Eric Thompson

Eric Thompson

Birth : 1901-06-09, Drummoyne, New South Wales, Australia

Death : 1978-01-04

History

Eric Thompson was born on the 9th of June 1901 in Drummoyne, Sydney. As a young man, his main interests were drawing and architecture, the latter of which he chose to study at Sydney Technical College. After graduating, Thompson began to make a name for himself as an architectural sketch artist. An exhibit of his sketches in New York drew the attention of MGM's Cedric Gibbons, who invited Thompson to join the company as art director. Thompson stayed at MGM for 10 years (1927-1937) and worked on many movies there before returning to Australia. In Australia, he joined the Sydney-based film company Cinesound until it closed its doors with the outbreak of war in 1939. When the war ended, Thompson returned to film, finding employment at the Australian government's Commonwealth Film Unit. Here, he worked not just as an artist, but also as a director and producer. Thompson's tenure at the CFU is often regarded as the 'peak of his career'. He died in January 1978 aged 76.

Profile

Eric Thompson

Movies

Life in Australia: Melbourne
Producer
This film shows an idyllic picture of life in the Victorian capital of Melbourne in the mid 1960s.
Life in Australia: Sydney
Producer
Sydney's population had just reached three million, and while its skyline was not as tall as it is today, it was already on its way to become a modern city. The film visits all of Sydney's most iconic locations, from its beautiful harbour to Circular Quay, Martin Place, Kings Cross and Bondi beach.
Life in Australia: Wagga Wagga
Producer
Made by the Department of Immigration to entice immigrants from Great Britain, this film shows an idyllic picture of life in the New South Wales regional town of Wagga Wagga in the mid 1960s.
Life in Australia: Cairns
Producer
A small city in the tropical north of Queensland, Cairns boasts a life that is leisurely and comfortable. The tempo quickens, however, at cane-cutting time when the sugar is harvested, and in winter when tourists come north to escape the cold. The Life In Australia series portrays Australian cities and rural centres as happy, lively places where good homes, abundant jobs, schools, hospitals and amenities provide the foundation for a relaxed lifestyle where sport, shopping, religion and even art combine to create a homogenous and prosperous society.
Life in Australia: Brisbane
Producer
Made by the Department of Immigration to entice immigrants from Great Britain, this film shows an idyllic picture of life in the Queensland capital of Brisbane in the mid 1960s.
Life in Australia: Mount Gambier
Producer
Made by the Department of Immigration to entice immigrants from Great Britain, this film shows an idyllic picture of life in the South Australian regional town of Mount Gambier in the mid 1960s.
Paper Run
Producer
A panorama of scenic beauty unfolds as the newspaper delivery man works his run along Sydney's northern beaches of Newport and the Palm Beach area.
The New Ipswich
Director
From the Film Australia Collection. Made by The National Film Board 1947. Directed by Eric Thompson. Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, is very unlike Ipswich, England, after which it was named.
School in the Mailbox
Assistant Director of Photography
In Australia, children live in the Outback, too far from others to travel to any school. The Australian government has a school with no student only teachers that correspond with their pupils and teach those children at their own pace.
Building a Brick House
Director
This film makes clear for the layperson the whole pattern of building construction for a brick home, from the moment that the architect prepares working plans to the completion of the house itself. It was originally intended as an instructional film to be shown to Australian servicemen taking courses in the building trades as part of their rehabilitation for civil life after World War Two.