Made in 1946, Smithy is a biopic about a national hero, aviator Charles Kingsford Smith. It was directed by one of the most important figures in Australian film history. Ken G. Hall, head of Cinesound and the first Australian to win an Academy award, directed 18 feature films and numerous short films. Smithy was his last, and perhaps best, feature film.

Smithy was the idea of N.P. Pery, the managing director of Columbia Pictures in Australia. Due to currency restrictions Columbia could not export film hire accumulated during the War, but it could export a marketable film. He engaged Hall and the Cinesound team to make it, with the full support of the Government and the RAAF.

Epic highlights of the film include the first transpacific flight in 1928 in the Southern Cross, and the dramatic Jubilee Mail flight to New Zealand in 1935, when the famous plane almost crashed into the sea. Former PM Billy Hughes, Smithy’s radio operator John Stannage and co-pilot P.G. Taylor play themselves in the film. During the production, the Southern Cross was flown for the very last time to get the stunning aerial shots.

Co-Presented with The Friends of the NFSA, light refreshments provided.

Rating

PG

Duration

115 MINS