Customer Reviews

The Australian Story aka: Kangaroo

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I found this movie a bit slow and not as good as the Nicole Kidman Australia movie. Then again the pace of life was slow in Australia 130 years ago. I will watch it again and hope to get more from the story line.

Lets talk for a moment about "restored" prints. When the hollywood studios or companies like Criterion talk about "restored prints, they mean a print that was produced from the original negative or a first-generation print that has been digitally cleaned up (scratches and dirt removed), color-corrected, and "restored" (as much as possible) to its original state. This produces a sharp, clear, vibrant image that is a pleasure to watch.

VCI Entertainment is one of those hit-or-miss companies that sometimes produces beautiful prints of rare movies, and at other times produces cloudy prints that are almost unwatchable. Their print of "The Australian Story" lies somewhere between these two extremes. It appears to have been "restored" from a 2nd or 3rd generation print, or a videotape, and displays the soft, underexposed, limited color range such a print would imply. Although the print has been cleaned of scratches and dirt specks, it is still a rather poor print of this movie (if you are a collector) and not something VCI should boast about.

The movie itself is a rather conventional story, and the only thing that sets it apart is that it was filmed on location in the Outback of Australia. If you are looking for a much nicer print of a much better story set in Australia'a Outback, buy "The Sundowners" starring Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr ( The Sundowners ). This movie, "The Australian Story", is for those who collect everything shot in the Outback.

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation presents "THE AUSTRALIAN STORY" (aka: Kangaroo) (June 1952) (84 min/Beautiful Color) (Dolby digitally remastered & restored) --- Great cast with good direction from the old pro Lewis Milestone --- Richard Connor (Peter Lawford) and John W. Gamble (Richard Boone) are two baddies who make friends with Michael McGuire (Finley Currie) a rancher --- Now enters in Dell McGuire (Maureen O'Hara) the daughter who's been searching for her father for two weeks --- Lawford is passing himself off as the long lost son --- Entirely filmed, in the beautiful outback of Australia, featuring the Aborigines dance for rain, kangaroos hopping and rare birds in flight --- Watch for the exciting scenes of stampedes of steers, windmill stopping and fights between Lawford and Boone --- Boone has a fun time playing a devil-may-care type with a deep vocabulary who makes his philosophy clear early on: "I never feel any regrets. I died years ago...To live, one must first die."

Under the production staff of:
Lewis Milestone [Director]
Martin Berkeley [Story]
Harry Kleiner [Screenplay]
Robert Bassler [Producer]
Sol Kaplan [Original Score]
Charles G. Clarke [Cinematographer]
Nick DeMaggio [Film Editor]

BIOS:
1. Maureen O'Hara
Date of Birth: 17 August 1920 - Ranelagh, County Dublin, Ireland (now Ranelagh, Dublin, Ireland)
Date of Death: Still Living

2. Peter Lawford
Date of Birth: 7 September 1923 - London, England, UK
Date of Death: 24 December 1984 - Los Angeles, California

3. Finlay Currie
Date of Birth: 20 January 1878 - Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Date of Death: 9 May 1968 - Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

4. Richard Boone
Date of Birth: 18 June 1917 - Los Angeles, California
Date of Death: 10 January 1981, St. Augustine, Florida

5. Lewis Milestone [Director]
Date of Birth: 30 September 1895 - Kishinev, Russian Empire [now Chisinau, Moldova]
Date of Death: 25 September 1980 - Los Angeles, California

the cast includes:
Maureen O'Hara ... Dell McGuire
Peter Lawford ... Richard Connor
Finlay Currie ... Michael McGuire
Richard Boone ... John W. Gamble
Chips Rafferty ... Trooper 'Len' Leonard (as 'Chips' Rafferty)
Letty Craydon ... Kathleen, McGuire's Housekeeper
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell ... Matt

There are no extras or bonus features --- Nice copy with good color shots from cinematographer Charles G. Clarke --- Very good release from the VCI people --- This was a sleeper at it's time, but never the less a real gem for anyones collection --- Highly recommend for all the Maureen O'Hara fans.

Total Time: 84 min on DVD ~ VCI Entertainment #8459 ~ (7/27/2010)

This is a great movie about life on the outback starring Peter Lawford and Maureen O'Hara.It's a must see!!

I was initially excited at discovering a Maureen O'Hara film that I hadn't heard of before, but once I started watching it, it was quickly apparent why this picture has languished in obscurity. The story itself is very dull and slow-moving and full of plot holes -- for example -- why does Finlay Currie's character immediately accept that Peter Lawford's character is his long-lost son, based solely on the latter's word and without a shred of proof? Why is it never explained why Currie's character abandoned his young son in an orphanage in the first place?

Despite the claims on the package that the film has been digitally remastered and restored, it is actually a very faded and poor quality print, on which there doesn't appear to have been much restoration at all. It has the look of one of those cheap spaghetti westerns that used to be shown on local television stations on Sunday afternoons. In fact, everything about this picture has "B movie" written all over it, except that it does feature top-tier stars and it was filmed on location in Australia, which was somewhat unusual for 1952.

Save your money and give this one a miss.

I hate to admit it, being an Australian, but this movie is a shocker. There's only one word for it.....TERRIBLE. Mostly because, as used to happen back in the 50's when it was made......it has American actors and actresses playing the part of Australians......and failing miserably with how we speak and, more importantly, the words we speak. We don't use the term "ranch" in Australia. We have farms or cattle stations. I bought this dvd purely on account of Chips Rafferty, a very popular Australian actor of that era, but he had only a miniscule part. Don't waste your money on this film.....you'll fall asleep with boredom before it finishes.