Rex Rienits Rex Rienits i(A2285 works by) (a.k.a. Rex G. Rienits)
Also writes as: Robert A. Alexander
Born: Established: 17 Apr 1909 Dubbo, Dubbo area, Wellington - Dubbo - Narromine area, Central West NSW, New South Wales, ; Died: Ceased: 30 Apr 1971
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Australia,
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Gender: Male
Expatriate assertion Departed from Australia: 1947
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BiographyHistory

Rex Rienits worked on various Australian newspapers until 1949, when he moved to London. He then became a full-time freelance writer, writing radio and television plays for the BBC and film scripts for various production companies. He wrote his first radio play when he was 22 years old, in 1931. He co-wrote (with second wife Thea Rienits) Early Artists of Australia (1963), The Voyages of Captain Cook (1968), Discovery of Australia (1969), A Pictorial History of Australia (1969) and The Voyages of Columbus (1970). He was editor-in-chief of Australia's Heritage : The Making of a Nation, a series of weekly educational magazines (1970-1976).

Reinits first wife, Josephine (Balfe) Reinets, was the daughter of Oscar Balfe, editor of the Tasmanian Courier (an illustrated weekly published by The Examiner): her brothers Harold Balfe and Eric Balfe were also both journalists. According to her obituary, she was 'a talented pianiste and elocutionist and was highly appreciated in Australian musical circles, taking part in repertory theatre work while in Sydney' (Cairns Post, 29 January 1954, p.5). She died in London on 25 January 1954.

Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • Other works with which Rienits is associated include:

    • Jezebel–ex UK, a thirteen-part series about an ocean-going passenger ship, made by (British) ABC Weekend Television in 1963. Rienits is said to have contributed the first episode (in which the Jezebel voyages to Australia), 'Sea of Doubt'. (See Australian Women's Weekly, 22 May 1963, p.20).

    • 'Nightmare Island', a boys' own adventure serial published in children's periodical the Eagle sometime around 1954. (See 'Exciting New Serials in "Eagle",' [Adelaide] Chronicle, 22 April 1954, p.40.

Awards for Works

form y separately published work icon Stormy Petrel : A Serial for Television 1960 s.l. : s.n. , (Manuscript version)x401724 Z1382220 1960 series - publisher film/TV

A sympathetic exploration of Governor William Bligh's time in charge of the infant colony of New South Wales, some two years after the infamous Bounty mutiny. The series focuses on his troubled relationship with the NSW Corp, and especially Captain John Macarthur.
1961 winner Logie Awards — Special Logie for Best Drama
form y separately published work icon Walk into Paradise Walk into Hell (US title) ( dir. Lee Robinson ) Australia : Southern Films International , 1956 7875090 1956 single work film/TV

'As he’s heading for Australia on leave, senior patrol officer Steve McAllister (Chips Rafferty) is recalled to take a patrol into unmapped territory in the highlands of Australian-administered New Guinea. An old prospector, 'Sharkeye’ Kelly (Reg Lye), has discovered oil during an unauthorised expedition that claimed his brother’s life. McAllister is annoyed that he must take a French doctor, a UN malaria specialist (Françoise Christophe) into the interior, but she becomes crucial to the expedition’s success, when they encounter hostile tribes in 'Paradise Valley’.'

Source: Australian Screen.
1956 nominated Festival de Cannes — Palme d'Or
VIEW ALL AWARDS

Known archival holdings

National Archives of Australia National Archives Library (ACT)
National Film and Sound Archive (aka ScreenSound Australia) (ACT)
Last amended 12 Sep 2013 15:25:10
See Also
Thea Rienits
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