Storm Boy

Storm Boy (1977)

Wild things should be free.

Mike is a lonely Australian boy living in a coastal wilderness with his reclusive father. In search of friendship he encounters an Aboriginal native loner and the two form a bond in the care of orphaned pelicans.

Date of release
1977-07-28
TMDB
6.9 / 10 (33)
Runtime
1h 28m
Genres
Drama, Family
Director
Henri Safran

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Box office: A$2.6M
  • Based on: Storm Boy
  • Awards: 1 · Nominations: 8. Including: AACTA Award for Best Film

Storm Boy is a 1976 Australian drama film based on the 1964 book of the same name by Colin Thiele, about a lonely boy and his pet pelicans living in a coastal wilderness with his reclusive father. It was the third feature film made by the South Australian Film Corporation, and is a highlight of the New Wave of Australian Cinema from the 1970s. The film was financed by SAFC, Seven Network and the Australian Film Commission.

Production

Colin Thiele had little involvement in the scripting of the film. His only requirement was that his novel was not turned into a sex comedy. The budget came from the South Australian Film Corporation, the Australian Film Commission and the Seven television network.

Shooting began in May 1976, with exteriors shot near Goolwa and interiors in the SAFC's studio at Norwood. Eleven-year-old Greg Rowe was an untrained actor, selected from over 70 applicants. Three pelicans played the lead pelican. In 2009 Mr Percival died at Royal Adelaide Zoo, aged 33 years old.

The production team later reunited on Blue Fin (1978).

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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