Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

Message Stick – Blacktracker (1996)

play May contain names, images or voices of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
clip
  • 1
  • 2
'The baker's dozen'

This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

This clip describes how Alexander Riley tracked and caught the murderer Andrew Moss in 1939.

Curator’s notes

by Liz McNiven

This clip starts in a very film noir style, shot in sepia tones with ominous music and dramatic narration from actor Bill Hunter. This adds a sense of gravitas to the story, and clearly marks out the period re-creations from the contemporary scenes of Bernadette Riley walking with Ruby, Alec Riley’s daughter, in the bush. Ruby’s account of how Riley used his tracking skills to find Moss is accompanied by simple shots re-creating what he would have done. By seeing how Riley ‘read’ the signs in the bush, we get a real sense of his skill.