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Australia Is Like This

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Australia is Like This
Written byJack S Allan
Jesse Lasky Jnr
Produced byJack S Allan
StarringGrant Taylor
Production
companies
Commonwealth Department of Information
US Signal Corps Motion Picture Unit[1]
Release date
  • 1945 (1945)
Running time
18 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

Australia is Like This is a 1945 documentary about the experiences of two American soldiers in Australia during World War II until they leave for battle. It takes the form of a letter written by one of the soldiers to his family in America describing Australia.[2]

It was also known as A Letter from Australia.[3]

The film was made for Australia and the United States, but was not released in Australia.[4]

Plot

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The film is told in the form of a letter written by an American soldier and his friend on leave in Sydney. They leave a troopship and see the sights, encounter 'wrong side' traffic, and meet two Australian soldiers on leave who abandon their girlfriends to buy the Americans a beer. The Americans go to a Red Cross canteen and meet a waitress whose brother is in New Guinea. They take her to the zoo and accept a dinner invitation to her house. The troops then head north.

Cast

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Production

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The film was one of a series of shorts made by Australia's Department of the Interior, others including Island Target.

Filming began late September 1944, using a predominantly American crew.[5]

Release

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The film was completed by January 1945.[6]

References

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  1. ^ ""Australia Is Like This"". The Queensland Times. 13 September 1944. p. 2 Edition: Daily. Retrieved 10 March 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ "A.B.C. Orchestra in U.S. Film", ABC Weekly, 7 (18), Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Commission, 5 May 1945, nla.obj-1326764375, retrieved 23 December 2023 – via Trove
  3. ^ A Letter from Australia at National Film and Sound Archive
  4. ^ Pike, Andrew Franklin. "The History of an Australian Film Production Company: Cinesound, 1932-70" (PDF). Australian National University. p. 240.
  5. ^ "American Film". The Cairns Post. Qld. 13 September 1944. p. 4. Retrieved 10 March 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Prime Minister Meets Cabinet". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 January 1945. p. 5. Retrieved 10 March 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
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