THE FILMMAKERS The McDonagh Sisters

Throughout the 1920s, three sisters dominated the Australian film scene. The phenomenal filmmaking team of Isabel, Phyllis, and Paulette McDonagh reigned supreme as the undisputed Queens of Silent Cinema… until the talkies arrived to turn everything upside down.

Our guest Mandy Sayer, award-winning author of Those Dashing McDonagh Sisters, reveals the hidden history of the remarkable women whose lives were every bit as dramatic (and every bit as complicated) as any Hollywood film.

You’ll find more information, lots of incredible images, and restored footage from some of the McDonaghs’ films at the website of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.

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Mandy Sayer is an award-winning novelist and narrative non-fiction writer. Her honours include the Vogel Award (Mood Indigo), the National Biography Award, and the Australian Audio Book of the Year (Dreamtime Alice: A Memoir); the South Australian Premier’s Award for Non-Fiction, and The Age Book of the Year for Non-fiction (Velocity: A Memoir); and the Davitt Award for Young Adult Fiction (The Night has a Thousand Eyes). In 2021, she was the recipient of the Hazel Rowley Literary Fellowship, which supported her research and writing of Those Dashing McDonagh Sisters: Australia’s First Female Filmmaking Team, published 2022. She lives in Sydney with her husband, playwright and author, Louis Nowra.

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Music featured in this episode included:

Debussy’s Nocturnes – Amanda Setlik Wilson

“Darktown Strutters Ball,” “Swipesy Cakewalk,” “The Cascades,” and “The Easy Winners” – E’s Jammy Jams

Josef Suk’s Serenade for Strings in E flat major – A Far Cry

“Amazing Plan,” “Fig Leaf Rag” and “Breaktime” by Kevin MacLeod

“Bridal Chorus” from Lohengrin – Arthur Pryor’s Band

“Yessir, That’s My Baby” – Ray Tellier’s San Francisco Orchestra

“If I Only Had You” – Ted Weems & His Orchestra

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