


He deplored the presentation abroad of such films as On Our Selection, Harmony Row, The Sentimental Bloke, and The Squatter's Daughter, in all of which there was at least one imbecile or half-wit.

Thwaites was no fan of the Australian film industry. In the late 1960s Thwaites was financing and managing housing projects. His great-grandfather was Frederick Jenkins, who started Buckinbong Station. Much of his work was set in the Riverina region. Thwaites was married to actor Jessica Harcourt from 1938 until his death and together they had two sons. In late 1954 Thwaites set up a company in England, Harcourt Press, to publish his books there. Thwaites was one of the most popular Australian authors of the 1940s and 1950s, with many of his works being adapted for radio. They ended to stay in England for three years but World War II saw them return to Australia after by the end of 1939. In 1938, Thwaites and his wife left for England via the Pacific Islands and Panama Canal, researching material for novels.

During this time he met Jessica Harcourt, who became his wife. In May 1937 Thwaites joined Adelaide radio station 5KA as production manager. In 1936 he founded his own publishing firm. On his return to Australia in late 1933, Thwaites then toured the country looking for manuscripts to publish. He later estimated this cost him £15,000. I failed to do that, and I have no doubt it cost me the loss of the three pictures, for the picture folk only make pictures of stories that have been out twelve months on the American market and are protected, whereas my stories were open for any American publisher to copy without paying a cent. It is absolutely essential that after publication of a book in Australia and before three months has passed it has been copyrighted in Washington. I spent four months in Hollywood but had bad luck with my novels because of copyright laws.
#Wings of lunacy trove movie#
He spent several months there, and several months in Hollywood, attempting to sell his work to movie producers. In February 1933 Thwaites left for England to write screen scenarios for Elstree Studios. He wrote The Broken Melody when he was 19 it was originally self-published but eventually became a best seller, selling 55,000 copies in Australia and 25,000 in England. Born in the inner Sydney suburb of Balmain, Thwaites left school at the age of 13 and originally worked in the clothing industry.
