In a now independent far off outpost of Empire, there is a tendency of elevating the mediocrity. The important thing to show was that it was local. What I don’t understand is the point of remembering such excursions years later. Unless the point is to not try this again. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
The interesting thing about this stamp aesthetically is something that this stamp does not include. As printed there was a tab with a scratch and win label. It was part of a contest. The contest of course is long over but if the stamp still has the unscratched tab attached, the value of this stamp rises 30 cents. Underwhelming right after over 20 years of controlling your curiosity.
Todays stamp is issue A415, an 80 cent stamp issued by New Zealand on August 7th, 1996. It was a four stamp issue in various denominations remembering examples of local film making. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth $1.10 whether used or unused.
Broken Barrier was a film made in New Zealand in 1952. It is the story of a young white male reporter who falls for a young Maori girl while writing a story about rural Maori life. The couple have trouble with her family and then later after she moves to the city with his family. The couple listens to their families, break off their relationship and resolve instead to marry their own kind. That way they can be a part of building their respective communities instead of tearing them apart. I kid of course, the plot is exactly what you would expect.
Even the poster looks dreary. There did seem room in the movie budget for hair gel.
The barrier broken was that it was the only film produced in New Zealand between 1940 and 1964. With so little going on in filmmaking there really were some barriers. This was director John O’Shea’s first credit. It was also the first acting credit for male lead Terence Bayler though he had a later career in the UK that included “Dr. Who” “Monte Python, The Life of Brian”, and “Harry Potter”. He died in 2016. The Maori female lead Kay Ngarimu, is still alive but this was her only acting credit. The film was not released widely outside New Zealand.
Even basic filmmaking proved impossible for this no experience crew working with a tiny budget. Mr. Bayler remembers making 6 Pounds a week on the set. There is no dialog between characters, instead relying on voice overs. This was not a creative decision of Mr. O’Shea, but a reality forced by the shoestring filming style. It is no wonder there was not another film in New Zealand for another 12 years.
Well my drink is empty and I am afraid this does not seem a good movie for a rainy day. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.