# Possum Paddock
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{{short description|1921 film}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Possum Paddock
| image =
| caption =
| director = [Kate Howarde](/source/Kate_Howarde)
[Charles Villiers](/source/Charles_Villiers_(actor))
| producer = Kate Howarde
| writer = Kate Howarde
Charles Villiers
| based_on = play by Kate Howarde
| starring = [John Cosgrove](/source/John_Cosgrove_(actor))
| music =
| cinematography = [Lacey Percival](/source/Lacey_Percival)
| editing =
| studio =
| released = {{Film date|1921|01|29|df=yes|ref1=[{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16885952 |title="Possum Paddock" |newspaper=[The Sydney Morning Herald](/source/The_Sydney_Morning_Herald) |date=29 January 1921 |accessdate=8 April 2012 |page=15 |via=National Library of Australia}}]}}
| runtime = 6,500 feet
| country = Australia
| language = silent
| budget =
}}
'''''Possum Paddock''''' is a 1921 Australian film based on a popular play by [Kate Howarde](/source/Kate_Howarde). It was the first Australian feature film to be directed by a woman.[[https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20090727150800/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/103201/20090728-0108/archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/02/22/howarde.html Ina Bertrand, 'Celebrating Kate Howarde', ''Senses of Cinema'', August 2002]{{cbignore|bot=medic}}] Only portions of it survive today.
==Plot==
Andrew "Dad" McQuade (John Cosgrove), a tough farmer, faces ruin because of a bank loan he cannot repay. He decides to sell a fifty-acre field called 'Possum Paddock' to his greedy neighbour, Dan Martin (James Martin). However, Hugh Bracken (Jack Kirby), who is dating McQuade's daughter, Nancy (Leslie Adrien), sells his car to pay off the old man's debts. He then discovers that a railway is to go through the paddock and is worth a fortune.
==Cast==
*[John Cosgrove](/source/John_Cosgrove_(actor)) as Andrew McQuade
*James Martin as Dan Martin
*Leslie Adrien as Nancy McQuade
*Jack Kirby as Hugh Bracken
*[Kate Howarde](/source/Kate_Howarde)
==Original play==
The play, inspired by the success of ''On Our Selection'',[{{cite magazine|date=30 August 2025|access-date=30 August 2025|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-australian-films-on-our-selection/|title=Forgotten Australian Films: On Our Selection}}] premiered in Sydney in 1919 and was a massive hit, touring for the next ten months. It starred John Cosgrove and Howarde herself, along with [Fred MacDonald](/source/Fred_MacDonald).[{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15853101 |title="Possum Paddock" |newspaper=[The Sydney Morning Herald](/source/The_Sydney_Morning_Herald) |date=8 September 1919 |accessdate=7 April 2012 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}][{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4661291 |title=King's—"Possum Paddock.". |newspaper=[The Argus](/source/The_Argus_(Melbourne)) |location=Melbourne |date=3 November 1919 |accessdate=8 April 2012 |page=8 |via=National Library of Australia}}][{{Cite web|date=1919|title=Possum Paddock / play written, produced and presented by Kate Howarde|url=http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER3713536|access-date=3 October 2020|website=State Library Victoria (Australia)|publisher=Table Talk Print|type=Theatre Programmes Collection}}]
The play was revived a number of times over the years.
==Production==
Howarde made the film in collaboration with actor [Charles Villers](/source/Charles_Villiers_(actor)). The adaptation turned the story into a more serious melodrama rather than a broad comedy.
It was shot at the [Rushcutter's Bay studio](/source/Rushcutter's_Bay_studio) established by [Cosens Spencer](/source/Cosens_Spencer).[Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 103]
==Reception==
Although the film appears to have been commercially successful, Howarde made no further films, preferring to concentrate on her theatre career.