Ken G. Hall

Ken G. Hall

Birth : 1901-02-22, Sydney, Australia

Death : 1994-02-08

History

An Australian film producer-director, considered one of the most important figures in the history of the Australian film industry. He was the first Australian to win an Academy Award.

Profile

Ken G. Hall

Movies

Thrill of the Surf
Director
This short Cinesound documentary from Ken G Hall boasts beautifully filmed visuals, with surfers seen in silhouette and sunlight bouncing off the water.
Smithy
Director
An Australian biopic about the life of pioneering aviator Charles "Smithy" Kingsford-Smith. The film is unusually frank about the controversies that occasionally dogged him. PG Taylor and Billy Hughes both make appearances playing themselves.
South West Pacific
Director
South West Pacific is a 1943 propaganda short Australian film directed by Ken G. Hall which focuses on Australia as the main Allied base in the South West Pacific area. Actors depict a cross section of Australians involved in the war effort.
The Bismarck Convoy Smashed!
Director
An Australia propaganda war film documenting the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. Nominated for the Academy Award.
The Men of Timor
Producer
The film looks at the men, their living conditions, the food they eat and their bamboo shower. It shows the men building a radio out of spare parts to re-establish contact with the mainland (contact had been lost after the Japanese victory), the use of florins to pay native helpers, and a raid on a hostile native village which sees huts set on fire.
Moresby Under the Blitz
Director
This Damien Parer/Ken Hall newsreel was shot at a time remembered as the dark days to Australia's north, with the Japanese still strong and threatening Port Moresby with air raids. The air battle for Port Moresby was a critical time for Australia. From this larger battle the newsreel selects a number of incidents for the visual record, as it looks at the damage to buildings in Port Moresby, the crash landing of an American bomber which had lost its undercarriage, and the sinking of the merchant vessel, the Macdhui, in Port Moresby harbour.
100,000 Cobbers
Director
Filmed at Liverpool Military Camp (Sydney) in 1941 and using national servicemen to lend authenticity, this film was one of many sponsored by the federal government during World War II to boost armed forces recruitment. The film also features recognisable actors of the day including Grant Taylor, Shirley Ann Richards and John Fleeting, who had appeared for director Ken G Hall in feataure films made by the Sydney-based Cinesound Productions.
Australia Marches with Britain: Highlights of the National War Effort
Director
This film extols the over-producing wheat, meat, dairy, timber, steel, and Merino wool industries of Australia as assets to the Allied war effort. Describes the production of weapons and military supplies in Australian plants. "Dedicated to maintaining a life-line to Britain, Australia aids in the production of supplies and munitions for export; 'Aussie' troops are shown training and embarking for the front lines."
Dad Rudd, MP
Director
Dad Rudd wants the size of a local dam increased for the benefit of local farmers but faces opposition from a wealthy grazier, Henry Webster. When the local Member of Parliament dies, Webster runs for his seat, and Rudd decides to oppose him.
Gone to the Dogs
Director
George is a disaster-prone zoo attendant who accidentally discovers a substance that accelerates motion, enabling his greyhound to run faster. This attracts the interest of a gang of criminals, who kidnap George's dog and plan to substitute their own in an important dog race. George and his friends defeat the crooks and their dog wins the race.
Mr. Chedworth Steps Out
Director
A down-and-out clerk happens upon a bag of money. Unknown to him, the money is all counterfeit, forcing the innocent man to become involved with gangsters, as well as federal agents.
Dad and Dave Come to Town
Director
Dad and Dave Come to Town is a 1938 Australian comedy film directed by Ken G. Hall, the third in the 'Dad and Dave' comedy series starring Bert Bailey. It was the feature film debut of Peter Finch
Let George Do It
Director
The plot concerns a man, Joe Blake, who works as a stage hand in a vaudeville theatre headlined by Mysto the magician. When he finds out that the girl he is in love with, Molly, is getting married, he gets drunk with his friend Happy Morgan and decides to commit suicide.
The Broken Melody
Producer
John Ainsworth helps win a rowing race for Sydney University against Melbourne University. While celebrating at a nightclub, he demonstrates his skill with the violin with one of his original compositions. He also flirts with a young woman, Ann Brady, to the displeasure of a crook, Webster. A brawl results and John is expelled from university. John's sheep farmer father – who is disdainful of culture and wants John to marry a rich girl – is furious and disowns his son.
The Broken Melody
Director
John Ainsworth helps win a rowing race for Sydney University against Melbourne University. While celebrating at a nightclub, he demonstrates his skill with the violin with one of his original compositions. He also flirts with a young woman, Ann Brady, to the displeasure of a crook, Webster. A brawl results and John is expelled from university. John's sheep farmer father – who is disdainful of culture and wants John to marry a rich girl – is furious and disowns his son.
Lovers and Luggers
Director
Daubeney Carshott, a concert pianist, leaves London to dive for pearls on Thursday Island in the South Seas at the whim of Stella Raff, his fiancée. Once there, he discovers that the life he leads as a pearl diver is better in every way than his former existence as a social-lion pianist. He meets and falls in love with Lorna Quidley, after learning this Stella had send other suitors off in quest of a giant pearl for her.
Tall Timbers
Director
A young forestry graduate, Jim Thornton, is involved in a race between timber companies to fill a major contract. Jim has joined the crew of a genial timber baron, Burbridge, and foils attempts by a rival, Blake, to sabotage their work. J. Alan Kenyon's special effects are the highlights of the film with comic relief provided by Joe Valli as a Scottish timber-train driver amorously pursued by a shrill-voiced maid of the Burbridge's country house.
It Isn't Done
Director
Hubert Blaydon (Cecil Kellaway),a simple Australian farmer inherits a castle and a title in England, and moves his family from the farm to the castle. He also inherits a very stuffy, prim-and-proper butler who constantly reprimands Blaydon whenever he disobeys aristocratic protocol...which he often does.
Orphan of the Wilderness
Producer
A story dealing with civilization's effect and man's cruelty on the Australian outback.
Orphan of the Wilderness
Director
A story dealing with civilization's effect and man's cruelty on the Australian outback.
Thoroughbred
Producer
Joan (Helen Twelvetrees) is a Canadian, adopted by Ma Dawson (Nellie Ferguson), a struggling horse breeder and trainer. Joan thinks "legs don't make a race horse, it's blood", and so she buys an unwanted thoroughbred colt called Stormalong. Helped by Ma's son Tommy Dawson (Frank Leighton), Joan restores the horse to health and fitness, and soon enough the horse is winning race after race, becoming a favourite for the Melbourne Cup.
Thoroughbred
Director
Joan (Helen Twelvetrees) is a Canadian, adopted by Ma Dawson (Nellie Ferguson), a struggling horse breeder and trainer. Joan thinks "legs don't make a race horse, it's blood", and so she buys an unwanted thoroughbred colt called Stormalong. Helped by Ma's son Tommy Dawson (Frank Leighton), Joan restores the horse to health and fitness, and soon enough the horse is winning race after race, becoming a favourite for the Melbourne Cup.
Grandad Rudd
Director
The first sequel to the original box office hit On Our Selection, Grandad Rudd drops in on the Rudd family, headed by patriarch Dad Rudd (Bert Bailey), much later in life, with the family now prosperous farmers.
Strike Me Lucky
Director
‘Mo’ McIsaac and his sidekick Donald try to find work to support a young orphan girl he finds dancing for pennies in the street, Miriam, unaware she is really the missing daughter of rich aristocrat, Major Burnett. Gangster Al Baloney and Mae West impersonator Kate kidnap the girl and Mo is blamed for her disappearance.
The Silence of Dean Maitland
Director
Dean Maitland (John Longden), a young man in orders and engaged to a woman, is involved in a tragedy, to reveal the details of which would ruin his career. The Dean denies responsibility for both the pregnancy of his lover Alma Lee (Charlotte Francis), and the death of her father, whom it turns out was enraged at the Dean's behaviour, attacked him and was killed in a fall. His friend, Dr. Everard (John Warwick), is found guilty of the death on false evidence, and Maitland allows him to suffer 20 years imprisonment. When the doctor is released from prison, bitter and seeking revenge, the Dean must confront his silence and his guilt, and the climax is the Dean's confession from the pulpit of his sins...
The Squatter's Daughter
Producer
A story of rival sheep stations and of the strong-willed squatter’s daughter who wants to unite them.
The Squatter's Daughter
Director
A story of rival sheep stations and of the strong-willed squatter’s daughter who wants to unite them.
On Our Selection
Director
The movie opens with the title card "bushland symphony", followed by sounds and vision of the Australian bush. The subsequent action involves a series of various subplots centered around a "selection" in South West Queensland owned by Dad Rudd.