THE BEST OF OLIVE
THE SEVENTY SIXTH POST
Mike
Dear Friends of Olive, Things are a still in a state of flux with us.
I think about our old dear friend quite a lot, especially when we are near Woy Woy where she used to live. There is such a big hole in our lives.
So, it’s been hard to work up the energy to do what I really should do, which is to go through all the video tapes of her which I’ve never shown you.
I do have many, many hours but the sorting the editing and posting have been unface-able .
So, in the meantime, I’m going to comb through the video collection already posted and draw your attention to my favorites.
The first of Olive dancing is a clip from her movie, All about Olive.
She was about 104 at this time. We’d made it back to Broken Hill where she was born in 1899.
I had in hand a list of her great stories which I was somehow going to bring to life in their original locations.
Now, Olive loved going dancing, foxtrot, waltzes, it was all food for her dancing feet .
Now, here was the challenge, how to evoke that era in Broken hill?
We had the very hall where the Saturday dances were held. But then, what?
I felt she was too wobbly on her old ‘pins’ to get up, and so I had a special rolling chair made by a local handyman.
The chair was high enough for Ollie to lock arms with the handsome young man we found for her partner.
But while the idea was good, it was not a huge success, too easy, and Ollie sensed that.
Trooper that she was, she decided to do what had to be done. Here’s the result
………………..
………………
Now Ollie claimed that she couldn’t sing anymore. And yet when Christine Sainsbury wandered into her room on Thursdays with a guitar, the result was often magical
………………
…………….
For some reason, if I count the viewers, I see that you’ve especially loved the clip when Ollie talks about using an old iron.
This clip too was shot in Broken Hill when we did All About Olive, but it never made it into the film.
The clip ends with Ollie doing a bit of play acting.
She’s greeting the local kid we’d chosen to play Barnie, her son, who would have been about 8 at the time.
The real Barnie was still alive, then 86 years old
Olive falls right into the play acting with the shy boy who doesn’t quite understand what’s going on.
………………….
…………………
When I first proposed the film to the ABC, our national broadcaster, I made a radical suggestion, I’d get Olive to improvise, creating revealing moments through play acting that would illuminate her character and life.
For some reason the TV people were horrified and said, “Unless you drop that crazy idea, we won’t fund the film.”
“It’s only an experiment,” I protested, “and if it doesn’t work, it’ll end up on the cutting room floor.”
But there was no overcoming their anxiety. I had to swear I’d do no improvisations.
I broke that silly promise in the course of the shoot. I don’t like being bossed around like that.
After all, it did not mean I was going over budget and it was no skin of anyone’s nose except mine.
As it happened, few improvs ended up in the film. But later, we did quite a few. Ollie loved play acting.
The one I like best happened at Cissie Godfrey’s place.
Cissie had just turned 101, and in the scene we played, she was resolved to run off to London with Francis Sutton.
Both she and Francis had been there independently in the thirties and, reminiscing about wonderful Hampstead Heath where they’d so enjoyed walking, had decided to go back
Cissie really did want to run away with Francis, I’m convinced of that even if it was impossible, and so was hot for the improv.
As for Francis, he was wary of the game. At 95, liasons can be dangerous
…………………………
……………………
Olive, was I think, a bit jealous of this love affair and fell right into the part of Cissie’s bossy older sister.
There was no script. Improvs work when they cut close to the bone
…………….
…………………
Olive liked rude stories though I was never allowed to put them in the blog. A certain amount of toilet humor was just fine, though.
Our genteel Mrs Riley had no qualms about telling of the girl friend who peed on some fish.
This was after the girls had rented a rowing boat on the Hawkesbury river, put a hole in it, fled the scene, and hitched a lift in a horse and card.
………………………….
………………………
Apropos of crudity, Katya and I set out to walk to Francis Sutton’s place two weekends ago, going along our lovely coast.
That’s the same Francis who was to off to London with Cissie.
On the way, we stopped to talk to a fellow fixing up a shack by the sea.
He was renovating alone, he said, because he couldn’t find any tradesmen to help. I sympathized .
Then, this bloke came out with an expression that Ollie would’ve loved, and in fact I’m sure she knew it.
The fella said, “Yeah, you just try and get a carpenter around ‘ere. mate, they’re as rare as rocking horse poo.”
Rare as rocking horse poo! What a beauty, Ollie!
Playfulness was very much part of our blog life together, Ollie and I.
For instance, I thought she should sing in a nice hat and, with her half hearted permission, I went looking for one. Something suitable for a lady of refinement.
I found this rather nice green felt hat in St Vinnie’s, an op-shop sort of place, and only $5.
“Oh, la de Da!” said olive
Ollie insisted on paying for it as usual. (It was very hard to give her presents)
Later, when the hat got global recognition, I went back to the op-shop to see if they knew who ‘d owned it before. You can find out almost anything if you try hard enough, you know.
I thought the previous owner might like to know what’d happened to her green hat and perhaps she could come and visit Ollie.
Sadly, I couldn’t find out. Anyway, here’s Ollie in the green hat.
Didn’t they write great songs in those days?
…………….
……………….
By her 108th birthday, Ollie was becoming world famous. Here’s a clip from ABC news about her party.
I wish more Australians had found out about her blog while she was alive.
……………….
………………….
It will be for her story telling that we’ll best remember Ollie, I suspect.
How did she do it? Well, her great memory which allowed her to bring in long past dialog, was a big help.
Also, she wove herself in and out of the stories in funny ways, often bringing out her own naughtiness.
Lastly, the stories often told you a lot about the times, the long ago times, when she was a girl
Here, Olive starts talking about a young man who got her sister pregnant and who, facing a father’s wrath, had to do ‘the right thing.’
This story moves onto how she hid an illegitimate child, Billy, from the adoption agency.
Her audience here is some Broken Hill teenagers who’d been recruited to play Ollie’s brothers and sisters in recreations for the movie.
This is another clip which never made it into the final film.
…………….
……………
Ollie’s message to us all is simple. Stay interested, stay engaged.
I just loved the fact that she took an interest in the huge wind farm supposed to be built near her beloved Broken Hill by the German Australian company, Epuron
Imagine that! You’re 108, you can hardly see, even getting to the toilet is a battle.
On many days you eat nothing and yet, despite all that, you care about renewable energy.
Tell me that’s not a lesson for us all!
………………
……………….
So, pack up your troubles folks. They don’t amount to a bag of beans!
……………….
……………………..
More of Ollie’s best moments to come, I promise, and new stuff too when I get around to it.
By the way, for her fans in the US, could you perhaps give your local PBS station and suggest they run Ollie’s film, All About Olive.
It lasts just under an hour and was a hit on Aussie TV.
If they want to know why, tell them to google her name and note the 2 million plus citations which come up.
Get them reading her posts and falling for her charm. A drop of Riley proves strangely addictive many say.
Or they can drop me a note . rubbo@aapt.net.au
With her millions of US fans, it could be a good move for PBS
Did I mention that I gave her a co direction credit since she more or less took over at various points?
Olive Riley, world’s movie oldest director. In the clip below there’s some scenes from the movie..
…………..
…………………
Dear Friends of Olive, Things are a still in a state of flux with us.
I think about our old dear friend quite a lot, especially when we are near Woy Woy where she used to live. There is such a big hole in our lives.
So, it’s been hard to work up the energy to do what I really should do, which is to go through all the video tapes of her which I’ve never shown you.
I do have many, many hours but the sorting the editing and posting have been unface-able .
So, in the meantime, I’m going to comb through the video collection already posted and draw your attention to my favorites.
The first of Olive dancing is a clip from her movie, All about Olive.
She was about 104 at this time. We’d made it back to Broken Hill where she was born in 1899.
I had in hand a list of her great stories which I was somehow going to bring to life in their original locations.
Now, Olive loved going dancing, foxtrot, waltzes, it was all food for her dancing feet .
Now, here was the challenge, how to evoke that era in Broken hill?
We had the very hall where the Saturday dances were held. But then, what?
I felt she was too wobbly on her old ‘pins’ to get up, and so I had a special rolling chair made by a local handyman.
The chair was high enough for Ollie to lock arms with the handsome young man we found for her partner.
But while the idea was good, it was not a huge success, too easy, and Ollie sensed that.
Trooper that she was, she decided to do what had to be done. Here’s the result
………………..
………………
Now Ollie claimed that she couldn’t sing anymore. And yet when Christine Sainsbury wandered into her room on Thursdays with a guitar, the result was often magical
………………
…………….
For some reason, if I count the viewers, I see that you’ve especially loved the clip when Ollie talks about using an old iron.
This clip too was shot in Broken Hill when we did All About Olive, but it never made it into the film.
The clip ends with Ollie doing a bit of play acting.
She’s greeting the local kid we’d chosen to play Barnie, her son, who would have been about 8 at the time.
The real Barnie was still alive, then 86 years old
Olive falls right into the play acting with the shy boy who doesn’t quite understand what’s going on.
………………….
…………………
When I first proposed the film to the ABC, our national broadcaster, I made a radical suggestion, I’d get Olive to improvise, creating revealing moments through play acting that would illuminate her character and life.
For some reason the TV people were horrified and said, “Unless you drop that crazy idea, we won’t fund the film.”
“It’s only an experiment,” I protested, “and if it doesn’t work, it’ll end up on the cutting room floor.”
But there was no overcoming their anxiety. I had to swear I’d do no improvisations.
I broke that silly promise in the course of the shoot. I don’t like being bossed around like that.
After all, it did not mean I was going over budget and it was no skin of anyone’s nose except mine.
As it happened, few improvs ended up in the film. But later, we did quite a few. Ollie loved play acting.
The one I like best happened at Cissie Godfrey’s place.
Cissie had just turned 101, and in the scene we played, she was resolved to run off to London with Francis Sutton.
Both she and Francis had been there independently in the thirties and, reminiscing about wonderful Hampstead Heath where they’d so enjoyed walking, had decided to go back
Cissie really did want to run away with Francis, I’m convinced of that even if it was impossible, and so was hot for the improv.
As for Francis, he was wary of the game. At 95, liasons can be dangerous
…………………………
……………………
Olive, was I think, a bit jealous of this love affair and fell right into the part of Cissie’s bossy older sister.
There was no script. Improvs work when they cut close to the bone
…………….
…………………
Olive liked rude stories though I was never allowed to put them in the blog. A certain amount of toilet humor was just fine, though.
Our genteel Mrs Riley had no qualms about telling of the girl friend who peed on some fish.
This was after the girls had rented a rowing boat on the Hawkesbury river, put a hole in it, fled the scene, and hitched a lift in a horse and card.
………………………….
………………………
Apropos of crudity, Katya and I set out to walk to Francis Sutton’s place two weekends ago, going along our lovely coast.
That’s the same Francis who was to off to London with Cissie.
On the way, we stopped to talk to a fellow fixing up a shack by the sea.
He was renovating alone, he said, because he couldn’t find any tradesmen to help. I sympathized .
Then, this bloke came out with an expression that Ollie would’ve loved, and in fact I’m sure she knew it.
The fella said, “Yeah, you just try and get a carpenter around ‘ere. mate, they’re as rare as rocking horse poo.”
Rare as rocking horse poo! What a beauty, Ollie!
Playfulness was very much part of our blog life together, Ollie and I.
For instance, I thought she should sing in a nice hat and, with her half hearted permission, I went looking for one. Something suitable for a lady of refinement.
I found this rather nice green felt hat in St Vinnie’s, an op-shop sort of place, and only $5.
“Oh, la de Da!” said olive
Ollie insisted on paying for it as usual. (It was very hard to give her presents)
Later, when the hat got global recognition, I went back to the op-shop to see if they knew who ‘d owned it before. You can find out almost anything if you try hard enough, you know.
I thought the previous owner might like to know what’d happened to her green hat and perhaps she could come and visit Ollie.
Sadly, I couldn’t find out. Anyway, here’s Ollie in the green hat.
Didn’t they write great songs in those days?
…………….
……………….
By her 108th birthday, Ollie was becoming world famous. Here’s a clip from ABC news about her party.
I wish more Australians had found out about her blog while she was alive.
……………….
………………….
It will be for her story telling that we’ll best remember Ollie, I suspect.
How did she do it? Well, her great memory which allowed her to bring in long past dialog, was a big help.
Also, she wove herself in and out of the stories in funny ways, often bringing out her own naughtiness.
Lastly, the stories often told you a lot about the times, the long ago times, when she was a girl
Here, Olive starts talking about a young man who got her sister pregnant and who, facing a father’s wrath, had to do ‘the right thing.’
This story moves onto how she hid an illegitimate child, Billy, from the adoption agency.
Her audience here is some Broken Hill teenagers who’d been recruited to play Ollie’s brothers and sisters in recreations for the movie.
This is another clip which never made it into the final film.
…………….
……………
Ollie’s message to us all is simple. Stay interested, stay engaged.
I just loved the fact that she took an interest in the huge wind farm supposed to be built near her beloved Broken Hill by the German Australian company, Epuron
Imagine that! You’re 108, you can hardly see, even getting to the toilet is a battle.
On many days you eat nothing and yet, despite all that, you care about renewable energy.
Tell me that’s not a lesson for us all!
………………
……………….
So, pack up your troubles folks. They don’t amount to a bag of beans!
……………….
……………………..
More of Ollie’s best moments to come, I promise, and new stuff too when I get around to it.
By the way, for her fans in the US, could you perhaps give your local PBS station and suggest they run Ollie’s film, All About Olive.
It lasts just under an hour and was a hit on Aussie TV.
If they want to know why, tell them to google her name and note the 2 million plus citations which come up.
Get them reading her posts and falling for her charm. A drop of Riley proves strangely addictive many say.
Or they can drop me a note . rubbo@aapt.net.au
With her millions of US fans, it could be a good move for PBS
Did I mention that I gave her a co direction credit since she more or less took over at various points?
Olive Riley, world’s movie oldest director. In the clip below there’s some scenes from the movie..
…………..
…………………
…………………..
……………….
…………………
……………….
Monday, August 11th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
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2 Responses to “THE BEST OF OLIVE”
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August 11th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Marvellous, Mike! Absolutely marvellous! The peeing on the fish story is hysterical.
It’s posts like this that keep Olive close to those that care. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for you to even imagine the prospect of going through all the footage. However, when you’re ready, I know you’ll have a captive audience here.
Sarah
August 12th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Dear Mike,
It’s been more than a month that I visited the webpage. I just read the sad news.
She was such a marvellous person, which im glad to know by her blob. Thank you for putting those stories here. It would be so good to countinue on bloging!:)
Hugs,
Attila