The Last Bastion
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''The Last Bastion'' is a television mini-series which aired in Australia in November 1984. It is a
docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typic ...
telling the story of Australia's involvement in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and its often strained relations with its two main allies,
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The running time of the series is reported as 360 minutes (6 hours) on the IMDb page, that is the screening time with ads. Each part runs for approx 90 minutes, both on VHS tape and DVD, is approximately 160 minutes implying they are heavily edited versions, as they've compressed 3 episodes into one 2 hour 40 minute film. The 3 episodes still remain in the Screensound Archive.


Cast

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Michael Blakemore Michael Howell Blakemore OBE, AO (born 18 June 1928) is an Australian actor, writer and theatre director who has also made a handful of films. A former Associate Director of the National Theatre, in 2000 he became the only individual to win T ...
...
John Curtin John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He led the country for the majority of World War II, including all but the last few ...
* John Wood ...
Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
*
Timothy West Timothy Lancaster West, CBE (born 20 October 1934) is an English actor and presenter. He has appeared frequently on both stage and television, including stints in both ''Coronation Street'' (as Eric Babbage) and ''EastEnders'' (as Stan Carter) ...
...
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
*
Robert Vaughn Robert Francis Vaughn (November 22, 1932 – November 11, 2016) was an American actor noted for his stage, film and television work. His television roles include the spy Napoleon Solo in the 1960s series '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E.''; th ...
... General
Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...
*
Warren Mitchell Warren Mitchell (born Warren Misell; 14 January 1926 – 14 November 2015) was a British actor. He was a BAFTA TV Award winner and twice a Laurence Olivier Award winner. In the 1950s, Mitchell appeared on the radio programmes ''Educatin ...
...
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
*
Ray Barrett Raymond Charles Barrett (2 May 19278 September 2009) was an Australian actor. During the 1960s, he was a leading actor on British television, where he was best known for his appearances in ''The Troubleshooters'' (1965–1971). From the 1970s, ...
... General
Thomas Blamey Field marshal (Australia), Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey, (24 January 1884 – 27 May 1951) was an Australian general of the First World War, First and Second World Wars, and the only Australian to attain the rank of field marshal. Bl ...
*
Peter Whitford Peter Whitford (born 1939) is an Australian former radio, theatre, television and film character actor known for numerous roles particularly as wealthy businessmen and members of the aristocracy. Peter Whitford was born in Adelaide, South Austr ...
... H. V. "Bert" Evatt *
Max Cullen Max Cullen (born 29 April 1940) is an Australian stage and screen actor. He has appeared in many Australian films and television series but is best known for his role in the film '' Spider and Rose'' and the television series '' The Flying Docto ...
...
Eddie Ward Edward John Ward (7 March 189931 July 1963) was an Australian politician who represented the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in federal parliament for over 30 years. He was the member for East Sydney for all but six-and-a-half weeks from 1931 u ...
*
Jon Ewing Jon Douglas Ewing (6 October 1936 – 14 March 2014) was an Australian actor and director best known for his stage work. Life and career Ewing was born in Paddington, New South Wales and attended Sydney Boys High School. He studied under Hayes Gor ...
...
Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia, in office from 1915 to 1923. He is best known for leading the country during World War I, but ...
*
Nancye Hayes Nancye Lee Bertles AM ( Hayes; born January 1943), billed under her maiden name as Nancye Hayes, is an Australian actress, dancer, singer and choreographer/director and narrator. She has been a leading figure in Australian musical theatre sin ...
...
Elsie Curtin Elsie Curtin (' Needham; 4 October 1890 – 24 June 1975) was the wife of John Curtin, the 14th Prime Minister of Australia. Biography Curtin was born in Ballarat, Victoria to parents Annie and Abraham Needham. From 1898 to 1910, she lived in ...
*Neil Fitzpatrick ...
Frederick Shedden Sir Frederick Geoffrey Shedden (8 August 1893 – 8 July 1971) was an Australian public servant who served as Secretary of the Department of Defence from 1937 to 1956. Background and early life Frederick Shedden was born 8 August 1893 in Kyne ...
* Bill Hunter ...
Ben Chifley Joseph Benedict Chifley (; 22 September 1885 – 13 June 1951) was an Australian politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1945, follow ...
*Reg Gillam ... General
George C. Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the US Army under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry ...
*
Tim Robertson Tim Robertson is an Australian actor and writer. He is a graduate of the University of Western Australia] (1965) and taught at Flinders University in Adelaide, where he began adapting and directing plays. He joined the Australian Performing Gro ...


Production

The series was the result of two years work for Williamson. It was his first work for television and his first effort as producer. Kristian Williamson helped with the research and wrote a book with the same title.


References


External links


The Last Bastion
at IMDb 1984 films Australian drama films Australian drama television series World War II television drama series 1984 drama films Australian World War II films Films set in the Australian Capital Territory 1980s Australian television miniseries 1984 Australian television series debuts 1984 Australian television series endings 1984 television films Films directed by Chris Thomson (director) 1980s English-language films {{Australia-tv-prog-stub