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Fauna Productions
Fauna Productions is an Australian film and TV production company established by Lee Robinson, Lionel ('Bob') Austin and John McCallum who met during the making of the film ''They're a Weird Mob'' (1966). Robinson, Austin and McCallum wanted to make productions aimed at the international audience and enjoyed great success with the TV series '' Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'' and ''Barrier Reef''. Fauna Productions is still in business, now being run by two sons of the founders, Philip Austin and Nick McCallum. Select Credits *'' Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'' (1966–69) - TV series *'' The Intruders'' (1969) - film *''Nickel Queen'' (1971) - film *''Barrier Reef'' (1971–72) - TV series *'' Boney'' (1972–73) - TV series *''Shannon's Mob'' (1975–76) - TV series *''Bailey's Bird'' (1977) - TV series *''Attack Force Z'' (1981) - film *''The Highest Honor ''The Highest Honour'' is a 1982 Australian/Japanese co-production about Operation Jaywick and Operation Rimau by Z Special Unit d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lee Robinson (director)
Lee Robinson (22 February 1923 – 22 September 2003) was an Australian producer, director and screenwriter who was Australia's most prolific filmmaker of the 1950s. Biography Robinson was born in Petersham, New South Wales and left school aged 12. He worked at the ''Daily Telegraph'' has a copy boy, and wrote short stories prior to the war. He first entered film as a member of the Australian Army History Unit where he filmed Australian troops in Rabaul and East Timor. After the war he was going to work for the ABC as a scriptwriter when he received an offer to join the Australian Information Service film unit (later Film Australia) where he directed a film on Albert Namatjira called ''Namatjira the Painter'' (1946). Robinson made several films in the Northern Territory such as '' Outback Patrol'', '' The Pearlers'' and ''Crocodile Hunters'' as well as a short film with actors in a studio called '' Double Trouble'' (1951). The high quality and Australian subject matter of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John McCallum (actor)
John Neil McCallum, (14 March 19183 February 2010) was an Australian theatre and film actor, highly successful in the United Kingdom. He was also a television producer. Early life McCallum's father, John Neil McCallum Sr., was a theatre owner and entrepreneur, who built and for many years ran the 2,000 seat Cremorne Theatre on the banks of the Brisbane River. After emigrating from Scotland, McCallum Snr. became an accomplished musician, and was soon heavily involved in Brisbane's entertainment scene. His mother was an accomplished amateur actress who was born in England. In 1918, McCallum Jr. was born in Brisbane during the opening night of a comedy performance. After his birth, a family friend sent his father a wire: 'Congratulations on two howling successes'. McCallum was exposed to acting at a young age: his early childhood was full of backstage encounters at the Cremorne with the wide variety of performers who frequented his father's theatre. Although McCallum and his two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
They're A Weird Mob (film)
''They're a Weird Mob'' is a 1966 Australian film based on the 1957 novel of the same name by John O'Grady under the pen name "Nino Culotta", the name of the main character of the book. It was the penultimate collaboration of the British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Plot Nino Culotta is an Italian immigrant, newly arrived in Australia. He expected to work for his cousin as a sports writer for an Italian language magazine. However, on arrival in Sydney, Nino discovers that the cousin has abandoned the magazine, leaving a substantial debt to Kay Kelly. Nino declares that he will get a job and pay back the debt. Working as a labourer Nino becomes mates with his co-workers, despite some difficulties with Australian slang and culture of the 1960s. Nino endeavours to understand the aspirational values and social rituals of everyday urban Australians, and assimilate. A romantic attraction builds between Nino and Kay despite her frosty exterior and her conservativ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barrier Reef (TV Series)
''Barrier Reef'' was an Australian television series that was first screened domestically in 1971.Albert Moran, ''Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series'', AFTRS 1993 p 74 However, 19 episodes had already premiered on British television on BBC1 between 5 October 1970 and 15 February 1971 and four more aired between 5 April and 3 May 1971 in advance of Australian broadcast. ''Barrier Reef'' was about a group of marine biologists on board a sailing ship called the ''New Endeavour'', researching around the Great Barrier Reef, off Queensland, Australia. ''"It was the first series in the world to feature extensive colour underwater filming on location"''. The show was almost entirely filmed in North Queensland and at the time the show was reported to be the most expensive series ever produced in Australia and one of the few Australian series to be produced outside Sydney or Melbourne. ''Barrier Reef'' was produced by Fauna Productions who also created the uniquely Australian hit TV seri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Intruders (1969 Film)
''The Intruders'' (also known as ''Skippy and the Intruders'') is a 1969 Australian film directed by Lee Robinson. It is a spin-off of the popular '' Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'' TV series. Synopsis A gang of criminals led by Meredith is looking for sunken treasure off Mallacoota, pretending to be diving for abalone. Sonny, son of Matt Hammond, the Chief Ranger of Waratah National Park, investigates with their family friend, Clancy. Sonny and Clancy are kidnapped. Skippy comes to the rescue. After a speedboat chase and a fight in the sand dunes, Meredith is captured. Cast *Ed Devereaux as Matt Hammond *Tony Bonner as Jerry King * Ken James as Mark * Garry Pankhurst as Sonny *Liza Goddard as Clancy * Ron Graham as Yordan *Jeanie Drynan as Meg *Kevin Miles as Meredith *Jack Hume as Curtis *Jeff Ashby as Graigoe *George Assang as Sigigi *John Unicomb as Bernie *Mike Dawkins as Scott *Robert Bruning *Harry Lawrence *Skippy Production Filming began in October 1968 using the same crew and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nickel Queen
''Nickel Queen'' is a 1971 Australian comedy film starring Googie Withers and directed by her husband John McCallum. The story was loosely based on the Poseidon bubble, a nickel boom in Western Australia in the late 1960s, and tells of an outback pub owner who stakes a claim and finds herself an overnight millionaire. Plot Meg Blake is the widowed owner of a pub in a small desert town in Western Australia. Corrupt American mining executive Ed Benson starts the rumour of a nickel discovery to sell shares to gullible investors. Meg heads the rumour and stakes the first claim. Benson promotes her as the "Nickel Queen". Hippie Claude Fitzherbert follows Meg into Perth high society and becomes her lover. Benson is exposed as a fraud, Fitzherbert deserts Meg and runs off with Benson's wife and Meg is reunited with an old suitor from her hometown. Cast *Googie Withers as Meg Blake *John Laws as Claude Fitzherbert * Alfred Sandor as Ed Benson *Ed Devereaux as Harry Phillips *Peter Gwynne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boney (TV Series)
''Boney'' is an Australian television series produced by Fauna Productions during 1971 and 1972, featuring James Laurenson in the title role of Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte. Two series, each of thirteen episodes, were filmed. The series is centred on Bonaparte, an Australian Aboriginal character, created by Arthur Upfield, who wrote twenty-nine Bony novels between 1929 and 1964. Cast * James Laurenson as Detective Inspector Bonaparte (Boney) (Series 1 and 2). * Nick Tate as Sgt Peter Irwin (two episodes in Series 1). * Kate Fitzpatrick as Constable Alice McGorr (Series 2 only). Notable guest stars * Deryck Barnes as Sgt Colin Harvey (ep "Boney Walks With Death"). * Honor Blackman as Mary Answorth (ep "Boney In Venom House"). * Ken Goodlet as Inspector Walters (ep "Boney And The Kelly Gang"). * David Gulpilil as various characters in various episodes, both series - plus featured dancer in opening and closing sequences. * Max Phipps as Morris Answorth (ep "Boney In Ve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shannon's Mob
''Shannon's Mob'' is an Australian TV series about an Australian intelligence agency. It was the last TV series from Fauna Productions, who were responsible for '' Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'' among others. Synopsis FIASCO (The Federal Intelligence and Security Organisation) is a top-secret department whose existence was known only to a few and was answerable only to the Prime Minister. Under the control of one time Scotland Yard cop Dave Shannon, the main characters were agents Andrew Blake ( Robin Ramsay) and Michael Jamieson (Frank Gallacher) who often worked undercover. Cast Main cast * Robin Ramsay as Andrew Blake * Frank Gallacher as Michael Jamieson Guest cast * Julieanne Newbould as Libby * Gillian Jones as Carol * Joanne Samuel as Felicity Maitland * Angela Punch McGregor as Prostitute * Vincent Ball as Ashby * Chantal Contouri as Tara * Alwyn Kurts as Alan Merritt * Chris Haywood as Richard Pollard * Rowena Wallace as Estelle * Cecily Polson as Edith Thomas * Kevin M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bailey's Bird
''Bailey's Bird'' is an Australian TV series which was filmed in Asia. It was about a pilot and his son operating a charter operation in South East Asia. at Albert Moran, ''Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series'', AFTRS 1993 p 66 Cast * Hu Pryce * Mark Lee as Nick * Hussein Abu Hassan as Inspector Hamid * Noor AzizahEpisodes #Hijack # ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Attack Force Z
''Attack Force Z'' (alternatively titled ''The Z Men'') is a 1982 Australian-Taiwanese World War II film directed by Tim Burstall. It is loosely based on actual events and was filmed in Taiwan in 1979. It was screened at the Cannes Film Festival on 18 May 1981. The film is noted for starring Mel Gibson and Sam Neill, who were relatively unknown in the US at the time but who went on to become international stars. The plot concerns Captain P.G. Kelly (Gibson), who leads a team from the elite Z Special Unit against the Empire of Japan during the Second World War. The film fictionalises the exploits of the Z Special Unit, which was also known as Z Force. It was a joint Australian, British and New Zealand commando unit. Its main brief was to conduct reconnaissance and sabotage missions throughout Japanese-occupied Southeast Asia. Plot In the Straits of Sembaleng, five men are dispatched by submarine in Klepper canoes to rescue survivors of a shot-down plane on a nearby island whic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Highest Honor
''The Highest Honour'' is a 1982 Australian/Japanese co-production about Operation Jaywick and Operation Rimau by Z Special Unit during World War II. The same story inspired the TV mini-series ''The Heroes (mini-series), Heroes'' (1988) and ''Heroes II: The Return'' (1991). Plot During World War II, a team of Australian soldiers from Z Special Unit, including Ivan Lyon and Robert Page, successfully lead an expedition to destroy ships in Singapore harbour, Operation Jaywick. An attempt to duplicate this success, Operation Rimau, ends in disaster, with the team either killed or captured. These soldiers are interrogated by the Japanese in Singapore, with Page forming a friendship with Minoru Tamiya. Eventually all the Australians are convicted of war crimes and executed. Cast *John Howard (Australian actor), John Howard as Capt. Robert Page (soldier), Robert Page *Atsuo Nakamura as Minoru Tamiya *Stuart Wilson (actor), Stuart Wilson as Lt. Col. Ivan Lyon *Steve Bisley as A.B. W.G. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |