''The Picture Show Man'' is a 1977 Australian film about a travelling film exhibitor (John Meillon) in the 1920s. He has to deal with the rebelliousness of his son ( Harold Hopkins) and a rival American exhibitor (

Rod Taylor Rodney Sturt Taylor (11 January 1930 – 7 January 2015) was an Australian actor. He appeared in more than 50 feature films, including '' The Time Machine'' (1960), '' One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1961), '' The Birds'' (1963), and '' ...

). The film was Rod Taylor's first role in an Australian film for over twenty years. He was cast as an American because the producer was concerned about his ability to perform in an Australian accent.Stephen Vagg,'Rod Taylor: An Aussie in Hollywood'', Bear Manor Media 2010 p 191-198

Premise

Maurice Pym is a travelling cinema operator in the 1920s who tours country New South Wales with his son Larry and pianist Freddie.

Cast

as Palmer * John Meillon as Mr Pym * John Ewart as Freddie * Harold Hopkins as Larry * Patrick Cargill as Fitzwilliam * Yelena Zigon as MadameCavalli *

Garry McDonald Garry George McDonald AO (born 30 October 1948) is an Australian actor, satirist and comedian. In a career spanning five decades he has had many theatre, television and film roles, and has been listed as a National Living Treasure. He is bes ...

as Lou *Sally Conabere as Lucy *

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 Miss Lockhart * Gerry Duggan as Hall Secretary

Production

The film was based on the memoirs of Lyle Penn, whose father was a travelling film exhibitor. He saw Joan Long being interviewed on television about her documentary on early Australian cinema, ''The Pictures That Moved'' and sent his memoirs to her. She optioned them and adapted it into a screenplay. Long was reluctant to direct the movie herself and as such hired John Power.David Stratton, ''The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival'', Angus & Robertson, 1980 p236-238 The film was funded by the

Australian Film Commission The Australian Film Commission (AFC) was an Australian government agency was founded in 1975 with a mandate to promote the creation and distribution of films in Australia as well as to preserve the country's film history. It also had a producti ...

($250,000), the New South Wales government ($120,000), the Women's Film Fund, private investors and with support from then-Premier of New South Wales Neville Wran.Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, p 312 Shooting commenced on 17 October 1976 and went until 4 December, a total of seven weeks. It took place in and around Tamworth. Relations between Joan Long and John Power were not always smooth, the two occasionally clashing over interpretation.

Release

Box office

The film was a medium success at the box office. It won Australian Film Awards for Best Art Direction, Costume Design and Supporting Actor (Rod Taylor).

Home media

''The Picture Show Man'' was released on DVD with a new print by Umbrella Entertainment in July 2005. The DVD is compatible with all region codes and includes special features such as the original theatrical trailer, an interview with Rod Taylor, and audio commentary with Harold Hopkins, Sally Conabere, Judy Morris and Sue Milliken.

References

External links

* *
''The Picture Show Man''
at The Rod Taylor Site
''The Picture Show Man''
at

Australian Screen Online The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national c ...

''The Picture Show Man''
at Oz Movies {{DEFAULTSORT:Picture Show, The Australian comedy-drama films 1977 films Films about filmmaking Films scored by Peter Best (composer) 1970s English-language films Films directed by John Power