John McCallum
Birth : 1918-03-14,
Death : 2010-02-03
History
McCallum's father, John Neil McCallum Sr., was a theatre owner and entrepreneur, who built and for many years ran the 2,000 seat Cremorne Theatre on the banks of the Brisbane River. After emigrating from Scotland, McCallum Snr. became an accomplished musician, and was soon heavily involved in Brisbane's entertainment scene. His mother was an accomplished amateur actress who was born in England.
In 1918, McCallum Jr. was born in Brisbane during the opening night of a comedy performance. After his birth, a family friend sent his father a wire: 'Congratulations on two howling successes'.
McCallum was exposed to acting at a young age: his early childhood was full of backstage encounters at the Cremorne with the wide variety of performers who frequented his father's theatre. Although McCallum and his two younger brothers received their primary school education in the UK, the family returned to Australia once the Great Depression started. His secondary education was at the Anglican Church Grammar School in Brisbane.
His early theatrical training was with Barbara Sisely at the Brisbane Repertory Company.
Himself
This is a history of the England's Ealing Film Studios, from its beginnings in 1902. It follows the studio's successes through the 1930's, World War II dramas, the well-known 'Ealing comedies' with Alec Guinness, and the BBC's television productions
Interviewee
Documentary about the British film studio. First appeared on the BBC television programme Omnibus.
Executive Producer
Tim Burstall directs then-up-and-comers Mel Gibson and Sam Neill in this action-packed Cannes Film Festival selection about the grim realities of World War II, a gritty drama based on actual events. Sent to rescue survivors from the site of a plane crash in the South Pacific, Capt. P.G. Kelly (Gibson) and his elite squad of Australian commandos must keep tabs on a defecting Japanese official who could hold the secret to peace.
Director of Photography
Set in the English countryside of the 1920s - when otter hunting was still legal - this film follows the life of Tarka the Otter from his birth into adulthood. We witness his close shaves, and his struggle with a man who tries to keep our furry hero as a pet.
Director
Nickel Queen was an Australian comedy film released in 1971 starring Googie Withers and directed by her husband John McCallum. The story was loosely based on the Poseidon bubble, a nickel boom in Western Australia in the late 1960s, and tells of an outback pub owner who stakes a claim and finds herself an overnight millionaire.
Director of Photography
A man travels by foot in the snow with his dog.
Introductions
This film contains three short stories about life in Australia in the 1950's.
Jim Rankin
Smiley Greevins is a cheeky, mischievous, imaginative little boy who lives in the small town of Murrumbilla in the Australian outback. His father Bill is a poor drover who is often away from home. Much to the exasperation of his overworked wife, Ma Greevins, Bill is also very fond of the drink. Smiley is determined to buy himself a push bike and so he takes on odd jobs in an effort to save up enough money. But Smiley always seems to get caught up in some sort of misadventure. Smiley is a classic Australian film that will delight audiences of all ages.
Mitch Gillis
Two sailors dock in London in search of a good time. But when one of them fatally stabs a man during a scuffle in a bar, the pair flee the scene, commandeer a boat and take the three women on board hostage as they try to outrun the law.
Malcolm
Major Jim "Lance" Lansing, an American ex-pilot of the U.S. Air Corps, returns to Scotland after the war and finds much trouble in the glen where he settles because of the high-handed activities of the local laird, Sandy Mengues, a wealthy South American who, with his daughter Marissa, has returned to the land of his forefathers. Led by Lansing, the people eventually prevail upon Mengues to restore peace to the glen, but not before a brief and unconvincing fight between Lansing and Dukes, the Mengues foreman. Written by Les Adams
Charles Roberts
A boy pursues his ambition to be a jockey
Charles Armstrong
Rural Australian Nellie Melba becomes an opera star in 1900s Europe and the United States.
Supt. Bob Lowther
An innocent man is released from prison after 12 years and tracks down the witnesses who lied about him in court.
John Marlowe
When a wealthy business man is found dead reporter Philip Trent is sent to investigate. Against the police conclusions, he suspects the assumed suicide is really a murder, and becomes highly interested in the young widow and the dead man's private secretary.
Tommy Dillon
Entertaining ensemble piece dealing with several characters who are on the way to the races on Derby day. It cleverly blends dramatic, romantic and comic elements, including the woman and lover who have murdered her husband, and the working class couple who are excited about their chance to go to the races, but end up listening to it on the radio in the car-park because they've got such a bad view.
Sitter in Bath Studio
Now old, ill, poor, and largely forgotten, William Freise-Greene was once very different. As young and handsome William Green he changed his name to include his first wife's so that it sounded more impressive for the photographic portrait work he was so good at. But he was also an inventor and his search for a way to project moving pictures became an obsession that ultimately changed the life of all those he loved.
Larry Burns
Marjory Clark wins a competition in her Midland town and finds herself in a Festival of Britain procession as Lady Godiva - though not in the buff. This leads by way of a suspect beauty competition to the show-business world of London. But it could be a slippery slope for simple home-town Marge.
Dr. Nils Ahlen
A Norwegian scientist builds a device that can convert sound waves into electrical energy. However, the machine is stolen by the scientist's wife and assistant, who head across the frozen tundra towards Russia. A police inspector and a local girl team up with the scientist to help recover the device.
Reggie Pelham
A divorced couple, living hand-to-mouth in Stockholm, must first pay their hotel bill before returning to England. To raise the necessary funds, they must pretend that they're still married.
Michael Murray
Agnes "Astra" Huston, a fortune teller at a run-down fair, is found strangled in her bedroom. As the police question five suspects, their interactions with her are shown in flashbacks from their point of view.
David Howarth
The lives of the members of a West Yorkshire cycling club are complicated by romantic entanglements and a series of bike thefts.
Capt. Garry Anson
The favourite for the big race is nobbled and suspicion falls on the owner. His secret admirer proves it wasn't him.
Nigel
A young married physician discovers a mermaid, and gives into her request to be taken to see London. Comedy and romantic entanglements ensue soon after.
Tommy Swann
During a rainy Sunday afternoon, an escaped prisoner tries to hide out at the home of his ex-fiance.
Narrator (voice)
In Australia, five children pursue horse thieves through the mountains.
Arthur Alce
Joanna Godden falls heir to a farm when her father dies.
Joe Bartle
Jeckie Farnish is a level-headed young woman, unlike her spoiled younger sister, Rushie. When the sisters become involved with charming businessman Charles Mortimer, the resulting tragedy leads to a lust for revenge on Rushie's part. However, Jeckie knows that she can always turn to reliable Joe Bartle in times of need.
John Seldon
This family melodrama, a tale of desertion, vengeful seduction, coincidental meeting and catharsis, spans more than two decades from 1920 to World War II. A woman imprisoned in a loveless marriage finds the courage to leave her husband but is disturbed to find that her son, David, refuses to go with her. She does not give up on him and manages to establish a new life for herself. Her world is turned upside down when David reluctantly moves in with her, determined to ruin their lives. Set against the backdrop of the Second World War, David is about to be sent to New Guinea which may make or break any future relationship he has with the people who love him. A notable aspect of the film is a production design which belies the low budget.
