''Three in One'' is a 1957 Australian

anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film, package film, or portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of several shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme ...

directed by Cecil Holmes and starring

Reg Lye Reginald Thomas Lye (14 October 1912 – 23 March 1988), was an Australian actor who worked extensively in Australia and England. He was one of the busiest Australian actors of the 1950s, appearing in the majority of locally shot features at th ...

. It consists of three separate stories, "A Load of Wood", "The City", and "Joe Wilson's Mates".

Plot

In ''Joe Wilson's Mates'', Joe Wilson dies alone in a small town during the 1890s without friend or family. But because he carries a union card the local union member give him a decent burial. ''The Load of Wood'' is set during the 1930s. Two men are doing relief work but can not afford to buy enough fuel to keep their families warm. They steal a truck of wood from a rich man's estate and distribute it around to need families. In ''The City'' a young factory worker and ship assistant plan to marry but cannot afford it. The argue an walk the streets but realise they love each other.

Cast

''Joe Wilson's Mates''

as the swaggie *Edmund Allison as Tom Stevens *

Alexander Archdale Alexander Mervyn Archdale (26 November 190513 May 1986) was a British actor, manager and theatre producer. He had a very long career in both the theatre and in film, stretching from the 1930s to the 1980s. He spent the latter part of his life an ...

as Firbank *Charles Tasman as the undertaker *Don McNiven as Patrick Rooney *Jerold Wells as Wally *Chris Kempster as Longun *Brian Anderson as Joe * Kenneth Warren as Andy *Evelyn Docker as Maggie *Ben Gabriel as the priest *the Bushwacker's Band

''The Load of Wood''

*Jock Levy as Darkie *

Leonard Thiele Leonard George Thiele Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (26 September 192214 May 1994), professionally Leonard Teale, was a well-known Australian actor of radio, television and film and radio announcer, presenter and narrator known for his ...

as Ernie *Ossie Wenban as Sniffy *John Armstrong as Chilla *Jim Doone as Joe *Ted Smith as Coulson *Edward Lovell as The *Keith Howard as Shea *Eileen Ryan as Mrs Johnson

''The City''

*Joan Landor as Kathie *Brian Vicary as Ted * Betty Lucas as Freda *Gordon Glenwright as Alex *

Ken Wayne Ken Wayne (1925–1993) was an Australian actor of radio, theatre, film and television. He made his film debut in '' Sons of Matthew'' (1949) and appeared in a number of movies including ''Dust in the Sun'' (1958). He was also well known for hi ...

as first cab driver *Stewart Ginn as second cab driver *Alan Trevor as preacher *PatMartin as customer *Margaret Christensen as customer *Alastair Roberts as bodgie

Production

Filming for tall three stories took place at Pagewood Studios before and after ''Smiley'' was shot there in 1955. Exteriors for the first two stories were shot in Camden and locations for the third were filmed on Sydney streets.

Reception

The film was positively received by overseas critics and screened at a number of festivals (including one in Communist China) but struggled to obtain commercial release in Australia. It failed to recover its cost and Australian Tradition Films was liquidated in 1959.

References

External links

''Three in One''
in the Internet Movie Database
''Three in One''
at Oz Movies

'Three in One' at Cinema Reborn 2021 1957 films Australian drama films 1950s English-language films Australian anthology films {{1950s-Australia-film-stub