Australian
Screen

Clip description

Jack and Jimmy have discovered the gang’s secret city hide-out. Gang boss Bill Warne (Billy Ryan) escapes, pursued by Jack (Snowy Baker). They both commandeer horses as Warne heads to the boatshed where his men guard a cache of arms and explosives. Jack and Warne exchange pistol shots until Jack runs out of ammunition. As Warne runs, the athletic Jack brings him down with a flying tackle.

Note: The original aspect ratio is 1.33:1 (Academy full frame). The print of The Enemy Within obtained by the NFSA had been incorrectly duplicated at an 1.37:1 (Academy) ratio, which has cut approximately 3 mm off the top and left-hand side off the frame.

Curator’s notes

Snowy Baker’s vigour was his fame and fortune, right up till the outbreak of war. He had excelled in countless sports, including all of those we see here – riding, shooting and rugby football. When he decided in 1917 that he wanted to become a movie star, he had one major problem. He had been declared medically unfit to serve in the army on three separate occasions, the last only a few months before he made this movie. He had sustained spinal and stomach injuries in a car accident in March 1915. His failure to enlist had been controversial and his movie career was partly intended to rehabilitate his reputation (see main curator’s notes). His injuries appear to have healed remarkably well by the time the movie was made, because the stunts are very physical, as we see here. The action sequences are well executed and lengthy, which may account for much of the film’s success.