Titles from the 1940s
115 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 next
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250 Million Years Ago documentary – c1940
While very dated stylistically, this documentary about fossils contains clear information.
A
Aborigines of the Sea Coast documentary – 1948
A valuable ethnographic record of a 1948 expedition to Arnhem Land.
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.
ALP Cinema Advertisement: In the Wake of the Storm advertisement – 1946
This cinema ad for the 1946 federal election encourages Australians to stay with the Labor Party, which has successfully led the country through the end of the Second World War.
ALP: Frank Forde, Election 1946 newsreel – 1946
Labor Deputy Prime Minister Frank Forde appeals to his Capricornia electorate to vote for him and Prime Minister Chifley in the September 1946 federal election.
Antarctica 1948 documentary – 1949
A record of the operations of the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition, November 1947–April 1948.
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.
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.
Australia Post – Post Office Film sponsored film – 1942
This is a mute, black-and-white film record of the dismantling of the Sydney GPO clock tower to relocate communications equipment during the Second World War.
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’.
Australia to England via Tobruk and Benghazi: Menzies Wartime Tour home movie – 1941
Most footage of the Second World War is in black-and-white, making this 16mm colour home movie by former Prime Minister Robert Menzies even more extraordinary.
B
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.
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.
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.
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.
Browning Machine Gun sponsored film – c1940
An animated army training film that illustrates the operation of the Browning machine gun.
Bush Christmas feature film – 1947
In a rare villainous role, Chips Rafferty plays a horse thief, Long Bill. He is tracked by five kids spending Christmas in the Blue Mountains.
Bushells Tea Advertisement: The World of the Future advertisement – c1941
This cinema advertisement reassures its viewers that no matter what the future holds, you can rely on Bushells tea to remain the same.
C
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.
Choo Choo documentary – c1940
An amateur film of the Spirit of Progress passenger train, made by the Owen Brothers.
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.
Cinderella on Strings documentary – c1947
Cinderella is a marionette but she still gets to meet her Prince Charming.
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.
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.
The Constant Threat sponsored film – 1946
This short film promotes the importance of having a free chest x-ray, provided by the NSW Department of Public Health, to test for tuberculosis.
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.
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.
Curtin Speech: Japan Enters Second World War radio – 1941
In a broadcast to the nation, Prime Minister John Curtin announces that Australia is now at war with Japan.
D
Dad Rudd, MP feature film – 1940
Dad Rudd, MP truly signals the end of an era, the last gasp of the cycle of rural comedies featuring yokels and livestock that went back 30 years in Australian cinema.
Dame Enid Lyons: Maiden Speech radio – 1943
Enid Lyons, the first woman elected to the House of Representatives in Australia’s federal parliament, reads her maiden speech for radio broadcast.
The Dance of the Eyes documentary – c1940
Skylogues’ like this one from Bali, were shown in cinemas prior to a feature film; few Australians travelled abroad then.
Disturber of the Peace sponsored film – c1945
A short government announcement advising citizens to consider each other’s need for sleep and to keep noise levels low when others are sleeping.
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.
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.
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.
E
Electric Stove Cinema Advertisement: Banish Drudgery advertisement – c1940
The emphasis on economy is the main selling point of this electric range.
Eureka Stockade feature film – 1949
In 1854, miners in the Ballarat goldfields take up arms against government troops in a defining moment of Australian history.
F
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.
First Victory Home Loan: Squander Bug advertisement – 1945
This ad aimed to persuade Australians to donate money to the war effort, portraying it as patriotic and a show of commitment to the cause.
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.
Forty Thousand Horsemen feature film – 1940
Chauvel introduced a very young and fresh-faced Chips Rafferty, who modelled his performance in part on the comical digger created by Pat Hanna in Diggers (1931).
Fourth Liberty Loan advertisement – 1943
A Fourth Liberty Loan campaign was launched to encourage people to buy national savings stamps to contribute to the war effort.
From England to the USA: Menzies Wartime Tour home movie – c1941
Part travelogue and part historical record, this home movie captures official visits as well as the prime minister’s own travel.
G
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’.
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.
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.
H
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.
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.
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.
