‘It’s flabbergasting! Being a kid in the 1950s Australian outback never looked so idyllic than in this colourful adventure – restored at last!’
Australians - and Poms - of a certain age might recall this big-screen family film from 1956, based on a popular series of books that were Australia’s answer to Tom Sawyer and Just William, and was traditional TV fare for many years. If not, then you are in for a treat as the film has been digitally re-mastered for a UK DVD release.
One-time child actor (and future Bee Gees drummer) Colin Peterson plays barefoot drovers’ son Smiley Greevins, who gets into all manner of scrapes as he tries to save £4 to buy a Raleigh bike. Veteran actors Ralph Richardson, Chips Rafferty and Bud Tingwell are also on hand as a vicar, police sergeant and school headmaster to give the kind-hearted lad the encouragement he needs to reach his goal. But the tale is not without mishap and adventure, especially when Smiley unwittingly becomes a drug mule for a shifty publican.
Produced by Alexander Korda (Things to Come), Smiley is based on author Moore Raymond's 1940s comic strip character that spawned a series of popular novels, and while it does present an idyllic view of being a kid growing up in the Australian outback by making light of the film’s more mature themes (drug dealing, alcoholism), its infectious good humour leaves you grinning, while the Technicolor rural settings will bring a tear to the eye to anyone lucky enough to have been brought up in the Australian countryside (I'm one of them).
Things have certainly changed in the intervening years since this film was made. The children in this rose-tinted world might roam the bush freely throwing mud balls at each other, but they respect their elders, know their faith, and never curse (even saying the word ‘Bum’ was deemed disgraceful). They also speak English proper (albeit with an Australian lilt) and work towards buying the things they desire. Oh! It brings a tear to your eye when you think about today's youth. So who’s for a rousing chorus of Waltzing Matilda?
Released 10 September on DVD through Odeon Entertainment
Hear the song inspired by the film... http://youtube.com/v/6UcY1AHQ0dc
