Another is Macauley, the character that Peter Finch plays in the original movie version of The Shiralee (1957). Robert Mitchum also played someone like that in The Sundowners (1960). All three characters were the work of writers who lived through the Depression in Australia, but there are similar characters in movies set in later periods. It is an Australian archetype.
Generally, this kind of man is incapable of long-term relationships, uncomfortable in the company of women, except when drunk, and unreliable in the care of children. The stereotype predates even the movie depictions. Similar characters exist in Australia literature of the 19th century. PS is growing up surrounded mostly by women; Logan is the rude intrusion of a masculine force in his development. Even though he’s no good, he does some good for the boy.
