Stingaree is an American pre-Code romantic drama film directed by William A. Wellman released by RKO Radio Pictures in 1934. The film was based on a 1905 novel by Ernest William Hornung. Set in Australia, it stars Irene Dunne as Hilda Bouverie and Richard Dix as Stingaree. Hollywood had previously filmed the Hornung story as serials in 1915 and 1917, starring True Boardman.
Theatrical release poster
William Augustus Wellman was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and military pilot. He was known for his work in crime, adventure, and action genre films, often focusing on aviation themes, a particular passion. He also directed several well-regarded satirical comedies. His 1927 film, Wings, was the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture at the 1st Academy Awards ceremony.
Wellman filming The High and the Mighty (1954)
Wellman and Celia, his Nieuport 24 fighter, c. 1917 (one of several aircraft named for his mother)
Wellman in a captured German Rumpler (image from his 1918 account Go Get Em!...)
Wellman as a flight instructor at Rockwell Field, 1919