Titles curated by Poppy De Souza
402 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 next
1940s (continued)
Road to Tokyo advertisement – c1941
An animated government advertisement designed to persuade Australians to contribute to the war effort by investing in war loans.
Roberts, John: Anzac Day march Adelaide, South Australia and other segments home movie – c1941
This is a compilation of film segments from the John Roberts Home Movie Collection that have been spliced together.
Roberts, John: Children playing war games in a suburban backyard home movie – c1941
John Roberts filmed various scenes in and around his home city of Adelaide from 1939 to 1941, including Anzac Day and war bonds marches.
While There is Still Time documentary – 1941
The Chauvels aimed to encourage Australians at home to work to help their loved ones fighting overseas. Future Oscar winner Peter Finch has a small but pivotal role.
Aeroplane Fruit Jellies Advertisement: Bertie the Aeroplane advertisement – 1942
Creating a lovable cartoon character in Bertie the Aeroplane is one of the reasons that Aeroplane Jelly has become such an identifiable product.
Kokoda Front Line! newsreel – 1942
This iconic and Academy Award-winning newsreel shot by Damien Parer contains some of the most recognised images of Australian troops in the Second World War.
Power to Win documentary – 1942
Having been determined medically unfit for the army, Charles Chauvel saw his film work as a contribution to the war effort.
Road to Kokoda newsreel – 1942
What’s remarkable about Damien Parer’s Kokoda footage is that there is no actual combat, and the Japanese presence is felt most keenly through its absence.
Soldiers Without Uniform documentary – 1942
This propaganda film made by Charles Chauvel aims to boost worker morale by recognising their contributions to the war effort.
Australians Keep the Wheels of Industry Turning advertisement – c1943
An animated advertisement to persuade Australians to invest in National Savings stamps and the 4th Liberty Loan.
The Circus Comes to Town documentary – c1943
The great circus families of the past had a huge impact but not after the arrival of the animal rights movement.
Couch: Our Women of the VAD home movie – 1943
This amateur production provides an almost behind-the-scenes view of the women as they went through their VAD training.
Give Us This Day advertisement – 1943
This food rationing advertisement takes its title from a phrase in the Lord’s Prayer ‘give us this day our daily bread’.
Kellogg’s Cornflakes: Tell Me a Story advertisement – c1943
This advertisement appeals to children as a story, and their mothers as the children’s carers.
A Mountain Goes to Sea documentary – 1943
Made during the Second World War, A Mountain Goes to Sea was intended as a morale booster for workers building the machinery of war.
Norforce Army Days at Hayes Creek, NT and Wyndham home movie – 1943
This footage was filmed by John Mack, a South Australian photographer and cinematographer who served as staff sergeant during the Second World War.
Rinso Washing Powder: A Bachelor Grey advertisement – c1943
Bachelor Henry is a ‘natty dresser’ but rubbing and scrubbing wears out his clothes until finally his temper wears out too! Henry’s ‘lady help’ to brings him a packet of Rinso washing powder and shows him how to get things clean.
South-west Pacific sponsored film – 1943
During the Second World War, Chips Rafferty appeared in two short documentaries made for the federal government to support the domestic war effort.
Cradle of Creation documentary – 1944
A compendium of the Middle East filmed by Frank Hurley during his years working as an official war photographer in the Second World War.
Kolynos Dental Cream Advertisement: Next Please advertisement – c1944
This advertisement employs a clever use of voice-over that moves the narration into direct dialogue with its characters and audience.
CE Miller & Co Cinema Advertisement: Know Your Melbourne advertisement – c1945
This beautifully photographed advertisement for the removal company CE Miller & Co was shot by Australian cinematographer Ross Wood.
Christmas Crackers home movie – 1945
This amateur film from 1945 shows the joy of a family reuniting at the end of the Second World War after the men return from overseas service.
Family Antics documentary – 1945
This is very strange but oddly compelling: a father, his son, and three fox terriers do acrobatics and balancing acts for the camera.
Kolynos Dental Cream Advertisement: Kisses advertisement – c1945
This advertisement is an early example of associating a product with sexual or social desirability.
Mid-East documentary – 1945
The African continent would have still represented the ‘heart of darkness’ for many Australians viewing this film.
Movietone Special: Peace: Australia Celebrates newsreel – 1945
This Movietone News special edition newsreel marking the nationwide celebrations at the end of the Second World War includes the iconic image of the 'dancing man’.
City in the Sun documentary – 1946
Post-war austerity is nowhere to be seen in this romanticised look at the streets of Sydney in the summer of 1946.
Persil Washing Powder: Their Day advertisement – 1946
This washing powder’s particular magic is its ‘oxygen dazzle’ which allows the powder to lather easily without the need for rubbing and scrubbing.
Rinso Washing Powder: Easy Does It advertisement – 1946
This Rinso advertisement from 1946 features Bill Kerr with Joy Nichols, Dan Agar – all actors and radio stars of the era.
Sprod, John: Pioneer Tours Bus Trip to Flinder’s Ranges, Building Brick Houses home movie – c1946
John Sprod was influenced by his father, an amateur photographer who taught him how to develop film.
Travelling Library documentary – c1946
This remarkable colour footage captures the excitement that the mobile library brought to school children in the 1940s.
Beautiful Melbourne sponsored film – 1947
This film, put together by the Brotherhood of St Laurence in 1947, increased public awareness of the dire state of those living in slum housing in Melbourne.
Beyond the Furthest Fences sponsored film – 1947
This is an abridged version of the feature-length documentary The Inlanders. Both follow the Australian Inland Mission through central Australia in 1947.
Cinderella on Strings documentary – c1947
Cinderella is a marionette but she still gets to meet her Prince Charming.
Kraft Cheddar Cheese Cinema Advertisement: Your Daily Diet advertisement – c1947
This Kraft advertisement examines the value of three food groups: protective foods, energy foods and body builders.
Land Short of People documentary – 1947
A narrative of white settlement pioneering against the odds – the tyranny of distance, the harsh conditions, and the massive landscapes.
Timber sponsored film – 1947
Timber communicates a romantic perspective of logging and the timber industry – both seen as having minimal negative environmental impact.
Birth of a Car sponsored film – c1948
Birth of a Car, made in 1948, proudly details the planning, testing and production of the first locally-manufactured Holden model sedan.
Green Heritage sponsored film – c1948
Green Heritage is a documentary aimed at viewers who care about subterranean clover, methods of pasture irrigation and the preferred grass for livestock.
Nestle’s MILO Cinema Advertisement: Family Album advertisement – 1948
This 1948 cinema advertisement promotes Milo for health, enjoyment and sleep! It’s from the private collection of Roger McKenzie and fellow film enthusiast, Bernard Kent.
Nestle’s MILO Cinema Advertisement: The Joy of Living advertisement – 1948
Since 1934, MILO has been advertised in a number of ways, changing in style and tone to adapt to its audience.
Prices and the People documentary – 1948
Prices and the People provides a working-class view of price increases, wages and mounting profits and the effects on everyday people in 1948.
Searchlight on Japan documentary – c1948
Made by Ken G Hall, Searchlight on Japan focuses on Japan under Allied occupation at the end of the Second World War.
These Are Our Children sponsored film – 1948
Through the lives of fictional siblings John and Molly, this film is an indictment of the social injustice facing Melbourne’s inner-city poor.
Vegemite Cinema Advertisement: Sister Knows Best advertisement – c1948
As well as being a product that the whole family can enjoy, Vegemite was marketed as having economical benefit.
Around a Gum Tree documentary – 1949
This documentary cleverly uses gum trees as a device to explore the broad range of industries that Australia supports.
Behind the Big Top documentary – 1949
The Wirth Brothers Circus, one of Australia’s largest and most successful, survived another 15 years after this film was made.
Duff, Paul: Papua New Guinea home movie – c1949
This is a unique record of Australia’s interests in the natural resources of our Asia-Pacific neighbours.
A Home of their Own sponsored film – 1949
A Home of their Own contrasts Ted and Mary’s overcrowded, inner-city housing with the 'Smith family’, who are lucky enough to live on a new suburban estate.
The Inlanders documentary – 1949
The Inlanders comes from a tradition of fiction and non-fiction filmmaking that presents the outback as a harsh and hostile terrain to be overcome.
