The Getting of Wisdom (film)

Laura Rambotham is sent to attend boarding school in Melbourne, Australia at the turn of the century. During her second year she tells everyone about a made-up romance between herself and the school's minister, Reverend Shepherd. She forms an attachment with an older student in her music class, Evelyn. When Evelyn leaves, Laura throws herself into her studies and wins the school literary and music prizes. ==Cast==

• Susannah Fowle as Laura Tweedle Rambotham • Hilary Ryan as Evelyn • Terence Donovan as Tom McNamara • Patricia Kennedy as Miss Chapman • Sheila Helpmann as Mrs. Gurley • Candy Raymond as Miss Zielinski • Barry Humphries as Rev. Strachey • John Waters as Rev. Shepherd • Julia Blake as Isabella Shepherd • Diana Greentree as Maisie Shepherd • Monica Maughan as Miss Day • Dorothy Bradley as Miss Hicks • Kay Eklund as Mrs. Rambotham • Maggie Kirkpatrick as Sarah • Phillip Adams, cameo role as mathematics teacher • Kerry Armstrong as Kate, one of the worldly-wise students • Sigrid Thornton as Maria, one of the worldly-wise students • Noni Hazelhurst • Celia De Burgh as M.P. • Kim Deacon as Lilith • Alix Longman as Annie Johns, nicknamed Chinky • Jo-Anne Moore as Tilly • Amanda Ring as Cupid • Janet Shaw as Bertha • Karen Sutton as Pin, Laura's sister ==Production==

Bruce Beresford wanted to make the film after The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972) and tried to get finance from Reg Grundy. Grundy said he would think about it if Beresford made a McKenzie sequel. Beresford made Barry McKenzie Holds His Own (1974) but Grundy declined to make Wisdom. The film was the first production from the newly formed Victorian Film Corporation, which provided $100,000 with additional funding from the Australian Film Commission and the Nine Network. Six thousand girls were interviewed for the school pupil roles. It was shot at Methodist Ladies' College and in the town of Eddington in January and February 1977. ==Release==

The Getting of Wisdom was released in Australia on 5 August 1977 and on 3 August 1980 in the United States. ==Box office==

The Getting of Wisdom grossed $982,000 at the box office in Australia, which is equivalent to $7,013,600 in 2026 dollars. ==Reception==

Richard Freedman of The Star-Ledger called it a "quietly powerful film" which is "superbly acted by all involved, and directed with the utmost sensitivity." Freedman also noted that the film "is slow-paced, in the Australian fashion, but for all its hermetic Victorian atmosphere it packs more authentic emotional punch than many a flashier, splashier movie." John Furcolow of the Lexington Herald-Leader wrote: "The Getting of Wisdom is another in what has fast become a long line of high-quality films from Australia that have appeared in this country the last three or four years ... The result is not a great film, but a good solid piece of dramatic entertainment. The newness and the fresh point of view of Australian films has begun to wear off, leaving these stories standing on their own as films. The Getting of Wisdom is on sturdy ground indeed." ==Awards==

The Getting of Wisdom was nominated for five AFI Awards in 1978 and won in the Best Adapted Screenplay (Eleanor Witcombe) category. ==See also==