Half a World Away | |
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Genre | Adventure |
Based on | Half a World Away (story) by Ross Dimsey |
Written by | Michael Brindley |
Screenplay by | Peter Hepworth (treatment) |
Directed by | Marcus Cole |
Starring |
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Theme music composer | Peter Sullivan |
Country of origin | Australia |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 2 x 2 hours |
Production | |
Producer | Ross Dimsey |
Cinematography | Chris Davis |
Editor | Ken Tyler |
Running time | 192 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | ABC |
Release | 22 May – 29 May 1991 |
Half a World Away (also known as The Great Air Race) is a 1991 Australian television miniseries directed by Marcus Cole from an original story by Ross Dimsey, who served as the producer of the series. The international cast included Helen Slater, Robert Reynolds, Caroline Goodall, Tim Hughes and Barry Bostwick. The film was based on the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race. The film was also known as The Great Air Race in video and international versions. [1]
In 1934, the "London to Melbourne Air Race" known as the "MacRobertson Trophy Air Race" named after Sir Macpherson Robertson (James Condon), a wealthy Australian confectionery manufacturer, was announced as a long-distance race open to competitors from all over the globe. As part of the Melbourne Centenary celebrations, the idea of the race was devised by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne with a prize fund of £50,000 put up by Sir Macpherson Robertson.
The race was organised by the Royal Aero Club to fly from RAF Mildenhall in East Anglia to Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, approximately 11,300 miles (18,200 km). Five compulsory stops at Baghdad, Allahabad, Singapore, Darwin and Charleville, Queensland were scheduled although the competitors could choose their own routes.
In England, two special purpose de Havilland DH.88 Comet racers were built by Geoffrey de Havilland (Robin Bowering) for the teams of Captain Tom Campbell Black (Robert Reynolds) and Flight Lt. C. W. A. Scott (Tim Hughes) as well as the husband and wife team of Jim (Jonathan Hyde) and Amy Mollison (Caroline Goodall). Many other entries from England were production aircraft that could not compete with the Comets.
The other serious contenders were from the United States where celebrity pilots such as Roscoe Turner (Barry Bostwick), Clyde Pangborn (David Arnett) and Jacqueline Cochran (Helen Slater) were entered with potent long-distance racing aircraft. The most unusual entry was from KLM with a Douglas DC-2 airliner that would fly the course as part of a proving flight to establish the efficiency and safety of the airline.
Starting on 20 October 1934, the 20 competitors set off with many dramatic twists. Nearly all the competitors faced some adversity although the KLM crew flying an example of the new generation of American all-metal passenger transports, proved to be dependable, actually finishing second behind only the purpose-built de Havilland DH.88 racer Grosvenor House (G-ACSS) flown by Campbell Black and Scott.
Although Half a World Away has a proviso in the end credits indicating that the story is fictionalized, the production closely replicated actual events and depicted individuals involved in MacRobertson Air Race. The aircraft in the film included a North American AT-6 Texan (as a stand-in for the Granville R-6H "Q.E.D."), Avro Anson (portraying the Pangborn/Turner Boeing 247D), Douglas DC-3 (a lookalike for KLM DC-2), DH.83 Fox Moth, DH.82 Tiger Moth and Boeing-Stearman Model 75. [2] A pair of non-flying replica DH.88 Comets were also featured, with "G-ACSS" being taxiable, produced by Monty Armstrong and "G-ACSP", a ground running static created by Ashley Briggs. [3]
Film Critic Hal Erickson noted: "Enhanced by the utilization of genuine vintage aircraft, 'Half a World Away' originally aired in Australia in May 1991. It has since been released to video as 'The Great Air Race'." [4] In a similar review, Mark Deming commented: "The Great Air Race is a made-for-TV movie that presents a fictionalized version of this thrilling moment in the history of air travel ..." [5]
The film was released as The Great Air Race in a DVD format by BFS Entertainment on 8 August 2000. [6]
The de Havilland DH.106 Comet is the world's first commercial jet airliner. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland in the United Kingdom, the Comet 1 prototype first flew in 1949. It features an aerodynamically clean design with four de Havilland Ghost turbojet engines buried in the wing roots, a pressurised cabin, and large windows. For the era, it offered a relatively quiet, comfortable passenger cabin and was commercially promising at its debut in 1952.
Amy Johnson was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia.
The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of north London. Operations were later moved to Hatfield in Hertfordshire.
James Allan Mollison MBE was a Scottish pioneer aviator who, flying solo or with his wife, Amy Johnson, set many records during the rapid development of aviation in the 1930s.
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1934:
The MacRobertson Trophy Air Race took place in October 1934 as part of the Melbourne Centenary celebrations. The race was devised by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Sir Harold Gengoult Smith, and the prize money of £15,000 was provided by Sir Macpherson Robertson, a wealthy Australian confectionery manufacturer, on the conditions that the race be named after his MacRobertson confectionery company, and that it was organised to be as safe as possible. A further condition was that a gold medal be awarded to each pilot who completed the course within 16 days.
The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide is a 1930s short-haul biplane airliner developed and produced by British aircraft company de Havilland. Capable of accommodating 6–8 passengers, it proved an economical and durable craft, despite its outdated plywood construction.
The de Havilland DH.88 Comet is a British two-seat, twin-engined aircraft built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was developed specifically to participate in the 1934 England-Australia MacRobertson Air Race from the United Kingdom to Australia.
Air racing is a type of motorsport that involves airplanes or other types of aircraft that compete over a fixed course, with the winner either returning the shortest time, the one to complete it with the most points, or to come closest to a previously estimated time.
Tom Campbell Black was an English aviator.
Roscoe Turner was a record-breaking American aviator who was a three-time winner of the Thompson Trophy air race and widely recognized by his flamboyant style and his pet, Gilmore the Lion. He also founded a US domestic airline, ultimately called Lake Central Airlines, that in 1968 merged into Allegheny Airlines, the predecessor to US Airways.
Derby Airfield is a small privately owned grass airfield situated between the Derbyshire villages of Egginton and Hilton, in the East Midlands of England. The airfield is 7 miles southwest of Derby.
The Melbourne Centenary was a 1934 centennial celebration of the founding of the city of Melbourne, Australia.
Flight Lieutenant Charles William Anderson Scott, AFC was an English aviator. He won the MacRobertson Air Race, a race from London to Melbourne, in 1934, in a time of 71 hours.
Air Commodore Arthur Edmond Clouston, was a New Zealand-born British test pilot and senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He took part in several air races and record-breaking flights in the 1930s.
Hereward de Havilland was a pioneer British aviator, test pilot and member of the de Havilland company. One of the three sons of Rev. Charles de Havilland, he was the younger brother of Geoffrey de Havilland. Actresses Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine were his cousins. He had a son Peter Adam de Havilland and grandchildren John and Joanna de Havilland.
The Grigorovich E-2, or DG-55, was a two-seat, twin-engined, low-wing, prototype sport aircraft of Soviet origin.
Uiver Collection is a heritage-listed museum collection at 553 Kiewa Street, Albury, City of Albury, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1984 to 2016. It is also known as The Uiver Collection, Uiver DC-2 Collection and The Uiver Memorial Collection - Albury Library and Museum. The property is owned by Albury City Council. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 28 August 2017.
Betty Kirby-Green (1906–1992) was an adventurer and pilot with multiple aviation records.
Essex Aero Ltd. was an aircraft maintenance and component manufacturer, primarily based at Gravesend Airport in Kent, from 1936 to 1953.