Mary Brand (Constance Graham), the young housekeeper at old Black's station, becomes the wife of Joe Wilson (Arthur Tauchert), the painter. The couple take up farming, but Joe leaves on a business visit to Sydney, and becomes entangled in the affairs of his sister-in-law Barbara (Marie Lorraine), who has been instrumental in the destruction of a dress belonging to her employers. Joe pays for the dress and takes Barbara back to the bush.
Barbara reconciles with Harry Black, old Black's son, who has lately ended an unhappy marriage. Barbara and Harry fall in love.[4]
Action sequences include a bushfire and a ball in the city.
The movie was the film debut of Marie Lorraine, one of the famous McDonagh sisters. It was shot in June 1924 on location in the Burragorang Valley near Sydney, with interiors at the Rushcutter's Bay studio of Australasian Films. The ball scene was shot at the Ambassador's Dance Palais over a one-day 14-hour shoot.[5]
The film was known before production as When the World Was Wide[6] and was shot in the under the title Plain Joe.[7]
Reception
The film received better reviews than most of Smith's work and was reportedly a box office success.[5][8][9]
^"THE WEEK'S PICTURES". Evening News. No. 17838. New South Wales, Australia. 21 August 1924. p. 12. Retrieved 3 December 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^"THE WEEK'S PICTURES". Evening News. No. 17814. New South Wales, Australia. 24 July 1924. p. 12. Retrieved 3 December 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^"LAST NIGHT'S PICTURES". The Sunday Times. No. 2012. New South Wales, Australia. 24 August 1924. p. 20. Retrieved 3 December 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^"AUSTRALIAN PICTURE". The Newcastle Sun. No. 2023. New South Wales, Australia. 20 September 1924. p. 7. Retrieved 3 December 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
