Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

Travelling North (1987)

A video which normally appears on this page did not load because the Flash plug-in was not found on your computer. You can download and install the free Flash plug-in then view the video. Or you can view the same video as a downloadable MP4 file without installing the Flash plug-in.

Email a link to this page
To:
CC:
Subject:
Body:
clip 'Stupid and infantile'

Original classification rating: PG. This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

On a return visit to Melbourne, Frank has had a heart attack. In hospital, Frank (Leo McKern) insists he will go back up north as soon as he can go, with or without Frances (Julia Blake). She reassures him that she loves him. Later, her daughters Helen (Michele Fawdon) and Sophie (Diane Craig) argue with her about her responsibilities to them, rather than Frank.

Curator’s notes

by Paul Byrnes

David Williamson is said to have grown up with parents who fought often and vociferously, and his characters are quick to argue. They make up just as quickly in Travelling North, as in this scene, which turns on questions of responsibility. Frances’s daughter Helen has never forgiven her mother for sending her to live with an uncle when she was eight, during the period when Frances was leaving their father. Helen prosecutes her case at every opportunity, demanding declarations of undiluted love. Frank is in effect demanding the same thing when he says he’ll take the train back to Port Douglas if he has to. Love isn’t something that Frances is allowed to give freely in this story – it has to be given on demand.

Thanks to the generosity of the rights holders, we are able to offer 'Stupid and infantile' from the feature film Travelling North as a high quality video download.

To play the downloadable video, you need QuickTime 7.0, VLC, or similar.

You must read and agree to the following terms and conditions before downloading the clip:

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.

This clip is available in the following configurations:

File nameSizeQualitySuitability
travelno2_pr.mp4 Large: 21.4MB High Optimised for full-screen display on a fast computer.
travelno2_bb.mp4 Medium: 10.1MB Medium Can be displayed full screen. Also suitable for video iPods.

Right-click on the links above to download video files to your computer.

Thanks to the generosity of the rights holders, we are able to offer this clip in an embeddable format for personal or non-commercial educational use in full form on your own website or your own blog.

You must read and agree to the following terms and conditions before embedding the clip:

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.

Copy and paste the following code into your own web page to embed this clip: