Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

All titles produced in 1940

16 titles

0-9

250 Million Years Ago documentary – c1940

While very dated stylistically, this documentary about fossils contains clear information.

B

Browning Machine Gun sponsored film – c1940

An animated army training film that illustrates the operation of the Browning machine gun.

C

Choo Choo documentary – c1940

An amateur film of the Spirit of Progress passenger train, made by the Owen Brothers.

D

Dad Rudd, MP feature film – 1940

Dad Rudd, MP truly signals the end of an era, the last gasp of the cycle of rural comedies featuring yokels and livestock that went back 30 years in Australian cinema.

The Dance of the Eyes documentary – c1940

Skylogues’ like this one from Bali, were shown in cinemas prior to a feature film; few Australians travelled abroad then.

Dyer, Frederick Simpson: Milkshakes and Bomb Shelter home movie – c1940

This footage offers a beautiful glimpse of suburban Australia during the Second World War through the everyday recreational activities of the Dyer family.

E

Electric Stove Cinema Advertisement: Banish Drudgery advertisement – c1940

The emphasis on economy is the main selling point of this electric range.

F

Forty Thousand Horsemen feature film – 1940

Chauvel introduced a very young and fresh-faced Chips Rafferty, who modelled his performance in part on the comical digger created by Pat Hanna in Diggers (1931).

G

The Golden West documentary – 1940

This film was made by William George Alma, a member of the Victorian Amateur Cine Society who was predominantly a magician and collector of material about magic.

H

Holmes, Mr WGA: Locals Cool Off at the Weir, Theodore home movie – c1940

Many of the segments in this home movie compilation concern various farming or agricultural activities, including cotton harvesting and beekeeping.

Homes for Crippled Children home movie – c1940

This film is an important document of how children affected by polio and other crippling diseases were treated in the 1940s.

K

Kraft Cheddar Cheese Cinema Advertisement: Unexpected Guests advertisement – c1940

This snack was marketed by Kraft as a quick and easy-to-prepare snack, and importantly an economical one.

R

Rinso Laundry Powder : Hilda and Hugh Jones advertisement – c1940

Mrs Hilda Jones overcomes the drudgery of housework with the discovery of Rinso. Her husband Hugh is very relieved that he no longer has to suffer her bad moods.

S

Sydney on Show documentary – c1940

This documentary from about 1940 shows Sydney’s progress as a modern city. It is from the large private film collection of Roger McKenzie and Bernard Kent.

T

They Serve sponsored film – 1940

By the 1940s, the work of the Red Cross for the 'Australian soldier at home and abroad’ extended throughout Europe and the Middle East.

Through the Centre sponsored film – 1940

The Indian camel trader and the Japanese pearl diver become part of the film’s projection of the exotic within the expansive space of the Australian outback.