Share
Clip description
It is just three days before the declaration of war in September 1939 and the first day of school holidays for Kitty (Susan Hannaford) and Terry Sullivan (Richard Morgan). Grace Sullivan (Lorraine Bayly), their mother, sends them to the corner store with a message for big brother John (Andrew McFarlane). John is with his sweetheart Anna Kauffman (Ingrid Mason), daughter of the German immigrant family that runs the shop.
Curator’s notes
This is the opening sequence of The Sullivans, a classic and simple introduction to the series that sets the mood and style of the show. Note the muted greens and browns that take over from the original black-and-white live action footage, designed to sustain the feeling that we are looking back to times past. The kitchen décor is superbly evocative of the era and there are nice little touches, like Grace giving each of the squabbling children a crust off either end of the loaf, that anchor the scene in a time when bread was handmade and getting the fresh crust was considered a treat. It also establishes Grace as the quintessential mother figure, wise and fair but firm and authoritative too, a good parent who expects to be obeyed.
The atmosphere of the period is strengthened further in the corner shop set and reflected in the innocence of the young lovers about to be caught up in forces beyond their control. Actually, John’s assumption that having a relationship with a German girl will cause no problems is a touch ingenuous, particularly since later in the episode he shows himself to be quite knowledgeable about world affairs. Yet it is somehow in keeping with the times that the young people, being in love and physically so far from the heart of the conflict, consider themselves invulnerable to the evil and chaos that is about to descend on ordinary people everywhere.
The technical skill of Phillip East’s Integration department is evident in the sequence in which the two carefree kids enter the house from the street, entailing a transfer from film to videotape which is virtually seamless, although keen viewers might notice a slightly sharper image on the videotaped scenes.
