Release Box Office According to RKO records, the film lost the studio $49,000. Critical reception In 1934, Mordaunt Hall's review in The New York Times called the film "nicely done" and said that its "impossible happenings are highly entertaining." He went on to say that "Miss Dunne gives a charming performance and she sings several songs very agreeably." The Los Angeles Times called it "impossible but interesting." The film received mixed reviews in Australia. Released during preparations for the centennial celebration in Melbourne, it was described by one local paper as a "pleasant trifle" while another found it "hard to swallow" with its plot being "a little too improbable for anyone, let alone an Australian audience." It screened in Australia in every state except New South Wales where there was a ban on bushranger films. Preservation status and release on home video In 1946, Stingaree, in addition to several other films, were sold out of the RKO library to producer Merian C. Cooper. On April 4 and April 11, 2007, Turner Classic Movies premiered films produced by Cooper at RKO but out of distribution for more than 50 years. According to TCM host Robert Osborne, Cooper agreed to a legal settlement with RKO in 1946, after accusing RKO of not giving him all the money due him from his RKO producer's contract in the 1930s. The settlement gave Cooper complete ownership of several RKO titles, including Rafter Romance (1933) with Ginger Rogers, Double Harness (1933), The Right to Romance (1933), One Man's Journey (1933) with Lionel Barrymore, Living on Love (1937), and A Man to Remember (1938). According to an interview with a retired RKO executive, used as a promo on TCM for the premiere, Cooper allowed these films to be shown in 1955–1956 in a limited re-release and only in New York City. Turner Entertainment purchased the rights to Stingaree, Turner Classic Movies remastered and released the films on DVD as part of their Lost RKO Collection. Until the rights were purchased by Turner and released on DVD, Stingaree had not been seen since a single television viewing in the late 1950s. References External links 1934 films American romantic drama films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films Films about opera Films directed by William A. Wellman Films scored by Max Steiner Films set in colonial Australia RKO Pictures films Bushranger films Films based on Australian novels 1934 romantic drama