The Cheaters
A suspenseful silent-era melodrama made by Australia’s pioneering female filmmakers, the McDonagh sisters.
One of Australia’s major surviving silent films, THE CHEATERS was made by the McDonagh sisters, the first women to own and operate a production company in this country. Their third feature is a suspenseful melodrama inspired by popular American and German films of the 1920s. Isabel McDonagh (billed as Marie Lorraine) plays Paula Marsh, a professional thief who falls in love with the adopted son of Travers, a wealthy business owner. Paula is ready to quit the criminal life, but her crime boss father needs her for one more job – and it involves stealing from Travers. The NFSA restored THE CHEATERS in 2017, with segments of colour tinting reproduced from the existing reels.
McDonagh Productions.