''Playing Beatie Bow'' is a 1986 Australian time travel

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

. It is directed by

Donald Crombie Donald Charles Crombie (born 5 July 1942) is an Australian film and television director and screenwriter. Born in Brisbane, Crombie was educated at the Anglican Church Grammar School and studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. Cr ...

and stars

Imogen Annesley Imogen Annesley (born 28 May 1970) is an Australian actress and director who is perhaps best known for her performances in the films ''Playing Beatie Bow'', '' Howling III: The Marsupials'' and ''Queen of the Damned''. Annesley made her featur ...

Peter Phelps Peter Phelps (born 20 September 1960 in Sydney) is an Australian actor, singer and writer. He is notable for his role as Trevor Cole in ''Baywatch''. Phelps is also known for his roles in the internationally successful Australian series '' So ...

and

Mouche Phillips Mouche Phillips (born 1973) is an Australian actress and theatre producer, best known for her television roles as Aviva "Viv" Newton in '' Home and Away'' (1989–90) and Eva Sykes in police procedural series '' Water Rats'' (2000–01). Ea ...

. The screenplay by Peter Gawler and Irwin Lane is based on the 1980 novel of the same name by

Ruth Park Rosina Ruth Lucia Park AM (24 August 191714 December 2010) was a New Zealand–born Australian author. Her best known works are the novels ''The Harp in the South'' (1948) and ''Playing Beatie Bow'' (1980), and the children's radio serial ''Th ...

Plot summary

Beatrice May "Beatie" Bow, a young Victorian-era girl, is summoned from the past to contemporary 1986 Sydney by children, including eight-year-old Natalie, chanting her name. Sixteen-year-old Abigail Kirk, whose mother Kathy was looking at rekindling her relationship with her estranged husband, accidentally follows Beatie back to September 1873, in Sydney-Town in the colony of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. Beatie's family, including Granny and Dovey, believe Abigail is the promised "Stranger" who will arrive to save "The Gift" for

future generations Future generations are cohorts of hypothetical people not yet born. Future generations are contrasted with current and past generations, and evoked in order to encourage thinking about intergenerational equity. The moral patienthood of future ge ...

of Bows. The Gift comes at great sacrifice, though, as one of the Bow children—either Beatie, the "poorly" middle brother Gilbert Samuel (Gibbie) or the oldest brother Judah will die at a young age (Gibbie, who spends his time in bed reading " The Good Book", is convinced that he will be the one to die young). Abigail is trapped in the past until she does what she was "sent" to do, even though she does not know what this is. During her sojourn, she falls in love for the first time with Judah (who is promised to marry Dovey) and gains a more mature perspective on her parents' re-forming relationship. After returning to her own time, Abigail finds that her friends Justine and her daughter, eight-year-old Natalie, are descendants of the Bow family and learns the fate of the Bow children. Beatie never married or had children, though she achieved her childhood dream of becoming a scholar and became the longtime headmistress of the Fort Street School and died in the 1920s. Gibbie, despite being convinced that he would be the one to die young, married an undertaker's daughter and lived until 1940 when he was 76 and was actually Justine's great grandfather. Abigail had saved Gibbie from a fire that all but destroyed the Bows' home located above Samuel Bow's confectionery shop, which was what she as the "Stranger" was sent to do thus preserving "The Gift" for future generations of the Bow family. Judah, whom Abigail had fallen in love with, married Dovey and they had a daughter in 1874, though the child died before her first birthday while Dovey died in 1919. Natalie then tells Abigail that Judah died in a shipwreck just outside of Hobart-Town at the age of 22, thus becoming the great sacrifice. Abigail then meets Justine's younger brother Robert who bears a striking resemblance to Judah and the pair fall in love, while Natalie has assumed the Bow family "gift" allowing her to become a talented piano player.

Cast

– Abigail Kirk *

– Judah Bow / Robert Bow *

– Beatrice May "Beatie" Bow *

Nikki Coghill Nicola Vicars Coghill (born 4 January 1964) is an Australian actress. She is best known for playing the roles of Sister Jackie Crane in ''The Flying Doctors'', and Miranda Parker in ''Neighbours''. Career Coghill was born in Melbourne. She has ...

– Dorcas "Dovey" Tallisker *

Moya O'Sullivan Moya O'Sullivan Macarthur (8 June 1926 – 16 January 2018) was an Australian-born actress who worked both locally and briefly in the United Kingdom. She was best known for her long-running role as the popular character Marlene Kratz in the soap ...

– Granny Bow * Don Barker – Samuel Bow * Trent Graham – Punchy *

Lyndel Rowe Lyndel Rowe is an Australian actress of stage, television and film, who is best known for her work with the Melbourne Theatre Company, the Sydney Theatre Company and the State Theatre Company of South Australia, and for her role as Karen Fox/ ...

– Kathy Kirk * Barbara Stephens – Justine Crown * Damian Janko – Gilbert Samuel "Gibbie" Bow * Phoebe Salter – Natalie Crown * Su Cruickshank – Madam *

Edwin Hodgeman Edwin Hodgeman (born 26 June 1935) is an Australian actor. He was born in Adelaide, South Australia. He is known for playing Dr Dealgood in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome in (1985). Selected filmography * '' The Fourth Wish'' (1976) .... Simms * ...

– Sir *

Grant Piro Grant Piro is an Australian actor. He is best known as the host of the children's television show ''Couch Potato'' on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He also appeared as Captain Schnepel in Escape From Pretoria. Career He began his care ...

- Pino

Production

''Playing Beatie Bow'' is directed by

, and produced by Jock Blair, Bruce Moir and John Morris. It is rated PG instead of the milder G because Abigail uses a swear word ("shit") towards the end of the film as well as two scenes in which Annesley appeared semi-nude. Also, due to Annesley only being 16 at the time of filming, the kissing scenes between herself and 26-year-old Phelps were "toned down" to avoid controversy. Most of the film was shot in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, including using one of the city's iconic indoor amusement arcades "Downtown" and its popular second-floor roller skating rink for a scene early in the film.David Stratton, ''The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry'', Pan MacMillan, 1990 p340

AU$ The Australian dollar (sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of Australia, including its external territories: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island. It is officially used as currency by three independent Pacific Island s ...

400,000 was spent on recreating

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 ...

's Rocks area in a disused industrial site.

Box office

''Playing Beatie Bow'' grossed $97,306 at the box office in Australia, which is equivalent to $212,127 in 2009 dollars. However the film was popular on video.with Donald Crombie", ''Signet'', 18 December 1998, Retrieved 16 November 2012
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References

External links