Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

Titles curated by Poppy De Souza

402 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 next

1930s (continued)

Activities of the Royal Aero Club of South Australia home movie – c1935

Amateur filmmaker and professional photographer John Mack manages to convey the experience of flight in a light aircraft.

Fez Please documentary – c1935

A short silent documentary made by the Owen Brothers about Melbourne’s fast-disappearing cable trams.

Conquest advertisement – 1936

This ad for the Rural Bank of New South Wales pitches the story of the ‘man on the land’ as one of industry, courage, determination and progress.

Double-decker Bus and Rail Motor home movie – c1936

The bus-rail hybrid was designed to service minor rail lines in Sydney that did not have enough passengers to justify the larger rail motor.

Home sponsored film – c1936

Dedicated to 'home builders and home lovers everywhere’, this film looks at the changing landscape in house building from the first settlers to modern homeowners.

Magical Powers short film – 1936

The idea behind Magical Powers was to show the audience some of the illusions and simple tricks that can be created with a moving image camera.

Monte Carlo Russian Ballet. Original Ballet Russe home movie – c1936

This footage shows staged sequences of the Ballets Russes’ repertoire on their 1930s tours to Australia. It includes excerpts from ballets Les Presages and Thamar.

Murray-Will, Ewan: Ballet Russes home movie – c1936

Dermatologist and amateur filmmaker Dr Ewan Murray-Will’s film captures solo dancers from the Ballets Russes du Monte Carlo performing on a Sydney beach.

Murray-Will, Ewan: Ballets Russes: Petrouchka: Carnaval: Aurora’s Wedding home movie – c1936

Diaghilev’s Ballet Russe – shown here on tour in Australia during 1936-37 – revolutionised ballet by giving equal emphasis to dance, music, drama and design.

Silver City sponsored film – 1936

This film is narrated with Frank Hurley’s typical flamboyance and presents mining as instrumental to maintaining the livelihood of over 100,000 Australians.

Treasures of Katoomba sponsored film – 1936

Frank Hurley’s sense of adventure and eye for landscape composition is evident in this charming travelogue promoting tourism in the Blue Mountains.

Spirit of Progress: Australia’s Wonder Train documentary – 1937

As the only new passenger train to be constructed in Australia during the 1930s, the Spirit of Progress was a symbol of technological achievement.

Australia Today – Customs Officers Fight Against Drugs newsreel – 1938

Stories in this Australia Today newsreel cover topics like illegal drug importation and crime syndicates; and SP bookmaking and gambling.

Australia Today – Lucky Strike at Larkinville, WA and other segments newsreel – 1938

Segments in this newsreel cover gold prospecting in Western Australia; deadly Australian snakes; and proposals for the extension of pub drinking hours.

Captain Cook’s Cottage documentary – 1938

Russell Grimwade paid £800 for the family home of Captain Cook and transported it from Yorkshire to Victoria.

Follow the Sun documentary – 1938

Pioneer filmmaker Frank Hurley is best known for documenting wartime and adventure but he also made travelogues like this one.

The Growing Child sponsored film – 1938

What has changed in the last 70 years is how the public health message is delivered. Rather than highlight dire consequences, this short film positively reinforces correct behaviour.

The Maryborough Railway Employees’ Picnic historical – 1938

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, thousands of children and their families would attend the Maryborough Railway’s annual employees’ picnic.

Murray-Will, Ewan: Ballets Russes, Hélène Kirsova’s Wedding home movie – 1938

Dr Murray-Will befriended dancers from the touring Ballets Russes in the 1930s and filmed the wedding of ballerina Hélène Kirsova to the Danish Vice-Consul.

A Nation is Built documentary – 1938

This sprawling and patriotic documentary uses actuality footage, historical re-enactments, fictionalised scenes and propaganda to chronicle Australia’s development and progress as a nation.

Australia Today – Fort Denison: [Pinchgut]: A Relic of Early Sydney newsreel – 1939

This newsreel looks nostalgically at the history of Fort Denison, a fortified island in Sydney Harbour, and its place in Sydney’s military and cultural heritage.

Australia Today – Man-Eater newsreel – 1939

Shark attacks on populated beaches are statistically not that common in Australia, but they attract sensational media coverage of the type seen in this newsreel.

Australia Today – Men of Tomorrow newsreel – 1939

Depicting the family life of a young boy in the poorer suburbs of Sydney, this newsreel touches on society’s responsibility to offer its youth a better future.

Australia Today – The ‘Pyjama Girl’ Murder Case newsreel – 1939

This newsreel reconstructs the coronial inquest into the Pyjama Girl mystery, one of the most baffling unsolved murder cases in Australian criminal history.

A Brief Survey of the Activities of the Brisbane City Mission sponsored film – c1939

This is a moving portrait of the charity work of the Brisbane City Mission for the poor at a time when many people struggled financially because of the Depression.

Colleano on Tightwire, Rehearses in Arena home movie – c1939

Con Colleano was the first performance artist to perfect the toe-to-toe forward somersault on a wire.

Colleano on Tightwire Rehearsing at Home home movie – c1939

This footage offers a unique behind-the-scenes look at one of Australia’s most accomplished circus performers from the early twentieth century.

Isle of Many Waters sponsored film – 1939

The opening credits read 'a portrayal by Frank Hurley described by himself’ and contain the relaxed and descriptive narration style evident in many of his travelogues.

King Billy’s First Car advertisement – 1939

This 1930s animated advertisement contains a disturbing subtext about Indigenous Australians.

Murray-Will, Ewan: Ballet Russes in Australia home movie – c1939

This unique and candid home movie footage of members of the Ballets Russes company was taken at Sydney’s Bungan Beach in the late 1930s.

Murray-Will, Ewan: Ballets Russes home movie – c1939

Amateur filmmaker Murray-Will’s acquaintance with Ballets Russes members allowed him to capture unique images of one of the world’s greatest dance companies.

Take Notice documentary – 1939

Take Notice uses innovative and sophisticated filmmaking techniques to describe the need for a solution to rising rents and substandard living conditions in Sydney.

1940s

Browning Machine Gun sponsored film – c1940

An animated army training film that illustrates the operation of the Browning machine gun.

Choo Choo documentary – c1940

An amateur film of the Spirit of Progress passenger train, made by the Owen Brothers.

Dyer, Frederick Simpson: Milkshakes and Bomb Shelter home movie – c1940

This footage offers a beautiful glimpse of suburban Australia during the Second World War through the everyday recreational activities of the Dyer family.

Electric Stove Cinema Advertisement: Banish Drudgery advertisement – c1940

The emphasis on economy is the main selling point of this electric range.

The Golden West documentary – 1940

This film was made by William George Alma, a member of the Victorian Amateur Cine Society who was predominantly a magician and collector of material about magic.

Holmes, Mr WGA: Locals Cool Off at the Weir, Theodore home movie – c1940

Many of the segments in this home movie compilation concern various farming or agricultural activities, including cotton harvesting and beekeeping.

Homes for Crippled Children home movie – c1940

This film is an important document of how children affected by polio and other crippling diseases were treated in the 1940s.

Kraft Cheddar Cheese Cinema Advertisement: Unexpected Guests advertisement – c1940

This snack was marketed by Kraft as a quick and easy-to-prepare snack, and importantly an economical one.

Sydney on Show documentary – c1940

This documentary from about 1940 shows Sydney’s progress as a modern city. It is from the large private film collection of Roger McKenzie and Bernard Kent.

They Serve sponsored film – 1940

By the 1940s, the work of the Red Cross for the 'Australian soldier at home and abroad’ extended throughout Europe and the Middle East.

Through the Centre sponsored film – 1940

The Indian camel trader and the Japanese pearl diver become part of the film’s projection of the exotic within the expansive space of the Australian outback.

Australia Today – Australia’s 5th Column newsreel – 1941

According to this newsreel, Australia is at war with the '5th Column’, threatened by a ruthless enemy whose objective is the 'downfall of the British Empire’.

Dyer, Frederick Simpson: Children’s Party and Beach home movie – 1941

Amateur home movie maker Frederick Simpson Dyer made a number of movies covering family events such as outings, holidays and birthdays.

Dyer, Frederick Simpson: Cinema and its Workings home movie – 1941

This footage reveals the excitement of going to the cinema at a time when the moving image was not all pervasive, as it is today.

The Flying Doctor sponsored film – 1941

Through the work of the Australian Aerial Medical Service and their 'mantle of safety’, no-one in Australia is further than four hours from medical assistance.

Kraft Cheddar Cheese Cinema Advertisement: Food for Thought advertisement – c1941

Kraft cleverly positions its processed cheese as a product which can contribute to a household’s ability to increase its food value.

Poisoned Daggers sponsored film – c1941

The evocative title lends a sense of drama to the message being conveyed: that the mosquito’s bite is a threat not just to the health of the community, but also the war effort.

Red Cross Cinema Advertisement: The Prisoner of War Street Adoption Scheme advertisement – c1941

The appeal offers something practical that people can do – pay one pound a week to sponsor a prisoner of war.

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