Ken G Hall's sole dramatic feature after World War Two is a very polished, smooth piece of entertainment, typical of movies of the time, and make you (well, me, at any rate) really annoyed his talents went to waste after World War Two. He really knew how to make solid commercial films and he was at his peak in the 1940s.
Ron Randell was picked over Peter Finch to play the lead, and while Randell never became the star Finch did, I think it was the right decision - Randell had more dash, better looks, more obvious star charisma. He's very bright, and gives a good performance - I think he lost something without his Australian accent.
It's fun to see Billy Hughes playing himself and Charles Tingwell having a few lines at the beginning as an air traffic controller.
The script isn't perfect but then the story is tricky. It's propaganda and pro Smithy and many people were alive - and it's very biopic-y with lots of "I tell you it can't be done", and foreshadowing dialogue about how Smithy won't be appreciated in his life and about the threat of Japan (with Alec Kellaway talking about "those little yellow...").
A lot of this is clunky - it's hard to say who contributed to what in the script but I'm guessing Hall was responsible for the chunk since Alec Coppel wrote it with him. It's not bad, just clunky, with Greek chorus comments by Joe Valli. A lot of events are referred to that you really need prior knowledge of - such as the death of Charles Ulm, and of the two pilots who died searching for Smithy when the latter crashed.
Also flying across the ocean was dangerous and involved enormous skill but when you watch it, it's basically someone sitting in a cockpit. It's hard to make that too interesting. There is the cool bit where his co pilot got out on the wing to fix something up, but Smithy didn't get to do that.
I liked how they introduced a female, Kay, to help Smithy in America, giving the piece some female interest in the first half (I was confused when Kellaway said to her "does he know?" Know what? She later got married... did she have a fiancee at the time?)
There's some cute things like Smithy giving Muriel Steinbeck his autograph when she thinks he's a messenger boy - that's a good meet cute. Other stuff is less fun like Smith sexually harassing a nurse at the beginning asking for a back rub (mind you this is consistent with many scenes of the time meant to be charming). I loved the little kids talking about Smitty - it's a real insight into 1946 Australia.
The film is stronger in the second half when it gets more serious and down beat. I feel Hall really related to the struggles of Smithy - his attempts to monetise something which was so patently the future, his battles with bankers and backers.
John Tate is very good as Ulm, and Muriel Steinbeck strong as Mrs Smithy. Joy Nicholls is awkward as Kay. Kellaway is always reliable as an American backer.
I think Hall's great film was Dad and Dave Come to Town but this is definitely up there as well.
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