Main Cast: Susannah Fowle, Barry Humphries, John Waters, Sheila Helpmann, Patricia Kennedy
Release Year: 1977
Country: AU
Run Time: 100 minutes
Plot
The suffocating repressiveness of the Victorian era is superbly realized by director Bruce Beresford in The Getting of Wisdom. Thirteen-year-old Laura (Susannah Fowle), an incorrigible free spirit from the Australian outback, is enrolled in a prestigious girl's boarding school. The indoctrination process is a rough one, and Laura very nearly loses her individuality and sense of self-worth. When she does mature, however, it is on her terms, and not the school's. Intriguingly, The Getting of Wisdom is based on the reminiscences of a 19th-century female writer who used the pen name of Henry Handel Richardson. Despite its somber dramatic overtones, the film contains moments of uninhibited humor, a trademark of director Beresford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Julia Blake - Isabella Shepherd; Dorothy Bradley - Miss Hicks; Kay Eklund - Mrs. Rambotham; Max Fairchild - Mr. O'Donnell; Jan Friedl - Miss Snodgrass; Diana Greentree - Maisie Shepherd; Monica Maughan - Miss Day; Candy Raymond - Miss Zielinski; Terence Donovan - Tom Macnamara; Celia Deburgh; Jo-Anne Moore; Amanda Ring; Karen Sutton; Kerry Armstrong; Stephanie Blake; Maggie Kirkpatrick - Sarah, Mrs. Rambotham's companion; Alix Longman; Gerda Nicolson; Hilary Ryan - Evelyn; Janet Shaw; Sigrid Thornton - Maria; Richard Butler; Kim Deacon - Lilith
Credit
Rick Kent - Art Director, Anna Senior - Costume Designer, Moya Iceton - Continuity, Michael Lake - First Assistant Director, Bruce Beresford - Director, William M. Anderson - Editor, Gale Tattersall - Camera Operator, John Stoddart - Production Designer, Donald M. McAlpine - Cinematographer, Phil Adams - Producer, Gary Wilkins - Sound/Sound Designer, Desmond Bone - Sound/Sound Designer, Eleanor Witcombe - Screenwriter, Moya Iceton - Screenwriter, Arthur Sullivan - Featured Music, Henry Handel Richardson - Book Author
