Titles from the 1940s
115 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 next
I
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.
Into the Straight feature film – 1949
Australian horse breeder WJ Curzon hires British trainer Hugh Duncan and his playboy son Paul. Father and son are both attracted to JW’s daughter, June.
J
Jungle Patrol newsreel – 1944
The story of eight Australian soldiers fighting the Japanese on Shaggy Ridge in New Guinea, in 1943.
K
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.
Ken Howard Calls the Melbourne Cup radio – 1941
A 1941 recording of famous sports broadcaster Ken Howard calling the Melbourne Cup.
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.
Kolynos Dental Cream Advertisement: Kisses advertisement – c1945
This advertisement is an early example of associating a product with sexual or social desirability.
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.
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.
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.
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.
L
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.
Liberal Party Cinema Advertisement: The Golden Age advertisement – 1946
This Liberal Party cinema advertisement for the 1946 federal election proposes that life for ordinary people under the incumbent Labor government is by no means as good as it should be.
Liberal Party Cinema Advertisement: The House that You Built advertisement – 1949
This Liberal Party cinema advertisement for the 1949 federal election presents a choice between the 'socialist’ and 'free democratic’ ways of life, as offered by the ALP and Liberal Party respectively.
M
Majestic Fanfare music – 1943
The original 1943 recording of the ABC’s much loved ‘Majestic Fanfare’, used in various forms since 1952 to introduce news broadcasts.
Menzies 1948 Journey, Reel 1 home movie – 1948
This 16mm colour home movie filmed and edited by Sir Robert Menzies is an extraordinary record for not only Australians but the British too.
Menzies 1948 Journey, Reel 2 home movie – 1948
A truly mesmerising piece of footage taken through the eyes of Australian prime minister, Sir Robert Menzies, during a family journey through Europe.
Menzies 1948 Journey, Reel 3 home movie – 1948
This home movie is the third reel of a four-part travelogue filmed by Australian Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, in 1948.
Menzies’ Wartime Tour – England home movie – 1941
Sir Robert Menzies captures the atmosphere of London during The Blitz in 1941, recording the raid as it happened and then filming its immediate aftermath.
Mid-East documentary – 1945
The African continent would have still represented the ‘heart of darkness’ for many Australians viewing this film.
Morris, DG: Royal Agricultural Show, Adelaide home movie – c1943
This home movie shows two contrasting glimpses into the role of women during and after the Second World War.
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.
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’.
N
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.
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.
O
The Overlanders feature film – 1946
As the Japanese threaten northern Australia in 1942, a drover takes a mob of prime beef cattle across 2,600 kms of hazardous country to Queensland.
P
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.
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.
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.
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.
R
The Rats of Tobruk feature film – 1944
The Rats of Tobruk may not be Charles Chauvel’s best movie, but it deserves serious consideration as his best movie about war.
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.
Rinso Laundry Powder : Hilda and Hugh Jones advertisement – c1940
Mrs Hilda Jones overcomes the drudgery of housework with the discovery of Rinso. Her husband Hugh is very relieved that he no longer has to suffer her bad moods.
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.
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.
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.
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.
S
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.
Senator Dorothy Tangney: Maiden Speech radio – 1944
A recording of the first woman elected to the Australian Senate reading her maiden speech.
Skyway Express documentary – c1948
One of a series of travelogues produced in the late 1940s when very few Australians had travelled overseas, each is about flying into an 'exotic’ location.
Smithy feature film – 1946
Smithy was Charles 'Bud’ Tingwell’s first film. With characteristic modesty, he later said he won the part as a control tower officer because he supplied his own uniform.
Snowy Hydro - Where Giants Meet sponsored film – 1948
The film spends a lot of time singing the praises of the TD-24 bulldozer, but it’s also interesting as a recruitment tool for genuine high country bushmen.
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.
Sons of Matthew feature film – 1949
Sons of Matthew is an extremely vivid depiction of the heroic conquest of the land by Australia’s white settlers.
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.
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.
Swanston St Shamble; Two Day Jag music – 1944
The first published recordings of Graeme Bell’s Dixieland Band made in Melbourne in 1944.
