Original classification rating: M.
This clip chosen to be PG
Clip description
Bertram Wainer, in his own words, explains how he plans to break the law in order to test it. He organises an abortion for a 21-year-old woman, then informs the media and goes to the police. When they do not arrest him, he repeats the process with a new case.
Curator’s notes
The filmmakers make sparing but effective use of archive footage in this clip. Shots of a young couple walking down a city street at night provide the social context for the period while footage of a medical procedure in a doctor’s surgery suggests the gravity of the documentary’s content and the vulnerability of the patient. A voice-over provides information about the test case of 21-year-old 'Wilma’ who is having an abortion performed by Wainer.
A short clip of a police officer crossing the road makes for an appropriate establishing shot for footage from a 1960s interview with Wainer about the threat of arrest. The newspaper article shown at the end of the clip advances the continuing story of Wainer’s challenge to the police and adds support to the comments made in the modern interview just preceding it.
Other storytelling techniques featured in the clip include recreated footage of Wainer walking and in voice-over and interviews with people with knew Wainer and were present at the time the events were unfolding.
Thanks to the generosity of the rights holders, we are able to offer Breaking the law from the documentary Abortion, Corruption and Cops: The Bertram Wainer Story as a high quality video download.
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abortion1_bb.mp4
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australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.
All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.
When you access australianscreen you agree that:
- You may retrieve materials for information only.
- You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
- You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
- The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.
All other rights reserved.
ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.
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