Russia Aflame | |
---|---|
Directed by | Charles Chauvel |
Produced by | Charles Chauvel |
Production company | Columbia |
Release date |
|
Running time | 12 minutes |
Country | Australia |
Language | English |
Russia Aflame is a 1943 short Australian documentary directed by Charles Chauvel.
The film opens before the Nazi attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941, and shows peasants at work in fields along the Volga, shepherds looking after their sheep on the steppes, and crop cultivation in Ukraine. It then deals with the consequences of the invasion, including the role of women in the war effort and Russian factory production. [1]
The film was made from a number of shorts imported to Australia from the local chapter of Friends of the Soviet Union. Columbia's Sydney office hired Charles Chauvel to reconstruct and dramatise the story into a new film. [2]
The critic from The Sydney Morning Herald stated that:
Though there are some inevitable weaknesses in continuity, the result achieves the main purpose of illuminating with quiet, sympathetic, and well delivered commentary the spirit of Russia in travail, and the Russian nation's bravery and grim resourcefulness. Frequently the audience on Friday night broke into fervent applause as Stalin or his marshals (Timoshenko, Budenny, Voroshilov) appeared briefly on the screen. The awakening of the nation into the dread reality of war has been well dramatised, as has the Soviet's call upon its oil resources and its men and women. The scenes of Russia's scorched-earth policy in operation show the ruthlessness of this last defensive action, and add to the pathos of a film that pays tribute to a most heroic nation. [3]
Chauvel would sometimes accompany screenings of the movie. [4]
Jedda, released in the UK as Jedda the Uncivilised, is a 1955 Australian film written, produced and directed by Charles Chauvel. His last film, it is notable for being the first to star two Aboriginal actors, Robert Tudawali and Ngarla Kunoth in the leading roles. It was also the first Australian feature film to be shot in colour.
Charles Edward Chauvel OBE was an Australian filmmaker, producer, actor and screenwriter and nephew of Australian army General Sir Harry Chauvel. He is noted for writing and directing the films Forty Thousand Horsemen in 1940 and Jedda in 1955. His wife, Elsa Chauvel, was a frequent collaborator on his filmmaking projects.
John William Pilbean Goffage MBE, known professionally as Chips Rafferty, was an Australian actor. Called "the living symbol of the typical Australian", Rafferty's career stretched from the late 1930s until he died in 1971, and during this time he performed regularly in major Australian feature films as well as appearing in British and American productions, including The Overlanders and The Sundowners. He appeared in commercials in Britain during the late 1950s, encouraging British emigration to Australia.
Elyne Mitchell, OAM was an Australian author noted for the Silver Brumby series of children's novels. Her nonfiction works draw on family history and culture.
Ronald Grant Taylor was an English-Australian actor best known as the abrasive General Henderson in the Gerry Anderson science fiction series UFO and for his lead role in Forty Thousand Horsemen (1940).
Cinesound Productions Pty Ltd was an Australian feature film production company. Established in June 1931, Cinesound developed out of a group of companies centred on Greater Union Theatres that covered all facets of the film process, from production to distribution and exhibition. Cinesound Productions established a film studio as a subsidiary of Greater Union Theatres Pty Ltd based on the Hollywood model. The first production was On Our Selection (1932), which was an enormous financial success.
In the Wake of the Bounty (1933) is an Australian film directed by Charles Chauvel about the 1789 Mutiny on the Bounty. It is notable as the screen debut of Errol Flynn, playing Fletcher Christian. The film preceded MGM's more famous Mutiny on the Bounty, starring Charles Laughton and Clark Gable, by two years.
Mary Maguire was an Australian-born actress who briefly became a Hollywood and British film star in the late 1930s.
The Rats of Tobruk is a 1944 Australian film directed by Charles Chauvel. An abridged version was released in the United States in 1951 as The Fighting Rats of Tobruk. The film follows three drover friends who enlist in the Australian Army together during World War II. Their story is based on the siege of the Libyan city of Tobruk in North Africa by Rommel's Afrika Korps. The partly Australian defenders held the city for 250 days before being relieved by British forces.
Forty Thousand Horsemen is a 1940 Australian war film directed by Charles Chauvel. The film tells the story of the Australian Light Horse which operated in the desert at the Sinai and Palestine campaign during World War I. It follows the adventures of three rowdy heroes in fighting and romance. The film culminates at the Battle of Beersheba which is reputedly "the last successful cavalry charge in history". The film was clearly a propaganda weapon, to aid in recruitment and lift the pride of Australians at home during World War II. It was one of the most successful Australian movies of its day. It was later remade in 1987 as The Lighthorsemen.
Sons of Matthew is a 1949 Australian film directed and produced and co-written by Charles Chauvel. The film was shot in 1947 on location in Queensland, Australia, and the studio sequences in Sydney. Sons of Matthew took 18 months to complete, but it was a great success with Australian audiences when it finally opened in December 1949.
Uncivilised is a 1936 Australian film directed by Charles Chauvel. It was an attempt by Chauvel to make a more obviously commercial film, and was clearly influenced by Tarzan.
Heritage is a 1935 Australian historical film directed by Charles Chauvel.
The Moth of Moonbi is a 1926 Australian film directed by Charles Chauvel. It was adapted from The Wild Moth, a 1924 novel by Australian author Mabel Forrest. It was Queensland's first feature length film
100,000 Cobbers is a 1942 dramatised documentary made by director Ken G. Hall for the Australian Department of Information during World War II to boost recruitment into the armed forces. Grant Taylor, Joe Valli and Shirley Ann Richards play fictitious characters.
When the Kellys Rode is a 1934 Australian film directed by Harry Southwell about Ned Kelly.
Soldiers Without Uniform is a 1942 short Australian programme about Australian industry during World War II directed by Charles Chauvel.
Power to Win is a 1942 short Australian documentary directed by Charles Chauvel about the Australian coal industry during World War II.
While There is Still Time is a 1943 short Australian dramatised documentary about Australian soldiers during World War II directed by Charles Chauvel.
Frank Coffey was an Australian author, cameraman, director, and screenwriter who worked mostly on the production of documentaries. For a number of years, he was in-house writer for Cinesound Productions.