In the 1950s and 1960s he was one of the worlds bestselling novelists, publishing 23 books. A town like alice is a 1956 british drama film produced by joseph janni and starring virginia mckenna and peter finch that is based on the eponymous 1950 novel by nevil shute. From the excellent 1981 australian miniseries, based on the neville shute novel. Virginia mckenna, peter finch, maureen swanson, vincent ball en vincent bal. The novel was adapted to film in 1956 as a town like alice. Nevil shute norway was a british novelist and aeronautical engineer. Its australian success also suggested that people were hungry for feature films about australians, even if a town like alice was a british production. A town like alice, more than any other work, reveals shutes feelings about australia.
It was frequently described and sold as australian when released, but apart from the source novel, its use of the town of alice springs, peter finch, a few supporting players like vincent ball and a few below the line crew, it is in reality completely british and was sensibly omitted from the oxford survey of. The building of the new town in australia is only a minor part of a town like alice, just the climax really of a very long story arc. The fact that this film doesnt cover the second part of the book makes it almost impossible to understand why the heck the title is a town like alice but on another hand, once you watched it, you can read the book and still be impressed by it. Little house on the prairie tribute videos by me recommended for you. From the steamy jungles of malaya to the dusty and desolate outback of australia. The film does not follow the whole novel, concluding at the end of part two and truncating or omitting much detail. Film describes how a handful of women and children were forcedmarched. Remarkably, much of the film was shot in and around pinewood studios the oppressive heat of the swamp was actually a freezing cold pond at burnham. A town like alice is a bonza book as one of its main characters, joe hardman of australia, would say about two love stories, two adventures and two remarkable characters inspired by a reallife man and woman who displayed remarkable bravery during wwii. The alice of the films title a town like alice 1956 refers to the town of alice springs in the northern territory of australia. A dramatisation of shutes romantic novel, set during ww2 in malaya, and then after the war in london and australia. He thought it might add a little more authenticity to the film if some scenes were shot on location in.
Meeting in malaya she an attractive young english captive and he a cheerful australian pow tortured for a simple act of kindness. A town like alice could easily have been written, shot, and acted like a soap opera, but it wasnt. A town like alice appears to be a war novel on the surface, being published in 1950, but it was written when he was presumably doing some traveling in southeast asia and australia. A town like alice rape of malaya 1956 rotten tomatoes.
Before super 8, most of us had never heard of weirton, west virginia. Meeting in malayashe an attractive young english captive and he a cheerful australian pow tortured for a simple act of kindness. Conveys the courage of the heroine against horrible conditions in malaya and her commitment to the virtue of productivity in turning a decrepit outback village into a thriving town like alice springs. Super 8 turned weirton into a movie locationdestination. A sordid affair, a twisted love triangle, and a deathly act at the endpenance is the lusty thriller you need right now. The greatest australian miniseries, short run tv series. Vcis dvd of a town like alice is a betterthan acceptable transfer with a few issues presumably inherited from an itv master.
A town like alice is a 1956 british drama film produced by joseph janni and starring virginia mckenna and peter finch that is based on the 1950 novel by. A town like alice tells the story of a plucky young englishwoman who becomes a legend in malaya during world war ii, inherits a fortune, marries her true love, and wisely uses her money to transform an australian ghost town into a thriving community. A town like alice is a romance novel by nevil shute, published in 1950 when shute had newly. A town like alice is a fivehour 1981 australian television adaptation of nevil shutes novel of the same name. It takes nevil shute a long time in this novel to get around to the town of alice alice springs actually, and even longer to get around to the town like alice. While some location shooting was undertaken in malaya and australia, most of the film was shot at pinewood studios in the uk. A town like alice nfsa national film and sound archive. A moving film with captivating romance that youll never forget. Set against the brutal nightmare of world war ii, a love story begins that will take two lovers through a living chaos of captivity, across three continents and two.
Since the movies opening a few weeks ago amidst critical buzz thats getting louder by the hour, weirton has been on the forefront of the film location radar. I used a feature film crew to make it, because i really didnt want to do soaps. A town like alice dvd region 1 complete 1981 miniseries. Set against the brutal chaos of world war ii, a love story begins that will take two lovers through a living nightmare of captivity, across three continents and two decades. When i saw the bryan brown version of this film, maybe 20 years ago or more, i never considered the possibility that it was a remake of the original. A town like alice 1 is an episode from season 11 of the pbs tv series masterpiece theater in which joe harmon and jean paget fall in love during world war iis japanese occupation of malaya. I used a feature film crew to make it, because i really didnt want to do. A town like alice is also original for it tells war from the point of view of women, and women in conflicts are often ignored by war movies.
There was a happy confluence of australian drama around that time. A town like alice aka the legacy tells of a young woman who miraculously survived a wartime japanese death march, and an australian soldier, also a prisoner of war, who offered to help her even at the cost of his life. Beautifully filmed, it tells the story of the book in wonderful detail. The legacy is a romance novel by nevil shute, published in 1950 when shute had newly settled in australia. Jean paget, a young englishwoman, becomes romantically interested in a fellow prisoner of world war ii in malaya, and after liberation emigrates to aust. A town like alice is a 1956 british drama film produced by joseph janni and starring virginia mckenna and peter finch that is based on the 1950 novel by nevil shute. Shortly after his first visit, shute decided to move there. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. A town like alice the greatest literature of all time. It is her characters tremendous struggle to survive as a japanese prisoner of war that drives the narrative. Jack lee the director of a town like alice, in preparing for the film shoot, had decided that he didnt want the entire movie to be filmed in englands pinewood film studios.
I believe that a town like alice was the first australian tv drama to have a major impact overseas. The best things to do in alice town coronavirus update. Virginia mckenna and peter finch in fact spend less than 15 minutes of screen time together. The fact that this film doesnt cover the second part of the book makes it almost impossible to understand why the heck the title is a town like alice but on another hand, once you watched it, you can read the book and still be impressed by it, as it contains many a treasure not treated on the screen. A town like alice 1956 movies, tv, celebs, and more. Many of his books were filmed, including on the beach and a town like alice.
A heartrending story of strength in adversity, a town like alice is a celebration of the overwhelming power of love. This macmillan collectors library edition features an afterword by bestselling novelist jenny colgan. A town like alice first captivated me when i was only 14 and caught a rerun of it on t. A town like alice could easily have been written, shot, and acted like a. It starred virginia mckenna and peter finch, directed by jack lee. The sixpart british tv adaptation of 1980, first shown in the us on pbs masterpiece theatre beginning october 4, 1981, is more inclusive and sweeping in its adaptation.
Jack lee the director of a town like alice, in preparing for the film shoot, had decided that he didnt want the entire movie to be filmed in. A town like alice filmed largely on location in malaya and australia, story is based on nevil shutes novel of the same name. Written from the perspective of her scottish solicitor and trustee, it tells the story of her time as a prisoner of war in malaya, and her postwar life in a small outback community in australia, which she sets out to turn into a town like alice, alice springs in the northern territory of australia. A town like alice hit around the same time as movies like picnic at hanging rock and breaker morant, while the original mad max was being filmed around the same time that we shot.
A town like alice by nevil shute, first edition abebooks. The second trailer for bbc three and hulus tv adaptation of sally rooneys awardwinning novel normal people made lockdown that little bit easier for many of us. A town like alice is one of my favorite books by nevil shute so i was pleased that masterpiece theater did such a believable job when they filmed it. He used his full name in his engineering career and nevil shute as his pen name. More information about this seller contact this seller 26. The two leading players won british film awards for best actress and best actor in 1956, the year of its. A town like alice is a historic romance in which the romantic relationship is the least successful thing about the movie. A town like alice, nevil shutes novel of the japanese occupation of malaya during world war ii, was first filmed as a theatrical feature in 1956.
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