The film examines four periods in the life of (the fictitious) doctor Edward Trenbow:
In 1918 Trenbow is treating shell-shocked soldiers from the front.
In the 1920s he works as a psychiatrist at the Sydney insane asylum and becomes involved in experiments in Freudian psychiatry, which bring him to the attention of a Royal Commission.
In the 1930s he works as a doctor in a small country town and becomes involved in a fight against the New Guard.
In 1939 he is working in Sydney as a psychiatrist and tries to defend a German psychiatrist who is being interned as a member of the Australia First Movement. He has become a pacifist and is dismayed when his son enlists for what became World War II.[2]
Director Michael Thornhill was good friends with writer Frank Moorhouse and they had worked together on several short films. Moorehouse wrote the script in 1970, originally for television[3] and it was revived a few years later. Half the budget came from the Australian Film Development Corporation and the other half from a property developer.[1][4]
Thornhill decided to distribute the film himself at first. Initial reviews were good but the box office performance was not strong and distribution was taken over by the Vincent Library.[1] The movie did not return its cost;[3] a bigger "flop" than The Cars that Ate Paris.[2]
Between Wars was released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in January 2011. The DVD is compatible with all region codes.[7] By 2023 it was no longer in their catalogue.
Awards
In 1976, the Australian Cinematographers Society awarded the film's cinematographer Russell Boyd with Cinematographer of the Year award for the film.
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