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Clip description
A series of medium close-ups introduces eight Australian infantrymen by name: Pte AN McGregor (aka ‘Horse’), Lance-Cpl AC Pierson (‘Buster’), Pte RFC Northcott (‘Blue’), Pte AB Graffin (‘Puddin’), Pte MJ Driver (‘Maxie’), Corporal RA Box, Pte JH Adams (‘Shorty’) and Pte E Barmby (‘Ern’). They board a US C-47 transport plane in Port Moresby in New Guinea to fly north over the Owen Stanley Ranges, heading for the Ramu Valley. They pass over the Kokoda track, scene of terrible fighting a year earlier, in which some of these soldiers were involved. The plane is called Honeymoon Express and the pilot is Colonel Bill Williams, who flies with the squadron mascot, a dog, on his lap. The men play cards as they fly. ‘Buster’ Pierson practises the mouth organ.
Curator’s notes
Going into battle by air was very new at this point in the war in the Pacific. The American jump at Nadzab, referred to in the narration, was big news in Australia and the US. The Australian 7th Division’s campaign in Ramu Valley was the first time an entire Australian division was flown into battle, although this decision led to one of the worst accidents of the war, in which 59 Australian soldiers were killed (see main notes). Whether this tragedy contributed to the decision to devote the opening chapter of the film to transport is difficult to say, but it does occupy fully four minutes of a 19-minute film. It’s possible that this was always the intention, because it showcased the Australian and American forces working together. There were serious tensions between the two forces, both in Australia and among the troops in New Guinea, and this may have been behind the decision to showcase the American assistance for the Australian troops.
The introduction is also unusual in that it makes the story so personal, identifying each of the eight Australian soldiers with his own close-up. This was most likely the idea of Tom Gurr, a well-known journalist who worked on newsreels before the war. The narration is read by the then rising young actor Peter Finch, who had enlisted in the AIF in June 1941, serving as a gunner in the Middle East in 1941 and ’42. He was given leave to appear in Charles Chauvel’s film The Rats of Tobruk in 1944, and for Chauvel’s work for the Department of Information (see While There is Still Time, 1941). Note also that both cinematographers are shown – that was very unusual, and may have reflected the fact that there was considerable animosity between them over who was top dog on this film (see main notes).
