Terrific Aussie war flick which was a
deserved international success – the biggest, I believe, of any Australian film
up until that time. It gets off to a flying start with some evil Germans (led
by an over-acting Eric Reiman) knocking over furniture and hanging a Frenchman
in front of his daughter (the pretty Betty Bryant)… full on! Then we have some
Germans and Turks discussing Aussie soldiers – while the German officer makes
fun of their uniform and courage, the Turkish one speaks up for their courage at
Gallipoli (this sympathetic depiction came about because the Turks were
neutral during World War Two.)
Then we meet the Aussies: three diggers on
leave, outsmarting Arab vendors, riding donkeys through the streets, being
admired by English grand dames and belly dancers. They’re played by Grant
Taylor, Chips Rafferty and Pat Twohill; Taylor was a juvenile lead discovered
by Cinesound in Dad Rudd MP who became what could be described as an Aussie
film star with this movie. He’s good looking, charismatic and masculine, with a terrific physique, relaxed demeanour and confidence, even if his hairline is already receding – it’s
a shame he didn’t make a bunch more movies. He did like a drink – he was
physically disintegrating by the time of Rats of Tobruk, and later lost his
looks and hair and became chubby. The cigarette's he's constantly puffing on here (even while shaving!) probably didn't help either. But he's the most effective Australian "macho sex symbol film star" until Jack Thompson came along. (Better than, for instance, Frank Leighton).
Rafferty had a more notable film career, in
part because he was more unique – the gangly string bean with a cigarette
hanging out of his mouth. Full marks to Chauvel for giving him such a prominent
part (especially one that Pat Hanna was interested in playing); Rafferty’s
inexperience is evident, but its made up for my his presence – also he has a
charming speech about Why We Are Fighting the War. Pat Twohill is some Kiwi who
had extensive stage experience; it’s a nothing part and he does nothing much
with it. (I always forget he's in the movie, and even watching him, trying to concentrate on the guy's performance, he felt anonymous).
The most recent copy of the film I saw had
an extended belly dance sequence, with a dancer drooled over by Rafferty. But
more fun is when Taylor and Rafferty sing “Oh, You Beautiful Doll” –
interrupted by a call to arms after the Battle of Romani. “The Tommy’s fight is
our fight” says Taylor, who is then shown traipsing over sandhills on horseback
in some beautifully-composed shots. Eventually he gets cut off from his men
after a battle (they call it the Battle of Suez here), but is nursed back to
health by Betty Bryant, dressed as a boy. She returns him to his regiment, and
he runs into him later on as a boy… then dressed as a girl. They start a
romance, before he’s called off to fight again.
Another battle – one of the Battles of Gaza
- sees Twohill and Rafferty killed (a surprise to see both of them knocked off)
and Taylor is captured and sent to Beersheba. He tries to escape, is captured,
then escapes again (okay, so the script isn’t perfect - it got really bogged down around this time).
He meets up with Bryant
and the two of them share a very hot, sexy scene in a deserted hut during a
rain storm – both of them wearing nothing but towels and they wind up having
sex. No kidding – you don’t see it, but it’s heavily implied, a lot more so
than Hollywood films of this era. Australian films have a reputation for being
about platonic love affairs between men (i.e. Gallipoli) but this one is very
hetero. Taylor eventually leaves Bryant, manages to rejoin his army just prior
to the charge at Beersheba – which is spectacular.
It’s easy to see why this was such a hit –
it’s full of energetic spirits, action and romance, plus unabashed nationalism
(‘Waltzing Matilda’ plays constantly, everyone loves Australians, Aussie soldiers are brave, loyal, admired by their enemies and allies and get to have sex with hot French girls, etc, etc) and
beautiful photography. We see the emergence of several names – Bryant is very
pretty and winning – and the hokiness is excusable. It’s strikingly pro-Arab.
On the debit side, Reiman overacts, the character of Twohill is underdeveloped
and there’s some repetition in the story.
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