John Power John Power i(A99862 works by) (birth name: John Beresford Power)
Born: Established: 20 Nov 1930 Maitland, Maitland area, Hunter Valley, Newcastle - Hunter Valley area, New South Wales, ; Died: Ceased: 2016
Gender: Male
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Works By

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1 form y separately published work icon All the Rivers Run II The Rivers Run : A Journey of Faith and Hope [USA] Barbara Bishop , Vince Moran , Seven Network (publisher), ( dir. John Power ) 1990 Melbourne Australia : Crawford Productions Seven Network , 1990 Z1688490 1990 series - publisher film/TV

A sequel to the 1983 mini-series All the Rivers Run, this series takes place in 1903. Brenton Edwards continues to pilot the riverboat Philadelphia around Echuca, one of the biggest inland ports in Australia at that time. After Edwards makes the acquaintance of Cyrus James, an expatriate American, the pair become partners in the riverboat business. Things don't go well for them, however. First the shipping and tourism industries in Echuca go into a downturn, and then Edwards is sent to jail for a crime he didn't commit. James rallies to keep their business afloat and Edwards's family together, as they all search for a way to prove Edwards is innocent.

1 1 form y separately published work icon Father Tony Cavanaugh , Graham Hartley , ( dir. John Power ) 1990 Cottesloe : Barron Entertainment , 1990 Z292841 1990 single work film/TV

During a tabloid television show Iya Zetnick exposes Joe Mueller as the Nazi war criminal who killed her family. Mueller is arrested and taken to trial but eventually declared innocent of the charge. Distraught, Iya breaks into his house and kills herself in front of his family. Although Mueller's daughter has stood by her father she becomes increasingly suspicious, and eventually begins to realise that the allegations might be true. When she confronts her father he admits his role in the murders and she rejects him.

1 form y separately published work icon Tanamera : Lion of Singapore Peter Gibbs , ( dir. John Power et. al. )agent United Kingdom (UK) Australia : Central Independent Television Reg Grundy Enterprises , 1989 7194704 1989 series - publisher film/TV

'A story of forbidden love set in Singapore before, during and after World War II.'

Source: Screen Australia.

1 1 form y separately published work icon The Dirtwater Dynasty Tony Morphett , Michael Jenkins , Terry Hayes , ( dir. John Power et. al. )agent Sydney : Kennedy Miller Entertainment , 1988 Z1821205 1988 series - publisher film/TV historical fiction

Family saga tracing fifty years of the Eastwick family, beginning when Richard Eastwick flees the industrial pressures of the late nineteenth-century English Midlands to pursue a life as a drover and land-owner in the Australian outback, only to face a succession of losses: the death of his first wife in childbirth, the death of his eldest son in World War I, the kidnapping of his daughter by her deranged maternal grandfather, the death of his second son in World War II, the accidental drowning of his third son and eldest grandson on the family property, his youngest grandson's (and son-in-law's) death as a prisoner of war in World War II, and the eventual destruction of his dynastic hopes when his only remaining grandchild becomes a nun and devotes herself to a life of celibacy and poverty.

Moran, in his Guide to Australian TV Series, notes that

The Dirtwater Dynasty has been variously likened to a morality tale from the Bible, a western, an epic tragedy; an adventure story; and much else -- and certainly, as hybrid, The Dirtwater Dynasty is variously all or none of these things. In fact, The Dirtwater Dynasty, despite containing all kinds of richnesses in the shape of idea, characterisations, incidents and narrative subtexts, is finally much less than the sum of its parts. Indeed with The Cowra Breakout, it is finally the least interesting and rewarding of the Kennedy Miller mini-series.

1 form y separately published work icon Willing and Abel Ted Roberts , Peter Schreck , David William Boutland , Sheila Sibley , Peter A. Kinloch , Luis Bayonas , ( dir. John Power et. al. )agent Australia : The Willing and Abel Co Pty Ltd , 1987 Z1831105 1987 series - publisher film/TV

A comedic adventure series that follows two men (Abel Moore and Charles Willing) living and working on a houseboat on Sydney Harbour, particularly their attempts to keep up payments on the boat. Also living on the house boat are aspiring actress Angela and the young, streetwise Parramatta.

Moran notes, in his Guide to Australian TV Series, that while the series reprised the ABC's The Fast Lane, it was nowhere near as successful a production:

there was little difference between the principal characters, both looking for the main chance. In addition the playing-off of Shane Withington and Grant Dodwell against each other (mildly tolerable in A Country Practice where the two had become fictional bachelors and odd-couple house companions after the departure from the series of their fictional wives) was decidedly threadbare.

Moran notes that this was the first series that Lynn Bayonas produced after leaving A Country Practice, and she had brought with her to the production not only the two main actors but also a number of writers.

1 form y separately published work icon Clyde Fenton ( dir. John Power ) 1987 1987 Z1588518 1987 single work film/TV Clyde Fenton was a skilled aviator and a brilliant surgeon. With fellow doctor Cecel Cook (the Northern Territory's chief medical officer), he created the Flying Doctor Service. The service was a great medical success, but ran foul of the Department of Civil Aviation. Fenton battled with the department and soon found himself in court fighting to retain his pilot's license and carry on his work. Fenton became a folk hero to the people of the Northern Territory.
1 form y separately published work icon Alice to Nowhere David William Boutland , ( dir. John Power ) Melbourne : Crawford Productions Network Ten , 1986 Z1817051 1986 series - publisher film/TV thriller

After the theft of an opal necklace intended for the visiting Queen Elizabeth II goes badly wrong, the two remaining thieves hide the loot in the luggage of a young nurse on her way to a job in central Australia. After co-opting the Birdsville mail-truck and dragging three hostages along with them, the two thieves fall out: at the Diamantina River, Johnny kills his partner, but is himself trapped in the truck's cabin and drowned, while hostages Barbara and Dave survive.

Moran, in his Guide to Australian TV Series, describes the program as 'a surprisingly touching, suspenseful mini-series', and suggests it 'had the drive, pace and nervous involvement of a good American feature film by a classic director such as Raoul Walsh or Nicholas Ray rather than the kind of meandering narratives so common in the Australian mini-series.'

1 form y separately published work icon A Single Life John Power , Mark Poole , ( dir. John Power ) Australia : Australian Film Theatre Company Victorian & Commonwealth Community Employment Program Australian Broadcasting Corporation , 1986 7192644 1986 single work film/TV

A single woman in her thirties decides to have a child.

1 form y separately published work icon The Great Gold Swindle David White , ( dir. John Power ) Australia : Indian-Pacific Films , 1984 Z1931145 1984 single work film/TV crime

'Two Perth brothers penetrated one of Australia's most brilliant and ingenious con tricks by having the Perth mint deliver them gold bullion worth $650,000. The perfect crime...but for one fatal flaw.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 5/4/2013)

1 form y separately published work icon Special Squad Cliff Green , Vince Moran , Luis Bayonas , John Upton , Patrick Edgeworth , Philip Dalkin , Everett de Roche , Shane Brennan , Leon Saunders , David Phillips , Kris Steele , Michael Harvey , Vincent Gil , Michael Aitkens , ( dir. Peter Andrikidis et. al. )agent Melbourne : Crawford Productions , 1984 Z1816885 1984 series - publisher film/TV crime detective

An attempt to re-invoke the popularity that police procedurals had enjoyed a decade earlier, Special Squad was the most expensive program produced in Australia up to 1985 (at $150,000 per episode), yet received such lukewarm ratings that Channel Ten chose not to commission a second series.

According to Moran, in his Guide to Australian TV Series,

it was good to watch, with expert stunt work and special effects. With well-paced narratives, intelligently and nicely worked out situations and plenty of emphasis on the villains and victims, Special Squad was just as watchable and entertaining as Homicide had been in its last series.

According to Moran, the failure of Special Squad lay both in its difference from and its similarity to Homicide. The novelty (of Australian accents and Australian locations) that had helped make Homicide so successful was no longer in play, and 'the sight of tough men (on both sides of the law) made the program [Special Squad] seem very old-fashioned. In addition, the plethora of other Australian dramas on air at the time gave viewers more than enough alternatives.'

1 3 form y separately published work icon The Dismissal Terry Hayes , Ron Blair , Network Ten (publisher), ( dir. George Miller et. al. )agent Sydney Australia : Kennedy Miller Entertainment Network Ten , 1982 Z1323669 1982 series - publisher film/TV historical fiction

Dramatisation of the political events leading up to the dismissal of the Whitlam government on November 11th 1975.

1 form y separately published work icon The Sound of Love John Power , ( dir. John Power ) South Australia : Nine Network South Australian Film Corporation , 1978 7192464 1978 single work film/TV

Made a part of a series of three telemovies by the South Australian Film Corporation, The Sound of Love follows the falling in love of two people with physical disabilities: race-car driver Dave and street-girl Eileen.

1 1 form y separately published work icon The Picture Show Man Joan Long , ( dir. John Power ) Australia : Limelight Productions , 1977 7192854 1977 single work film/TV historical fiction

'In the 1920s Mr Pym, his son and his pianist travel the backroads to bring the excitement and sophistication of the silver screen to small country towns. Pym is an old-fashioned showman who comes into conflict with an American rival trying to take over his territory.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 1/4/2014)

1 form y separately published work icon They Don't Clap Losers John Power , ( dir. John Power ) Australia : Australian Broadcasting Commission , 1977 6994622 1977 single work film/TV

'A minor case of vandalism brings two lonely people together. Single parents Martin and Kay meet when their sons Joe and Stephen appear in the Children's Court on a delinquency charge. As their relationship deepens Martin tells Kay that he used to like being best in everything he did. But now, as a council worker in Sydney, living with his ageing mother, he has little ambition except for his greyhound which may win the money he needs to return to the country. Kay's marriage was a failure, breaking up shortly after her son was born.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 5/2/2014)

1 form y separately published work icon The Outsiders Peter Yeldham , Ted Roberts , Ian Stuart Black , Eric Paice , Colin Free , John Power , ( dir. James Gatward et. al. )agent Australia Germany : Portman Productions Australian Broadcasting Commission Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , 1976 Z1825224 1976 series - publisher film/TV

Much like its predecessors The Rovers and Barrier Reef, The Outsiders was predicated on the conceit that the central characters (Pete Jarrett and his grandfather Charlie Cole) were nomadic protagonists: travelling across Australia, they spent each episode in a new location with a new guest cast.

Moran, in his Guide to Australian TV Series, says of the concept that 'They are in effect fictional tourists, a perfect foil for a series that starred a German and a British actor in the lead roles, carried overseas as well as local crew, and British and German investment.'

A co-production with a German production company, The Outsiders had two non-Australian actors in the lead roles: German actor Sascha Hehn as Pete and Scottish actor Andrew Keir as Charlie. Don Storey, in his Classic Australian Television, notes that Hehn's dialogue was over-dubbed by Andrew Harwood, because Hehn's English was deemed to be too heavily accented. Storey concludes that

In most episodes, The Outsiders has a storyline that is effective in its simplicity. There is plenty of action and stunt work, but it's the interplay between the characters and the understated atmosphere of the series which gives it depth. Technically, the series is excellent, with superb camera work, skilful writing, good direction and competent acting. The only minor criticism is the dubbed voices of the German actors.

1 form y separately published work icon Escape from Singapore John Power , ( dir. John Power ) Australia : Australian Broadcasting Commission , 1974 8119884 1974 single work film/TV

A 'dramatised documentary' of the controversy behind the Fall of Singapore in World War II.

1 form y separately published work icon Billy and Percy John Power , ( dir. John Power ) Australia : Australian Broadcasting Commission , 1974 7192296 1974 single work film/TV

Dramatisation of the diaries of Percy Dean, secretary to Prime Minister Billy Hughes.

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