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Clip description
Each in his own way, Skinny Smith (Dinks Paterson) and Spud Murphy (John Cosgrove) prepare for their boxing match. On a hillside above Woolloomooloo, Spud proposes marriage to Sally (Yvonne Pavis), who replies that she isn’t yet ready 'fer double ‘arness’.
Curator’s notes
The first part of the clip shows Skinny Smith working out with an apparently Aboriginal boxing trainer, blending a real-life training routine with the type of physical comedy at which Paterson was skilled. The scene where Sally gently rejects Spud as a marriage partner is acted with subtle restraint, Pavis adding a wistful touch as she asks, 'Yer ain’t crook on me, are yer, Spud?’. A scene that follows this clip has Spud taking the engagement ring Sally has rejected to a pawnbroker. When the pawnbroker says he will phone police to check the ring’s provenance, Spud bolts from the shop.
