''Between Wars'' is an Australian 1974

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...

released on 15 November 1974. It was

directed Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

Michael Thornhill Michael Thornhill (29 March 1941 – 22 January 2022) was a film producer, screenwriter, and director. Career Thornhill had a background in freelance journalism and publishing including working as a film critic. He was a member of the WEA Fi ...

and written by

Frank Moorhouse Frank Thomas Moorhouse (21 December 1938 – 26 June 2022) was an Australian writer. He won major Australian national prizes for the short story, the novel, the essay, and for script writing. His work has been published in the United Kingdom, ...

Plot

Four episodes in the life of doctor Edward Trenbow: *In 1918 Trenbow is treating shell-shocked soldiers from the front. *In the 1920s he works as a psychiatrist at the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

insane asylum and becomes involved in experiments in Freudian psychiatry, which bring him to the attention of a Royal Commission. *In the 1930s he works as a doctor in a small country town and becomes involved in a fight against the

New Guard The New Guard was an Australian fascist paramilitary organisation during the Great Depression. It was the largest and most successful fascist organisation in Australian history. The New Guard, known for its violent agitation against Premier o ...

. *In 1939 he is working in Sydney as a psychiatrist and tries to defend a German psychiatrist who is being interned as a member of the

Australia First Movement The Australia First Movement was a fascist movement, founded in October 1941. It grew out of the Rationalist Association of New South Wales and the Victorian Socialist Party, and was led by former Rhodes scholar Percy Stephensen and Adela ...

Cast

Corin Redgrave Corin William Redgrave (16 July 19396 April 2010) was an English actor and left-wing socialist activist. Early life Redgrave was born on 16 July 1939 in Marylebone, London, the only son and middle child of actors Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kem ...

as Dr Edward Trenbow *

Judy Morris Judith Ann Morris (born 17 February 1947) is an Australian character actress, as well as a film director and screenwriter, well known for the variety of roles she played in 58 different television shows and films, starting her career as a child ...

as Deborah Trenbow *Gunter Meisner as Dr Karl Schneider *

Arthur Dignam Arthur Dignam (9 September 1939 – 9 May 2020) was an Australian stage and screen actor. Biography Dignam was born on Lord Howe Island. He attended Newington College in Sydney as a boarder in 1955 and 1956 and then the University of Sydney. ...

as Dr Peter Avante *Patricia Leehy as Marguerite *Jone Winchester as Deborah's mother *Brian James as Deborah's father *Reg Gillam as Trenbow's father *Betty Lucas as Trenbow's mother *Neil Fitzpatrick as Lance Backhouse

Production

Director Michael Thornhill was good friends with writer Frank Moorhouse and they had worked together on several short films. Moorehouse wrote the script in 1970, originally for televisionDavid Stratton, ''The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival'', Angus & Robertson, 1980 p87-88 and it was revived a few years later. Half the budget came from the

Australian Film Development Corporation The Australian Film Development Corporation was an organisation created and funded by the Australian Government in the 1970s, intended to allow filmmakers in the Australian film industry to create movies for everyone to see. In 1975 it was repla ...

and the other half from a property developer.Rod Bishop, "On Time, Under Budget: Richard Brennan", ''Cinema Papers'', July 1974 p203 Filming took place over six weeks in February and March 1974 with interiors at the former studios of

Cinesound Productions Cinesound Productions Pty Ltd was an Australian feature film production company, established in June 1931, Cinesound developed out of a group of companies centred on Greater Union Theatres, that covered all facets of the film process, from produ ...

at Bondi and locations in

Gulgong Gulgong is a 19th-century gold rush town in the Central Tablelands and the wider Central West regions of the Australian state of New South Wales. The town is situated within the Mid-Western Regional Council local government area. It is locate ...

and

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. It was the first feature from cinematographer

Russell Boyd Russell Stewart Boyd, , ACS, ASC, (born 21 April 1944) is an Australian cinematographer. He rose to prominence with his highly praised work on '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975), the first of several collaborations with director Peter Weir. ...

.Russell Boyd bio
Retrieved 30 September 2012

Release

Thornhill decided to distribute the film himself at first. Initial reviews were good but the box office performance was not strong and distribution was taken over by the Vincent Library. The movie did not return its cost.

Home Media

''Between Wars'' was released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in January 2011. The DVD is compatible with all region codes.

Awards

In 1976, the

Australian Cinematographers Society The Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS) is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 1958 for the purpose of providing a forum for Australian cinematographers to further develop their skills through mutual co-operation. Location Its Nati ...

awarded the film's cinematographer Russell Boyd with Cinematographer of the Year award for the film.

References

External links

*
''Between Wars'' review
at

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''Between Wars''
at Oz Movies {{Michael Thornhill 1974 films 1970s war drama films Australian war drama films Works by Frank Moorhouse Films set on the home front during World War II 1974 drama films 1970s English-language films Films directed by Michael Thornhill