PICTURE SHOW MAN, THE (1977) - CLASSIC CLIP
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THE PICTURE SHOW MAN (1977)
Director John Power; Producer Joan Long. 35 mm, 98 mins.
The film offers a glimpse into the past to the days of the travelling picture showmen
in country NSW, who covered the backroads of the countryside in horse driven trailers and
motor vans to screen films to the country folk who rarely get the chance to see a moving
picture show. John Meillon plays Mr Pym, a travelling picture show operator in the 1920s
along with his son Larry (Harold Hopkins) and pianist, Freddie (John Ewart) who find
themselves an American rival (played by Rod Taylor) with up-to-date sound equipment.
The film was shot on location in the New England plains around Tamworth, and in the
river country near Grafton. Joan Long based her screenplay on an autobiographical account
by Lyle Penn of his experiences as a youth with his travelling picture showman father. The
film was less popular to Australian audiences at the time but well received by audiences
overseas. The film won awards for Best Art Direction (David Copping), Best Costume Design
(Judith Dorsman), Best Supporting Actor (John Ewart) and Best Original Score (Peter Best)
at the 1977 Australian Film Institute Awards.
Courtesy of Tim Long and the Kodak/Atlab Cinema Collection at ScreenSound Australia,
the National Screen and Sound Archive.
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The ScreenSound/Kodak/ Atlab project targets films from the period 1955-1992. Many of the films from this period are now difficult to locate, have incomplete negatives or, due to the elements of time and use, are not suitable for screening. (Since 1993, as a condition of their financing, both the Australian Film Finance Corporation and the Australian Film Commission include in their agreements that producers donate a release print to ScreenSound Australia).
All our streaming video content is played in the Real Player format.
If you don't have it, you can download RealPlayer here; it's free:
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