Titles from the 1950s
112 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 next
1954 (continued)
Western Wonderland home movie – 1954
This 1954 travelogue of the Grampians National Park in Victoria features a poetically nostalgic voice-over recorded 50 years later.
1955
Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate – ‘A Milk Tray Day Today’ advertisement – c1955
These ads persuasively argue that Milk Tray chocolates can transform the everyday into a special occasion, satisfy desires and mend rocky relationships.
Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate – ‘Remember ... Cadbury’s Milk Tray’ advertisement – c1955
Cadbury’s Milk Tray brand aligns itself with relationships. These two advertisements are about building romance between fledgling couples.
CSIRO – Rabbits in Confined Populations Management Techniques sponsored film – c1955
With exploding rabbit numbers in the 1950s, the Wildlife Survey Section of the CSIRO studied captive rabbit populations to assist and improve control techniques.
Elapsed Time Test Studies: Australian Wildflowers, Tahiti, Travel Scenes home movie – c1955
FE Winton was apparently the only person in Australia in the 1950s doing elapsed time photography using electric flashes.
Gerakiteys: Greek Scenes home movie – c1955
The Gerakiteys home movies represent a detailed example of multicultural life in Australia during the 1950s.
Holden Car Cinema Advertisement: On a Tour of Australia’s Banana Plantations advertisement – c1955
This travelogue-style Holden advertisement was one of a series of 'on a tour’ films made for cinema audiences between 1953 and 1956.
The Hungry Miles documentary – 1955
The Hungry Miles covers more historical ground than the WWF Film Unit’s earlier works and they regarded it as one of their most significant accomplishments.
Jedda feature film – 1955
Jedda (1955) is probably Charles Chauvel’s best film, as well as his last. It is historic both for being the first colour feature film made in Australia, but more importantly, because it is arguably the first Australian film to take the emotional lives of Aboriginal people seriously.
Maitland Floods home movie – 1955
This home movie captures the devastation of the 1955 Maitland floods. The reaction of the residents make this footage surprisingly affecting.
November Victory documentary – 1955
November Victory was reported by ASIO officials as being a 'scandalously untrue and distorted film version of the 1954 waterfront strike’.
Smoky Dawson and the Singing Bullet radio – 1955
Smoky Dawson rescues his young friend Billy from two villains in this classic episode of the Smoky Dawson radio show.
Snowy Hydro – Conservation in the Snowy Mountains sponsored film – 1955
This film traces the history of soil erosion in the Snowy Mountains and demonstrates the approach taken by the Snowy Mountains Scheme to counteract the problem.
1956
Antarctic Voyage documentary – 1956
In 1955, the Danish ship Kista Dan takes a team of Australian scientists south for a year at Mawson, Australia’s new Antarctic research station.
The Argentine Ant documentary – 1956
This short CSIRO documentary explains how to identify and eradicate the Argentine ant, a domestic and agricultural pest.
Australia Post – Olympic Post Script sponsored film – 1956
This film focuses on the telecommunications services set up especially for the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. It also has footage of the sporting events that is unlikely to have survived in any other form.
Banners Held High documentary – 1956
The narrator, former wharfie Jock Levy, is one of the founders of the Waterside Workers’ Federation Film Unit.
The Bones of Building sponsored film – 1956
This Waterside Workers’ Federation Film Unit production is a safety film for building workers, commissioned by the Building Workers’ Industrial Union.
General Motors Holden – FE Holden: The Average Man advertisement – 1956
This is one of GMH’s early ventures into television advertising.
General Motors Holden – Holden Ute advertisement – c1956
The utility was Holden’s first foray into model diversification after its standard sedan.
General Motors Holden – Proved Dependability advertisement – c1956
This ad introduces written testimonials from 'satisfied owners’ of Holden cars, 'taxi drivers, men in the outback, commercial travellers, family men’.
General Motors Holden – To Suit All Family Needs advertisement – c1956
In this mid-1950s Holden car ad, the cloud background makes the family look like they’re floating through the sky rather than driving on the ground.
Holden Car Cinema Advertisement: A New Star, the New Holden FE advertisement – 1956
Many of the FE’s aesthetic modifications reflected the fashions of the 1950s.
Let’s Go sponsored film – c1956
This film promotes the Shell Touring Service and Shell’s nationwide network of road-related services. Shell maps were produced from the 1920s until the late 1970s. Shell has deposited a significant amount of film with the National Film and Sound Archive for preservation, with a range of excerpts on this site.
Northern Safari documentary – 1956
This six-month journey in a 1948 Buick later inspired the Leyland Brothers and Albert Mangles.
Operation Buffalo – Colour Record sponsored film – 1956
In 1957, Britain’s Prime Minister declared that the Operation Buffalo tests would place Britain on an equal nuclear footing with the USA and the Soviet Union.
Smiley feature film – 1956
A mischievous boy in a small town tries to reform himself, in order to earn a bicycle.
Syme, Ken: Melbourne Olympic Games home movie – 1956
This silent, colour home movie, shot by Ken Syme, provides a snapshot of both the 1956 Olympic Games, and the city that hosted it.
Walk Into Paradise feature film – 1956
For the third time with director Lee Robinson, Chips Rafferty played his version of an Australian hero – rugged, self-reliant, resourceful, an unpolished rough diamond.
A World to Conquer short film – 1956
In this amateur science-fiction short, an alien surveillance camera lands in a man’s backyard, but his wife does not believe him.
1957
The City of Geelong sponsored film – 1957
The Shell Film Unit made this promotional travelogue of Geelong; three years earlier, a large Shell oil refinery was built on the city’s outskirts.
The Forerunner documentary – 1957
The Forerunner positions the the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme’s as the country’s 'first major step towards the final solution of Australia’s water problem’.
Four’s a Crowd documentary – 1957
Four’s a Crowd comically portrays four types of workers in the waterfront industry – Glass-arm Harry, Tiddly Pete, Nick-away Ned and Ron the Roaster.
General Motors Holden – Australia’s Ideal Family Car advertisement – c1957
This goes to great lengths to reiterate the key features on which Holden built its reputation – economy, dependability, performance, styling and comfort.
Hewers of Coal sponsored film – 1957
This union-sponsored documentary dramatises the history of mining in Australia since the early 1900s, including the friction between miners and mine owners.
Not Only the Need sponsored film – 1957
This sponsored film made for the Australian Council of Trade Unions argues for the provision of affordable housing to replace inner-city slums.
A Pub With No Beer music – 1957
Slim Dusty’s original recording from 1957 of one of his most famous songs.
Sanitation and the City documentary – c1957
This documentary outlines the management of water supply and sanitation by the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works.
Service in the Sun sponsored film – 1957
In 1956, members of the American and Hawaiian surf lifesaving teams demonstrate the latest surfing techniques on Bondi Beach.
The Shiralee feature film – 1957
Arguably there are two major themes in Australian cinema – the problem of the landscape, and the related problem of masculinity – and both are the subject of The Shiralee.
Snowy Hydro – Conquest of the Rivers sponsored film – 1957
This is essentially a recruitment film, targeting the types of workers whose adaptability and skills base would well serve the Snowy Hydro scheme’s requirements.
1958
Australian Walkabout television program – 1958
The Chauvels, on a filmmaking safari of Australia, travel through the Northern Territory to Rum Jungle for a privileged look inside a uranium mine.
The Eyes Have It advertisement – 1958
This Australian Road Safety Council advertisement is built around the wide appeal of all-round cricketer Keith Miller, and draws analogies between cricket and driving.
General Motors Holden – Resale Value advertisement – c1958
Resale value became an important factor for motorists to consider when purchasing their new Holden.
The Happy Years sponsored film – c1958
This film showcases the health services provided to state school students.
Minter, R: South-East Asia, India and Rome home movie – 1958
This home movie from Robert Minter follows his travels to Hong Kong, Thailand, Burma, India, Turkey, Greece and Italy.
My Country spoken word – 1958
Dorothea Mackellar, aged about 73, reads her most famous poem, 'My Country’.
Smiley Gets a Gun feature film – 1958
A nine-year-old country boy tries to give up mischief in order to win a much-desired rifle.
Snowy Hydro – Operation Adaminaby sponsored film – 1958
In an extraordinarily florid finale, reminiscent of wartime propaganda, the film pays tribute to the residents and their noble act in moving the town of Adaminaby.
