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Clip description
Smiley (Colin Petersen) sings for pennies at Rankin’s Hotel. While the drinkers are distracted, Rankin (John McCallum) takes a package of opium from his safe and sends it off to King Billy in the hands of Jacky, a small Aboriginal boy who’s waiting outside the window. When Sergeant Flaxman (Chips Rafferty) arrives at the hotel, he’s angry that Smiley has been allowed into the bar.
Curator’s notes
The film’s moral panic is well encapsulated in this scene. Is this a harmless bit of fun, or the slippery slope for an innocent boy being introduced to the society of drinkers and drug runners like Rankin? It was illegal for children to enter a public bar in most parts of Australia at this time. Sergeant Flaxman’s reaction to Smiley’s presence, and the moral authority Chips Rafferty brings to lines like ‘this is no place for you’ and ‘go on, on your way’, shows us how seriously he takes this lapse of judgment. It’s unstated, but he may be thinking what the audience already knows – that Smiley’s father is a drunk.
Despite this subtext, the filmmakers also seem to be suggesting Smiley’s escapade is harmless fun. The main bar is shot in an inviting, warm glow and the male patrons are not threatening at all, but smile encouragement at Smiley and join him in singing the chorus. Compare the scene with Rankin fetching the opium, which is shot with the room in partial darkness to accentuate his shadow on the wall and suggest there is something sinister occurring.
The clip also carries a clear message that earning money is not separable from a sense of morality. ‘This is no way to do it’, Flaxman declares, with great moral force. The film has many scenes in which morality is scrutinised and tested. Like most children’s films of the time, a sense of right and wrong is essential to the plot.
