Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

Titles tagged with ‘horseracing’

12 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year

1890s

Melbourne Cup 1896 historical – 1896

This film documenting the 1896 Melbourne Cup is one of Australia’s oldest surviving films. A horse gallops into the foreground and blocks our view until the film’s producer gives the horse a pat on its rump.

1920s

The Breaking of the Drought feature film – 1920

An outback family faces ruin through drought and a son corrupted by life in the big city.

Australasian Gazette – 1924 Melbourne Cup newsreel – 1924

This newsreel features highlights of the 1924 Melbourne Cup, including the horses entering the racetrack, crowds in the grandstand and the race, won by Backwood.

1930s

The Mighty Conqueror documentary – 1931

Made only a year before Phar Lap’s death, The Mighty Conqueror boasts some of the last moving images of Phar Lap in Australia both on and off the track.

A Ticket in Tatts feature film – 1934

George Wallace helps a champion horse to avoid crooks and win a big race.

Thoroughbred feature film – 1936

The ending of this film led to allegations of plagiarism, because it was almost identical to the 1934 film, Broadway Bill.

Mr Chedworth Steps Out feature film – 1939

Cecil Kellaway was probably the best actor that Ken G Hall ever worked with. He returned from Hollywood to play the titular little man who learns to assert himself.

1940s

Ken Howard Calls the Melbourne Cup radio – 1941

A 1941 recording of famous sports broadcaster Ken Howard calling the Melbourne Cup.

1980s

Phar Lap feature film – 1983

The film is well constructed, both as a folkloric tale of a young man’s bond with a special horse and as an exciting spectacle with a couple of magically charged moments.

1990s

Oscar and Lucinda feature film – 1997

Drawn together by a passion for gambling, Anglican priest Oscar Hopkins and Australian heiress Lucinda Leplastrier agree on a wager with life-changing consequences.

2000s

A Girl, a Horse, a Dream documentary – 2003

This documentary follows the top Australian female jockey for a year to see if men and women can compete equally in horseracing.

National Treasures – Phar Lap’s Hide documentary – 2004

How did a New Zealand-born horse become one of Australia’s most loved and enduring icons?