Newsfront (1978) - full transcript

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---
- Hello, guys. How are you?
- Hello.

Well, well, well, well.

Look at this bunch.

Look, fellas, how about a little number?
A little song.

A number that I heard in America,
they tell me it's very popular here.

It's something about a bum
walking along the road...

and he meets some dame named Matilda.

All right?

- No dame?
- Yeah.

It must mean something.

All right, now, look. Let's
start to sing it. Let me see.



You can do better than that.

Let me hear you here.

All right, now go.

Once a jolly swagman
camped by a billabong

Under the shade of a Coolibah tree

And he sang as he watched
and waited till his billy boiled

You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me

- Now!
- Waltzing Matilda

Waltzing Matilda

You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me

Magazine.

Tell me, where'd they get you?

Come on.

Beauty.



Beauty, that's it, lady.

Come on.

Thanks, digger, you're learning.

Damn it.

Missed her.

Forget it, son.

We're very thankful for
the Australian Government...

for offering the assistance...

and making it possible for us to get here.

I plan on becoming an Australian citizen
as soon as possible.

I have great faith in the country.

I know it's going to go ahead
by leaps and bounds.

And I'm very glad
to be able to take just a small part.

Leader of the Australian Labor Party...

and the Prime Minister of Australia,
Mr. Ben Chifley.

As the leader of the government
of this country...

and speaking as His Honor has spoken
and Mr. Cornwall has spoken...

to say to you, you
have come to a country...

in which, I believe, great opportunities
will present themselves.

You have come to a country
where democracy is not just a platitude...

but something that is practiced.

I, then your name.

I, Glenn Mastral.

- Swear by Almighty God...
- Swear by Almighty God...

- ...that I will be faithful...
- ...that I will be faithful...

- ...and bear true allegiance...
- ...and bear true allegiance...

- ...to the Commonwealth of Australia.
- ...to the Commonwealth of Australia.

I will ask the Prime Minister to hand you
your certificate of naturalization.

I don't believe it.

Will the registrar call the next applicant?

Watch it.

I, then your name...

I don't think we've been
officially introduced.

Just watch it, okay?

swear by Almighty God...

It's a great tie you're wearing, son.
Where'd you get it?

On the boat, coming out.

Good. Your mum would be proud of you.

- ...true allegiance...
- And bear true allegiance...

I didn't appreciate what happened in there.

Oh, I'm sorry, me old shiner.
But you are the enemy.

You've never heard of professional ethics,
have you?

Professional ethics?

Yeah.

Leonard, you sound more and more
like my poor old mother every day.

Look, I wouldn't normally sock
an old plonko 10 years my senior...

I sincerely hope not.

Who's so far gone with booze,
four-hour lunches and carpet bowls...

that he wouldn't even remember
what professional ethics were.

Carpet bowls?

Yeah. And dominos, too.

Out.

In.

In.

In.

Where's the wide shot?
Wide shot of the whole event.

You don't need it.

I stayed close to the faces.
Let the faces tell the story.

Frank would've taken a wide shot.

Yeah, good old Frank.

Whatever your brother's
other shortcomings...

Frank always did a thorough job.

Didn't he, Amy?

Yeah, I'll give him that.
He always did a thorough job.

Out.

We're very thankful for the Australian
Government for offering the assistance...

"Berthing at Sydney...

"the Wonganilla brings a sick passenger
from New Zealand.

"Coming ashore in the circus truck...

"is baby elephant Jodee, trunk and all.

"Jodee is just 14 months old, and
that's a baby with hair under her chin."

Good morning, Frank Maguire's office.

No. Look, I'm sorry.
Mr. Maguire's in conference.

Sorry, Murph. No dice. Do it again.

What's wrong with it this time?

Look, we're called Newsco International...

because we're an international newsreel,
digger.

That's one theory.

Which means, if the Poms or the Frogs or
the Eskimos see it, they gotta get excited.

It's not going to be seen overseas anyway.

Not with that narration, it won't. With
that narration it won't be seen here, mate.

Yeah.

Look, I'm hard because I care.

Okay?

I will ask the Prime Minister to hand you
your certificate of naturalization.

What in heaven's name is that?

I was improving the composition.
Deep focus.

The Orson Welles touch.

I hope that's a joke.

It's a joke.

You're not going to tell me what happened,
are you?

No.

And we're going to have a blue about it,
are we?

Only if you want to.

Is that in, A.G.?

- Do you think it ought to be in?
- Yes, I do.

Right, it's in.

I want to see you two in my office
right after this.

Like that shot.

- You understand that, don't you?
- Yes, sir.

- Make sure you remember it, then.
- Sure.

All right, that's all.

Good afternoon, Cinetone.

Does that happen much?

Oh, no. A.G.'s a good man.
Gets a bit moody. That's all.

Why?

It happens when things in your life
don't work out.

It happens when you end up behind a desk.

So you don't end up behind a desk, do you?

I don't intend to.

Good on you, son.

Hey, go easy. That's world history
you're kicking on the floor.

It's no loss. None of them are.

Bloody commo.

Flattery won't get you anywhere, mate.

- Some supper, gentlemen.
- Beauty.

Don't know how you can drink that stuff.
I can't stand the taste.

Oh, it grows on you.

Are you working right through, Geoff?

Yeah, why?

We have to go through
that inventory, remember?

Sure.

- Maybe when you've finished.
- Yeah.

Why don't we do it now?

What?

- What's the matter with right now?
- It's fine.

See you there in 10 minutes.

Okay.

Bet you don't.

- Five bob on it?
- You're on.

My shout.

Industrial lawlessness
comes to Sydney streets...

as militant Red-led wharf laborers...

threaten strike action
outside the arbitration courts.

Meanwhile, in an exclusive
Cinetone interview...

former communist secretary
Malcolm Sharply...

reveals his motives for rejecting
the worldwide Red conspiracy...

of which he was so recently a part.

I want to say emphatically and finally...

that my motive is to awaken this country
to a real danger.

And you say that this danger
is the Communist Party?

Quite definitely.

And if you don't believe that communism
is a real menace in this country...

you are living in a fool's paradise.

They are trying to sabotage everything...

that you've been struggling for, for years.

They would destroy everything
that is democratic...

even to selling out this country.

Television, no longer
just around the corner...

is monitored in a corner
of the Hotel Australia, Sydney...

as Australian technicians operate
British cameras...

to put on Australia's first demonstration.

And now we present those two
old-fashioned girls, Ada and Elsie.

Lift your veil, Els.

I bet they thought we'd be plain.

They're televising Carmen tomorrow night.

Carmen. Oh, that's a lovely opera.

Ada, what a thrill
when the matador fights... El toro!

El toro? What's that?

- Italian for bull.
- Oh.

"Vote for us and reduce your taxes."

- What's that?
- Australian for the same thing.

Two stars of radio,
in a new broadcast medium...

that maybe one day will come to Australia.

Mr. Mac.

Yeah?

- That bloke, your brother.
- Yeah.

Why did he leave the company?

Because he's a disloyal,
self-seeking bastard, that's why.

But why shouldn't he leave?
I mean, if the money's better.

Well, son, if you don't know that,
I can't tell you.

I don't know a lot of things, do I?
I mean, I'm new around here.

I'm a, what do you
call it, immoral primitive.

True. Too true.

Yeah, well, the company took us on
when we were broke.

- Folks were starving.
- Good morning, Cinetone.

The both of us, Frank first, then me.

Sweeping floors, worked our way up.

The company didn't have to do that,
did they?

- No.
- But they did.

- Weren't the Depression, was it?
- Yeah, the Depression.

How long were you on the dole, then?

We didn't go on the dole.
Not the Maguires, the battling Maguires.

Must have been mad.

Len.

- There's your jobs for the day.
- Thanks.

And about that telephoto lens.

What about the telephoto lens?

You may be the senior cameraman, mate,
but share the equipment around, all right?

I'll keep it in mind, mate.

And, Chris, smarten yourself up
before you go out on the job, all right?

There we were down the tube,
kipping on the platform.

Stacked us in like sardines, they did.

You come up in the morning,
check out whose house got bombed.

It felt really good some mornings,
coming up there...

knowing you'd survived
in amongst all that destruction.

But there were the cameramen, you see.
They were there, getting it all down.

Dodging in and out amongst the bombs and
fires. I thought, "That's for me, ain't it?"

So that's why I came out here.

They take too bloody long in England.
Everything takes too bloody long there.

Yes, well, it's not exactly
overnight here either, digger.

Yeah, but there's more chances here
ain't there?

More chances in a new, young country.

What do you think of Ben Chifley?

He's a bit common, ain't he?

Common?

Six years ago he was
still an engine driver.

Ben Chifley's the second-best
Prime Minister we ever had, mate.

Don't you forget that.

Who's the first then?

Who's the first then?
Just so I know, like, you know...

Well, for purposes of social intercourse.

John Curtin, mate.

And about John Curtin you don't get witty.
You get me?

There are some in the community...

who think that the rabbit catch
will swell Australia's harvest of rabbit skins.

But it is more sensible to remember...

that our last wool clip
was worth £156 million.

The basis of our national economy
and something to be protected.

Rabbits are public enemy number one.

It's a national responsibility
that cannot be ignored...

if this country is to rebuild
from the setbacks of the war.

We must stamp out the rabbit menace,
and we must do it now.

Come on. Let's go and get one, eh?

Right, my car's waiting.

Seen Mo lately?

Only last weekend.

- He's not well, you know.
- Yeah.

So I heard.

Good days.

I used to turn out four features a year
before the war.

I was just me.

We've seen the best
of our times, I'm afraid.

I'm still hopeful.

Kidding myself, "I'm hopeful."

- See you at the screenings.
- Yeah.

That's the way you'd like to take it,
if you want to be vulgar and common.

Middy, thanks, mate.

- G'day, Frank.
- G'day, Geoff. Good on you.

There we are. Thank you.

Look, it'll be all over by 10:00.

Yeah, I'll be home by 10:00.
10:30. I don't know.

Okay, love. See you later.

Jesus!

- How'd you be?
- All right.

All right?

Something on your mind?

Why should there be anything on my mind?

No reason.
So you've nothing on your mind?

Thought I might POQ, that's all.

What do you mean?

Shoot through. Leave the country.

Why would you want to do thing like that?
Best country in the world.

It's a bit pissed-off in
general, I think, tiger.

Pissed off, are you?

Yeah.

What about Amy?

What about Amy? She's all right.

She'll be running all you blokes down
at Cinetone before long.

No, I mean you and Amy.

She's been waiting 6 years, mate.

Things aren't as simple as that, tiger.
They never were.

Listen, are you two gentlemen
coming or not?

Where?

Anzac Day special.

We shall dismember them.

You mean we invited you Newsco blokes?

Why not? We were in the
front line together, weren't we?

Yeah.

There's only original narration so far,
but the music's on.

And I just want a few general opinions...

and no remarks in poor taste, okay?

- Your little boy's growing up.
- Get stuffed.

Anzac.

A day when we remember
all those mighty Australian warriors...

and the sacrifices made by them...

in order that we may now live free
from tyranny.

A day on which, except for marching feet...

That's the shot I was talking about, mate.

The homage and the plaudits proudly given.

The life of our cities is stilled...

and the spirit and glory of the nation
is paramount.

The true spirit of Anzac...

has been graphically brought
to the attention of all Australians...

by the vivid newsreel images
of fighting Australians at war.

And no more moving a tribute exists...

than the remarkable scenes
photographed in New Guinea...

by cameraman Damien Parer.

Strewth, that's good footage.

It's a good cameraman.

That was a maniac.

I remember him, up before dawn
every morning, clicking away at his rosary.

So, what's wrong with that?

Once religion gets you in
its vice-like grip, you've had it.

Mental.

You go mental.

Where is he?

I mean, where's he when he's filming that?

No man's land.

Between the two front lines.
Japs on one side of him, us on the other.

Blimey, where's he now, then?

That was the last shot he ever took.

Damien Parer...

seen here in action
just before his death...

gave his all for a cause
in which he truly believed.

I think this is where the ladies leave.

I'll come with you.

Cecil B. DeMille, look out!

Why don't you stay? You might pick
up a few clues for the next lucky lady.

Where'd you get that one from, Macka?
Pick her up round the back of the studio?

Christ, what's wrong with him?

You know. He just got married.

Takes them like that.
They think everybody should get married.

Whereas we know better, don't we?

I didn't mean it like that and you know it.

You mean it like something different
every time, don't you?

Don't start it.

It's just that most of the time
I doubt the truth of what you say.

If you want out, you can have it.

Want out?
What kind of an expression is that?

I don't want out, I just want honesty.

- No, you don't.
- No, you don't.

Yes, I do.

What was he talking about?

He thinks you and I should get married.

Is that all?

Yeah.

Jesus, you're a cold fish.

You really think you're a good-time
Charlie, don't you, full of life?

But there's something really dead
about you, Frank.

Stop talking like Women's Weekly.

I'm not talking like the Women's Weekly.

Look, things aren't what they should be,
they never have been.

I never said they were. I just want my
fair share of the way they are, that's all.

Come on. Let's grab a hot dog
and go for a drive down the beach, eh?

Yeah, why not?

You two blokes want a beer?

Can't stand the stuff, mate.

Hey, Greasy. That's really good iron, mate.
You're doing us both proud.

All three of us.

Black market, mate. Only way to shop.

You old rogue.

Hey, Christopher. Get a tripod, mate.
Professional standards.

You're so close to the sea.
It's a pity, it'll tarnish the silver.

Who can afford silver?

- You ought to go to Newsco, see Frank.
- He'll give you a job.

- Watch it there, Chris.
- He's after your job, Len.

- Care for a dance?
- Impossible to cut, mate.

You were an army cook, were you?

Yeah, that's right. What are you inferring?

Nothing. Nothing at all.

It's just, can't see how our side won.

Go on, bite your bum.
See if that tastes any better.

Oh, shit.

Hey, mind your language.
There's ladies present.

- Grab the beer, Christopher.
- Never mind the beer, get the grub.

Come on, fellas, ladies first.

Did you bring an umbrella?

We can still eat, anyway.

Perhaps I'm beginning to wonder
whether I should have called this meeting.

Yeah, well, there's wet paint
everywhere else.

Well, anyone for snakes and ladders?

When's the baby coming, Fay?

Any minute now.

Tonight, maybe.

We're painting the extension blue,
hoping God will take the hint.

Don't say things like that, Len.

Yeah, cross yourself, quick.

Say three Hail Marys
and touch your toes three times.

How's it feel?

A bit scary. All so soon.

- Sooner than you thought?
- Yes.

Well, that's what happens
when you marry a good Catholic.

Well, we're all Catholics, Amy.

Everyone in this room's a Catholic.

Len and I are what you'd call
Roman Catholic.

I'll get some more booze.

And how are you, Amy, these days?

Making out, you know.

Yes. Well, it stopped.

Just a sun shower.

Well, then, we'd better
be getting back to it.

- Nice chatting with you ladies.
- The pleasure was all ours.

Nice food, Mrs. Maguire.

- America?
- That's right.

You're mad.

- That's where it is. Whatever it is.
- How do you know?

You know, I've heard rumors.

Funny.

After, what, 33 years
of close personal contact with you...

I don't know you at all.

You're just not observant, that's all.

I mean, you're making this film
about the communist menace, right?

Who told you that?

A.G. turned it down.
Even he wouldn't touch it.

That so?

And you're a Labor voter, right?

- I'm paid to make films, aren't I?
- Yeah.

Look, I am 37 years old,
got no responsibilities.

And that's the crucial consideration,
no responsibilities.

So I want to go places.

Yeah, good luck to you.

Well, if you want to stick around
for the superannuation...

gold watch...

30 bob a week for the rest of your life,
that's okay with me.

There's more to it than
that and you know it.

Not the way I see it.

I'll send you a postcard
from Hollywood, okay?

Yeah, terrific.

You're so normal. You really are.

What sort of remark's that?

Well, I mean,
you're overworked, underpaid...

but you're loyal.

And you're grateful.
You're a good company man.

Company hack. Good on you, mate.

Get stuffed, will you?

After 8 years in office under the leadership
of first Prime Minister Curtin...

and then Mr. Chifley...

the Australian Labor Party
has been defeated at the polls...

by Mr. Menzies' new
Liberal-Country Party coalition.

Looks like a big kangaroo, doesn't he?

Mr. Chifley, seen here voting.

Mr. Menzies casts his choice.

You may think it's funny.

Stop it there, will you, Macka?

I'm astonished at you, Geoff, for imagining
that a piece of bad taste like that...

was worth your time...

my disappointment in you...

and the money I'm going to dock from
your pay for the ingenious processing work.

Come on.

Astonished. Absolutely astonished!

It was a joke, A.G.

And something of a political statement.

Just because after 9 years
of well-nigh traitorous incompetence...

we now have a government capable
of getting us out of the mess...

your friends got us into...

After the Brisbane Line,
you're calling Chifley traitorous?

A government that maybe even will
put the film industry back on its feet.

We've all heard that before.

Will you listen to me
when I'm talking to you?

I still have some authority around here.

We never said you didn't.

In my day...

people had respect for those
who had the goodness to employ them...

when nobody else would.

I voted for Winston Churchill.

Good on you, Christopher.

I think he's great.

I have never promised anything...

but rum, sodomy and the lash.

Okay.

Roll on, Macka.

I just want to say this to you.

You have given us
not only an enormous majority...

but an enormous task.

We're going to do our best
to perform that task.

And all the time that we're performing it,
we shall remember...

that we represent all the people...

not just the ones who voted for us,
but the ones who voted against us.

And that the real thing
that we have to produce in Australia...

is not only national prosperity,
but national unity.

Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it.

I won't believe it then.

- Good luck, Frank!
- See you, Frank.

Have a good trip, mate!

Good luck. See you, fella.

Should auld acquaintance

Be forgot

And never brought to mind

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

For the days of auld Lang syne

For auld Lang syne, my dear

For auld Lang syne

We'll take a cup of kindness yet

For auld Lang syne

Good luck, Frank! Good boy!

Presenting chapter 2,535
of... When a Girl Marries.

- That's a bit alarmist, isn't it, A.G.?
- It is not.

It's not alarmist at all.

What? You mean in five years' time...

Newsco will have
all the independent exhibitors tied up...

and we won't get a look in.

On the present figures,
that's just what I mean.

They're my calculations,
projected through to 1960.

What, merely because they've got more
overseas content?

Thanks to Frank Maguire,
yes, more exciting overseas content.

Good old Frank.

Well, we can't fight them
on overseas content, can we?

No, we can't.

Haven't got the stringers.
Haven't got the funds.

- Have we, Sir Charles?
- No, indeed you haven't.

That's right.

We have the vision, the grasp,
the talent, the eagerness.

But we haven't got the funds.

Okay, we've been over all this.

Yes, I know we have.

Morning, A.G.

Good morning.

I want to speak to you later, Len,
about your timesheet.

Right.

I wasn't amused
by that note at the end, mate.

Oh, yeah?

Just because you were around
when a big story blew up...

doesn't mean you can take liberties
with the timesheet.

You follow me, I trust.

I follow you, A.G.

Our view is that we go for more
Australian content rather than less.

We bill ourselves
as the Australian newsreel.

We'll be the only true Australian newsreel.

We haven't got much choice, have we?

I believe there's enough patriotism and
loyalty left in the country to help us out.

- I really do.
- There'd bloody better be.

So...

we emphasize the kangaroos,
the koala bears, the outback.

More stories, humorous stories,
if you like, from the outback.

Where the true Australians live.

Right.

The communist pressure
all round the world...

has been very, very cleverly designed.

It's showing up in the form of war
in Korea today.

There are obvious pressure spots...

which may become active in the near future.

In America and all over the world,
anti-communist feeling mounts.

"The enemy within,"
"the Communist menace"...

"the Stalinist world conspiracy"...

are phrases on the lips of all nations.

In Australia, Prime Minister Menzies
seeks to abolish the Communist Party.

In the High Court, Opposition Leader Evatt,
successor to Mr. Chifley...

calls any attempt to outlaw
any political party a threat to democracy.

And the Communist Party dissolution bill
is declared unconstitutional...

and thrown out of court.

Undaunted, the Prime Minister has recently
called a referendum...

asking for a constitutional amendment...

enabling the government
to outlaw communism...

and imprison any person two cabinet
ministers together declare to be communist.

This, in Dr. Evatt's view, would give
the ministers police state powers.

Powers comparable with those of...

I thought I told you to take that out.

It's in, Ken. Can we back up to the head?

I'm not going to say it.

It's still in, Ken.
A.G. reckons it's fair comment.

Is that so?

Well, convey to A.G. my resignation,
effective as of this moment.

- Come on.
- And remind him he owes me three quid!

I warned you.

Look, it's not as though
you got to say something that isn't true.

What's that got to do with the fact
that I'm not going to say it?

It's got everything to do with the fact
it should be said.

Listen, mate.

I depend on government bodies
like the ABC for half my daily bread.

And I'm not calling any government
that pays me as well as these buggers do...

a police state.

And I know what you're going to say,
because you're so bloody predictable.

Yeah, and what am I going to say?

Any government
that won't let you say things against it...

is a police state government, am I right?

Yeah, that's right.
That's what I was going to say.

- I was also going to say--
- I couldn't agree with you more.

And when we're declared communist
because of your tomfool narration...

and we're blacklisted like those
overpaid pansies in Hollywood...

we can tell it all
to our fellow inmates in jail, eh?

- Look, it doesn't have to come to that.
- Now, convey to A.G. my resignation.

And wish him a Merry Christmas.

Anytime you care to take the sentence out,
I'm contactable by telephone at the pub.

I'm exercising my democratic right
to go on strike, that's all.

I always knew you were a gutless wonder.

When you're 64
and you've had your first heart attack...

you'll know how it feels, sonny Jim.

Gutless wonders of the world unite.

Oh, shut up.

Can't expect them all to sleep together.

Especially if this one's a boy.

- You want another extension, don't you?
- We'll have to get a bigger house.

- We can't afford a bigger house.
- Then we haven't got any choice.

You know what I mean.
Enough can be enough.

- Enough what?
- You know.

- You can take precautions.
- No.

No, I've made up my mind.

Good for you.

You just can't do without it, can you?

- Not even in the country, I bet.
- What can I say to that?

You think I don't know what goes on
when you and Chris go away together...

off into the wild blue yonder.

- Nothing goes on.
- Don't believe you.

Don't, then.

I don't believe that's my kid, either.

How dare you?

I'm sorry.

I found Cheryl yesterday.

She was just about to take a swig
from that Lysol bottle.

Keep it out of her reach, love.

You don't know what it's like...

trying to manage on me own
with you away half the time.

I know.

I've got to be mother and father to them.

Mother and father, half the time.

I know, love.

I'm sorry.

If you could take some of these perhaps...

show them to neighbors,
people that you work with.

Thanks, Father.

And how many for you?

- None at all, Father.
- I beg your pardon, Leonard?

We differ, that's all.
There's nothing more to it than that.

- So we differ, do we?
- Yes, that's right. We differ.

You're not disputing my right
as a citizen priest to have my opinion.

Not at all, Father.
I think you're wrong this time, that's all.

I'm astounded to hear you say that,
Leonard, I really am.

Please, Dad.
It's embarrassing enough as it is.

- What do you mean, "embarrassing"?
- Just what I said.

I'm interested, Leonard, in how you
fellow travelers can stand up...

in the face of Stalin's labor camps,
the persecution of the church--

I'm not a fellow traveler. I'm a democrat.
I believe in democracy.

Don't raise your voice at Father Coghland.

- Oh, Christ.
- And don't blaspheme.

You deny, then, that the communists
are gaining control of all our unions?

- They probably are. So what?
- They've got to be stopped.

Why?

Well, if you don't know that, Leonard,
I'm sorry for you. I really am.

Look, don't bother
being sorry for me, okay?

Leonard, you're making a spectacle
of yourself.

If you're gonna bring him up that way,
I feel even more sorry for her.

Oh, get rooted.

Charming.

Righto, everyone. Line up, please.

Come on, bunch it up a little. Good.

- Ice man!
- Come in, Jim.

- G'day.
- Want to stay for a cup of tea?

Not today, love. Some other time.

- G'day.
- G'day.

Some other time, eh?
What, when I'm not here?

What?

It's a joke, love.

Funny sort of joke.

Yeah, well. We all get tempted, don't we?

If you say so. I'm sure you're the expert.

- Christ, love.
- Don't blaspheme.

- Not in this house, thank you.
- In this house?

What, you mean your house?
Is that what you mean?

Well, I never wanted it like that.

I wanted it to be our house.

7:00.

It is our house.

A final count overnight has established...

that by a narrow margin,
Australians have voted "no."

I repeat, "no," to ban the Communist Party.

Of 4, 754,589 votes counted...

the "nos" outnumbered the "yes" votes--

Hope you're satisfied.

Come on, love.

- Don't touch me.
- Don't touch you?

No.

The Himalayas, seen here
from an RAAF aircraft in wartime...

are the giants of the earth.

Grim, inhospitable, forbidding.

And the greatest of these giants
is Everest itself.

A permanent challenge
to the adventurous spirit of man.

Now it has been conquered...

and in Kathmandu
they build special stands...

and arches of welcome
in readiness for celebration.

Tenzing Norgay, the Sherpa,
now called the "Tiger of Tigers."

And Edmund Hillary of New Zealand,
who, like the leader of the expedition...

is to be knighted by a queen
who heard the news on her coronation day.

Another first for the proud peoples
of Australasia.

The conquest of one of the giants
of the earth.

Wonderful, Kenny. Wonderful stuff!

That'll show Newsco.

That'll teach the bastards
to ride with the Yanks.

Good stuff!

- Good mix, Greasy. Beauty.
- Good stuff!

I feel like...

One of the pioneers of the film industry...

the man who, more than any other,
gave Australia its face...

the character, by which this country
is known throughout the world.

At Kingsford Smith Airport,
the highest-ranking American...

ever to visit Australia
arrives with his wife from New Zealand.

He is the Vice President
of the United States...

Senator Richard M. Nixon,
and he's on a special goodwill mission.

- That's wrong. "Senator" is wrong.
- What?

He used to be Senator,
now he's Vice President.

- Still called a Senator, it's a courtesy title.
- No, it's not.

- "Vice President" supersedes "Senator."
- Yeah, maybe.

The Senator is no stranger
to the microphone...

and at the Hotel Australia
he speaks with his customary eloquence...

on the Cold War problem.

We have a secret weapon.

It isn't the atomic bomb. It's the people.

The people want peace.

Senator Nixon makes
an immediate impression...

with his clean-cut, direct approach.

If A.G. was here, it'd be Mr. Nixon.

If A.G. was here,
he'd throw you all out of the studio.

Christ, that all went in the soundtrack.
Rewind to the head, will you, Macka?

At Kingsford Smith Airport,
the highest-ranking American...

ever to visit Australia
arrives with his wife from New Zealand.

He is the Vice President
of the United States...

Senator Richard M. Nixon,
and he's on a special goodwill mission.

It's bloody awful.

It's a bloody awful newsreel.

Jesus, if I was head of this company...

I should be.

Come off it, Amy, okay?
We're doing our best.

- Yeah, that's what worries me.
- Settle down.

...has made a government policy that
the best policies eventually will develop.

Cars, cars and more cars.

As 30,000 people
packed Moore Park, Sydney...

for the start of the first Round
Australia Redex Reliability Car Trial.

192 vehicles crossed the starting line
at two-minute intervals...

on the first leg of the longest,
toughest trial in the world.

The Cinetone Holden film unit
with cameramen Len Maguire...

and Christopher Hewitt
will cover the entire course...

and you'll be seeing all the action
on this screen over the coming weeks.

- Jesus Christ!
- What?

Why do we got to keep ahead of them
all the time...

why don't we enter the bloody thing
ourselves? We'll probably win the prize.

Christopher, if our lives were ruled
by logic, we'd all be in real estate.

There, there.

Morning, how are you?

All right, Christopher. This is the one.
Get it set up, will you?

Nothing broken, is there, chap?
You all right?

You all right, mate?

You bloody bastards!

You knew it was there!
You could have warned us!

Yeah, I'm sorry, mate.

I ought to knock your bloody block off!

Oh, shit!

Cut it out, Tony! It was an accident.

- You mongrels!
- Take it easy!

Sorry, mate.

Shit!

Who wows the sheilas
with his handsome-looking dial

Nobody else but little me

Who knocks them rotten
with just a pleasant smile

Nobody else but little me

But when their fathers look for me
I'm always out of reach

I've got out of more tight squeezes
than a blonde at Bondi Beach

Who wows the sheilas
with his handsome-looking dial?

Nobody else but little me

Who did the washing-up
when Grandma came to stay

Nobody else but little me

She started up some singing
with a voice like TNT

Good evening. Would you like to dance?

Yeah.

She crowed through Old Black Joe
Then she started Old Man River

So I whacked her in the kisser
with a hunk of bullock's liver

Who did the washing-up
when Grandma came to stay

Nobody else but little me

Who did the milking
when me old man went to town

Nobody else but little me

Nobody else but little me

- You Chris Hewitt?
- That's right, I am.

Yeah, thought that's who you were.

- What's your name?
- Ellie. Ellie Wilson.

I hitchhiked down for the cars.

It's so exciting, isn't it?

- Where from?
- Winton. It's a little town 40 miles away.

- It must be quite a change for you.
- Yeah.

And so, in conclusion,
I'd like us to think of the Redex Trial...

as a symbol.

A latter-day symbol
of the intrepid do-or-die spirit...

that gave us this great land of ours.

And now I say to you all:
This is pioneering country out here...

and we welcome you to it.

And now the ladies of the CWA
have prepared an excellent supper.

- When are you moving out?
- About 4:00 in the bloody morning.

Got to get ahead of the others.

- Wish I could stay.
- I wish you could too.

I think you're great. Do you know that?

Four in the morning. That's not much time.

Not much.

Mom would kill me
if I stayed out till four in the morning.

Bad enough hitchhiking here.

- How would she know? She's 40 miles away.
- She'd know.

That's all that happens, is it?

- What do you mean?
- I don't know.

I just thought it'd be
different, that's all.

Hey, is this your first time?

What do you think?

Can't you tell?

Can't you feel anything?

- How would I know?
- You'd know.

All those towns you go to.
You must have had lots of girls.

- Big glamour boy.
- Glamour boy?

Look, I'll have you know
that I'm not just a pretty face.

I'm an individual. I've got feelings.

What's the matter?

I think you're funny.

Not much cop, eh?

It was all right.

I could get to like it.

- Glad to hear it.
- You're funny.

Come on, Chris.

- You will write?
- Of course I will.

See you.

Dirty young bastard.

Just testing my wings.

Good edit.

You'll be all right.

- Sorry to see you go.
- You know, greener pastures.

- England?
- Yeah. Best place for an aging radical.

Ah, Christopher, there's someone to see you
in the foyer. Been waiting three hours.

- G'day. What are you doing here?
- Hello.

It's a touch over two eight.

- Up the duff, is she?
- Yeah, up the duff.

Poor little girl. Not a
very good way to start.

- Start what?
- A marriage.

We weren't necessarily
going to start a marriage.

Ah, that so?

I like her, but you know, in 50 years,
you know?

I'm not sure I do.

Well, there's alternatives.

Yeah, two.

You can either do the right thing
or the wrong thing.

Well, look, she doesn't necessarily
want to get married either, you know.

Really? And that's why she hitchhiked
400 miles by herself?

For something she didn't want.

What would you know about it, eh?
What would you really know about it?

Listen, son, there's some things in life
that just don't change, right?

No, but seriously,
a whingeing Pommy will do.

He won't do much,
because of his background.

Three hands of poker behind the dunny
is their idea of hard work.

But he'll always do the little he does do
with the maximum possible reluctance.

That's the sort of bloke he is.

I think the bridesmaids look lovely.

There seems to be more of them now
than what there was when I came in.

But I'd like you now
to charge your glasses...

in appreciation of a very good job
they've done.

- To the bridesmaids.
- To the bridesmaids.

- It's funny, eh?
- No, I think it's terrific.

I'd never have made me mind up on me own.

- You know what, Chris?
- What?

I wanted it to end up this way.

Oh, yeah?

The swollen Hunter river.

And behind this raging torrent
lies the sunken city of Maitland.

The Newsco camera team on the spot
recorded these dramatic scenes...

as stranded townsfolk are evacuated
by army duck.

- Good evening, sir.
- The road's blocked. Where are you going?

Maitland.

Got a duck. Do you want a lift?

Yeah, looks like it.

Look, we have a lot of bread in the back.

They gave us some bread. Can we take it in?

- All right. She'll be right.
- Ripper. Thanks.

You'll have to trust me.
Never tried this before.

Think it'll be all right.

"'Twill serve." Shakespeare.

Fair dinkum.

Head like the inside of an iron maiden.

How can the phone be working?

Christ knows.

Can you send us down
some penicillin and bandages?

Yeah. Where to?

Town hall. Other end of the main street,
half a mile down.

- All right. Who's this?
- What do you mean "who's this"?

This is the Mayor of Maitland, that's who.
My Worship, the Mayor.

All right, then.

Blimey.

Is anybody here?

- Jessie, look at this. He's got through.
- Here you are, Your Worship.

Got your order here.

Good on you, my boy.

Bless you.

I feel like the Queen Mother.

- Here, have a drink.
- Thank you.

Home brew. Highly
illegal, but pretty tasty.

Don't mind if I do, I
haven't had breakfast.

Don't see many places with indoor pools,
do you?

Come on.

- Where's young Chris?
- Who?

I don't know.

Hey, Charlie. There.

Maitland, a city of 25,000 people...

lies drowning beneath a yellow tide.

For floods aren't only swollen rivers...

they scar and destroy
in the lust for havoc.

They kill. They maim.
They cause heartbreak and suffering.

Right, you blokes. Over here!

You blokes over there...

straighten up down there
around the clearing.

Dr. Livingstone, I presume.

Yeah, right again.

- You've seen one, you've seen them all.
- Yeah.

Wait! Come here! Come on!

Over here!

They're going out live, you know.
Six days ahead of us.

Piss off, why don't you?
You bastards. Get out of it!

I was shooting bushfires
before you were born.

We've all got our problems, Charlie.

- How do you know my name?
- Well, you're famous, aren't you?

Am I?

Well, piss off then.
You're fouling up the air.

It's made from pure fruit
One more good reason why

I like Aeroplane jelly

Aeroplane jelly for me

- Great voice you've got there, Charl.
- It's a gift.

Come on, talk to me, you horrible bastard.
I'm lonely. I'm 50 years old and I'm lonely.

I don't feel like it.
I'm 40 years old and I'm lonely.

- You should worry.
- I do. It's the way I am.

You know, it's in my opinion
that you suffer from an excess of hope...

hope for the future.

I, by contrast, just take things as
they come. I'm along for the ride.

- But you think you're headed somewhere.
- Yeah, well, I'm not heading nowhere.

None of us are.

You reckon? I used to think that once too.

Till the missus took her overdose,
the boys turned against me...

and the budgerigar died of beak rot,
and a few other things.

No, we're not headed anywhere.

We can all find excuses for tossing it in,
Charlie, my boy.

Oh, no, no, no. Not excuses, mate. Reasons.

Does the drive back count as overtime?

- Technically, yeah.
- I'll put in for it then.

Why don't you cut your hair?

Why don't you grow yours?

- G'day, you lucky girl.
- Hi.

There are some letters
for you on the table.

Fine.

And Fay rang.
She said you're late with the check.

So, what's new?

I saw you on the TV
news, shooting the fire.

- How was I?
- Just the way I want to remember you.

Strong, resolute, handsome.

What about a beer?

What did it look like,
the bushfire on the television?

- Was it good?
- Yeah, it was good enough.

It won't be as spectacular as yours,
but good.

Yeah.

What's up?

I don't know.

It feels like something's over.

- Feels like--
- Like growing up.

Yeah.

- You all right?
- Yeah.

What the hell's that? That's not my stuff.
That's some other fire.

Yeah, well, we needed it.

My stuff wasn't good enough,
is that what you mean?

Now, look, it's because the
television stuff's been to air already...

six days before we get to the theatre.
You know that.

So our stuff's got to be really spectacular
to compete.

So what do they expect me to do,
get burned to death in front of their eyes?

There was a lot of smoke.
We needed more flame.

Now, what are you saying?
I didn't go in close enough?

- Is that what you're saying?
- No.

He was saying I didn't get in close enough.

Well, maybe you didn't get in close enough.

Do you believe that?

What does it matter if he was right? After
two decades of getting in close enough...

one day you didn't get close enough.

What's it matter?
You're entitled to a day off.

I think it matters very much.

All right, it matters.

Look, in 18 years I've never put in
one foot of unprofessional footage...

or one inch of somebody else's stuff,
and I don't intend to start now.

Look, mate, I reckon you're about due
for some time off.

So, what are you saying?

I'm saying you're causing me more
aggravation than I'm used to around here.

- So that's it, is it?
- Either shape up or ship out.

That's a message for all of us right now.

Right.

- Hello?
- New York calling. Mr. Len Maguire, please.

Speaking.

Hello, tiger. How'd you be?

- Who's that?
- It's Frank.

Frank who? Frank! What's up?

Well, I'm the vice president
of this little movie company.

Yeah, yeah.

And we just got the okay
for this drama series based in Melbourne.

Anyway, I want you in on it.

- You want me in on it?
- That's right.

Look, it's 3:00 in the morning,
you know that?

Yeah, I figured I'd find you home.

- How's Amy?
- She's okay.

Still trying to take over Cinetone.

Do you want to talk to her? She's awake.

No, look, I'll see you Saturday.
I'll be in Sydney.

- You'll be here?
- That's right.

Well, pretty strange to hear your voice.

- Pretty bloody strange to hear yours.
- Yeah, I guess.

- See you.
- Yeah, see you.

They asked me how I knew

My true love was true

I of course replied

Something here inside

Cannot be denied

They said someday you'll find

Tiger!

All who love are blind

Francis Allouicious!

- You're looking great.
- You're looking pretty good yourself.

Hi.

This is Diana.

- Well, hi there!
- Hello.

- This is Amy.
- Hi.

Hello.

- She's my personal assistant.
- Oh, really?

What do you think of the place?
I got a room upstairs.

- Belongs to a buddy of mine.
- That's good.

In fact, he owns
the whole goddamn skyscraper.

And he's got another one just like it,
back in L.A.

- Fair dinkum.
- Yeah. Shall we sit down?

- How is it, kid?
- Much the same.

I don't know whether to take that
as a compliment or not.

Neither do I.

All this is a bit hard to cope with.

What is?

Smoke gets in your eyes

Well, what do you think?

- Well, it's an Australian series, right?
- Shot in Australia.

At bottom, it's a Western,
but what the hell?

- It's an Australian series.
- With an American star.

Yeah, a big one. But my lips are sealed.

- And I, what, co-produce?
- Yeah.

- Co-produce or production manage?
- A bit of both.

You'll handle the
Australian end of things--

And you handle the American end of things.

I don't know.

Can we eat? I'd really love to eat.

Look, don't think on it as an office job.

You still get to travel.
Melbourne, Adelaide, all that.

And you travel back and forth
to Los Angeles, coordinating.

- Something like that, yeah.
- I don't know.

I saw a koala yesterday
at Taronga Park Zoo.

Oh, my! I never saw a koala before.

They've got appendixes this long.

Oh, no. You're kidding me.

No, he's not.
They've got appendices this long.

My next number is one
I'm sure you all know...

and it's in honor of Mr. Frank Maguire,
a local boy who's come home.

What a surprise. Must have been my buddy.

Whacko.

There's a track winding back, Lord

To an old-fashioned shack

On the road to Gundagai

Where the little gums are growing

And the Murrumbidgee's flowing

Beneath the sunny sky

Where my mama and my daddy
are waiting for me

You know, there's always room for you
if you wanted to come over.

Really? Thanks.

Then no more will I roam
when I'm heading straight for home

On the road to Gundagai

- Sure seems a long time ago.
- Yeah. Longish.

We talked, I recall, about the
purpose of life till three in the morning.

Make this the last one, Len.
The kids should be in bed.

Why don't you come on the weekends,
when they can stay up?

- Who's that, Dad?
- That's your Uncle Chris.

You remember your Auntie Ellie
in the country.

Yeah.

- Can we play Monopoly now?
- Not tonight. Time for bed, everyone.

Yep. Another time, kids. There we are.

So, that's it, is it?

- Mrs. Lauren Patterson, formerly Maguire.
- That's right.

- Yeah.
- He loves me, Len.

- Yeah.
- Strange as it may seem.

- That's not strange, love.
- Well, it's not final.

- What?
- Well, we haven't set a date, I mean.

And you're the one
that was such a good Catholic.

He'll be a good father to the kids.

Christ!

Don't you think I should do it?

Look, I don't know.

How do you feel?

Not too bloody good, old mate.

This old place is not going to seem
the same without you.

You'll be all right, you old rogue.

Len.

Oh, Len, glad you wandered in.

- Something's happened.
- Oh, yeah?

We've taken a decision. That is, the
board of directors have taken a decision.

Sir Charles is in agreement.

- Morning, Len.
- Sir Charles.

That an amalgamation of Cinetone
and Newsco should go ahead forthwith.

Come again?

Well, in view of the unlikelihood
of both newsreel companies...

surviving the arrival of television,
we've decided to amalgamate the two.

On a majority decision
of both boards of directors.

As our first joint project...

by special arrangement
with Sir Avery Brundage...

we're doing the Olympic Games,
and I want you to direct it, all right?

Direct, or shoot and direct?

Shoot and direct, of course.

Got something for me to sign?

No, it's all right. Some other time.

Gentlemen.

- Hi. Where's the cameraman's office?
- First right.

I have it on reliable authority
that we are about to share a desk.

Yeah.

One fart and you're out.

In this, our first-ever
Cinenews newsreel...

we flash back to happier times.

As the symbolic Olympic torch
leaves Sydney en route for Melbourne...

and the Games of the 16th Olympiad.

The normally drab southern capital
has turned on a bright welcome...

for the 3,000 athletes from 67 countries
now competing in Melbourne.

But political events in Europe...

have cast a dark shadow
over the festive Olympic atmosphere.

In Hungary, Russian forces
have ruthlessly crushed...

the anti-Communist rebellion.

Hungarians across the country
now mourn their dead.

At the Olympic swimming stadium,
invasion hostilities this week...

found a strange battle ground
when Russia played Hungary...

in a semifinal of the water polo.

These world-exclusive Cinenews pictures...

show the brutal encounter
that quickly developed in the game.

That's right! Punch him in the head!

What do you know about peace,
you Communist?

Christ, what a donnybrook.

Jesus.

Thank Christ, I thought I'd missed you.
Been looking for you everywhere.

What the hell are you after now?

You got it, did you?
The bloodbath, at the water polo?

I like the way you put it.

I've just been on the phone to a guy
willing to pay you $50,000 for that footage.

- Yeah? Who?
- Important American interest.

What's it for, propaganda? Show how
the Communists tear themselves apart?

- I don't know. Something like that.
- What's your commission?

We haven't discussed that yet.

- Listen. How many rolls did you shoot?
- Two.

Give one to the company and let me handle
the other one. That's reasonable.

Go and get stuffed.

No, I'll go further.
I'm inviting you to bite your bum.

Come on, Len.

Hey, Len, come on!

That boy's galloping toward a precipice
with his eyes wide open.

He's just a bit old-fashioned, that's all.