''If the Huns Came to Melbourne'' is a 1916 Australian silent film directed by George Coates. A World War I

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

tale, it is considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...

. It was not widely shown and was made with a low budget.Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, p 64

Production

Interior scenes were shot in an open air at Albert Park in Melbourne.

Release

Advertising for the film stated that:

Imagine, if you can, the nameless horrors perpetuated on helpless Belgians in the name of German Kulture! Think for a moment on a repetition of the dreadful nightmare in Melbourne. Picture those nearest and dearest to you at the mercy of the Huns! This is what the producers have set out to do in this remarkable picture.

The film was screened privately for Australia's then Minister for Defence, Senator George Pearce.

References

External links

*
''The Effectiveness of Australian Film Propaganda for the War Effort 1914-1918'' by Daniel Reynaud
at Screening the Past Australian black-and-white films Lost Australian drama films 1916 films 1916 drama films Australian war drama films Australian silent short films 1910s war drama films 1916 lost films Lost war drama films 1910s English-language films Silent war drama films {{Australia-silent-film-stub