In Australia, five children pursue horse thieves through the mountains.In Australia, five children pursue horse thieves through the mountains.In Australia, five children pursue horse thieves through the mountains.
- Narrator
- (voice)
- Police Sergeant
- (uncredited)
- Old Jack
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn June 1947, the film was shown in the British Parliament to members of the House of Lords and House of Commons. This was an attempt to persuade them to allow employment of child actors under the age of 12.
- GoofsWhen the children roll the first 'boulder' down the hill towards the horse thieves, after it passes the last thief part of the 'boulder' breaks off revealing it to be a wire cage with a covering.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Narrator: I don't expect you've ever heard of our valley. Mara Mara is its name, the name the Australian blacks gave it hundreds of years before we came to their land. Mara Mara. It has a nice, sleepy sound, hasn't it? And we're a sleepy little town, too. Plenty of hard work, but never much excitement. That is to say, not until last Christmas. I must tell you about last Christmas, because then we had too much excitement for a little place like ours. It all started on the afternoon school broke up for Christmas holidays. Of course on our side of the world, Christmas comes in the middle of the summer.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Maltin on Movies: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
Australia where they never dream about a White Christmas serves as the backdrop for the kid's adventure. Children are on a quest for stolen horses after encountering the thieves Good location photography out in the outback really sets the tone for the kids. No crazy special effects, but the Australian background accents the danger of the kids search. I wish this original version had been done in color, but that was all, but unknown in the nascent Australian film industry.
I like the kids here because they are real. When you watch something like Home Alone or Spy Kids you can't forget you're seeing Hollywood personalities no matter how talented they are. These Aussie kids are real and charming.
Finally to recommend this film is the presence of the first real star who worked and developed the Australian cinema. Chips Rafferty plays Long Bill, one of the horse thieves and even though he's the bad guy, he's a likable cuss as he is in all his films.
At 6'5" Chips is kind of hard to miss and he doesn't exactly have matinée idol looks. But whenever I do see him, I think he represents Australia the same way Maurice Chevalier became an international Frenchman or Harry Lauder is the quintessential Scot. He's tough, he's funny and he had to be the inspiration for Crocidile Dundee. He never gave a bad performance in anything he ever did.
This one is recommended for Australians wherever they might be on this old globe of our's.
- bkoganbing
- Jan 16, 2005
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Bush Country Adventure
- Filming locations
- Burragorang Valley, New South Wales, Australia(on location)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 20 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1