form y separately published work icon Country Town : The Bellbird Movie single work   film/TV  
Issue Details: First known date: 1971... 1971 Country Town : The Bellbird Movie
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

A feature-film version of the popular ABC serial Bellbird, Country Town sees the district gripped by a severe drought and undergoing severe financial hardship. When young reporter Philip Henderson arrives to further investigate the town (having already published a series of articles that have outraged the local population), he is met with hostility and wariness. Old tensions and enmities are also stirred following Henderson's arrival, but the town eventually rallies together to hold a fund-raising gymkhana. A pub gathering later breaks into celebrations as the much-needed rains arrive.

The Aussie Soap Archive notes that while Country Town retains many of the main characters from the TV series, it is more a standalone piece of cinema than a television spinoff. Interestingly, many of the main television characters do not play pivotal roles in the film's narrative. Instead, they are incorporated into group scenes in the pub and at town meetings: 'Nevertheless they are well-integrated into the proceedings ... Their presence adds texture and complexity to the examination of the town and its travails. In their appearances, the various characters serve to present their own take on the events of the story and how things affect their own situation, resulting in a film that presents various viewpoints and seems to have a realistic scope. The repeated brief interludes where yet another batch of struggling farmers or business people falling on hard times are introduced do not become repetitive and successfully accentuate the severity of the drought problems'. (sighted 16 September 2009).

Notes

  • Written by the Bellbird series creator Barbara Vernon, Country Town was also conceived by two of the show's stars: Terry McDermott and Gary Gray. In order to make the film, the pair (along with ABC film editor Fenton Rosewarne and chartered accountant Rod Barnett) formed the independent production company Avargo. The Australian Broadcasting Commission was not involved with the production. Although the ABC did not hinder the production, it did insist that the film could not use the series title Bellbird. Nevertheless, the town is still named Bellbird in the film.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 1971
    • c
      Australia,
      c
      :
      Avargo ,
      1971 .
      Extent: 92 min.p.
      Description: Colour; sound
Last amended 10 Mar 2014 15:44:56
Newspapers:
    Powered by Trove
    X