Wake in Fright, The Sentimental Bloke and The Story of the Kelly Gang – each could well have become victim to Australia’s fragile heritage of moving image were it not for the determination and detective work of a couple of people, or in some cases just a single individual, to ensure their survival. Instead they share a history of resurrection and restoration – and now comes another important discovery in Australia’s search for ‘lost’ films.
In early 2010, while examining the contents of a can of assorted pieces of film acquired several years before, the NFSA found image and sound negatives of a 3-minute trailer for Captain Thunderbolt (1951), Cecil Holmes’ bushranger feature made shortly after a 40-year ban on bushranger films was revoked in New South Wales.
Produced by New Zealand-born Holmes, Captain Thunderbolt’s originality and intelligence separate it from most Australian films made at that time. It takes a stand on such issues as championing the underdog, mocking the colonial aristocracy, satirising xenophobia and racism and exposing the blinkered brutality of power.
Despite having been made with the restrictions of a B film budget, Holmes and his director of photography, Ross Wood found new ways to add dimension to the film – camera moves at subtle moments, rushing along with the action, effective use of high and low angles, and noirish lighting.
The trailer shows images comparable to the clarity and depth of what Holmes and Wood had achieved in the original 35mm, 69-minute version of Captain Thunderbolt, which had its world premiere in Armidale, NSW in June 1955.
For many years, the NFSA has only held a 16mm version of Captain Thunderbolt, which was acquired by the then National Film Archive of the National Library of Australia in the early 1970s. This version was not only much shorter – having been edited down to 53 minutes for television screenings – but the 16 mm print reduced its image quality by more than 50 per cent.
View the recovered Captain Thunderbolt trailer:
Captain Thunderbolt (trailer), 1951. NFSA title 7629.
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This article was first published in 2010. The text was updated in 2024.
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