The Devil's Playground is a 1928 Australian feature-length film set in the South Seas.
[3] Scenes were shot on beaches near Sydney and interiors in the Mosman Town Hall.
[4] Cast member Elza Stenning married sculptor Lyndon Dadswell in 1930; she had a small part in F. W. Thring's Harmony Row then became an opera star; they divorced in 1939.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald at the time, "The Commonwealth censorship regulations specify the following heads under which a film may be condemned: (a) Blasphemy, indecency, or obscenity; (b) likely to be injurious to morality, or to encourage or incite to crime; (c) likely to be offensive to the people of any friendly nation; (d) likely to be offensive to the people of the British Empire; (e) depiction of any matter the exhibition of which is undesirable in the public interest, or likely to prove detrimental or prejudicial to the Commonwealth.
[6] More specifically, relating to (e), the Controller General of Custmos O'Reilly thought that showing ill-treatment of natives by Australians or a native revolt in Australian territory (the Trobriand Islands) would be detrimental to Australia's reputation.