The Picture Show Man

The Picture Show Man (1977)

You haven't been to the movies until you've seen...

A man, his son and a piano player travel around Australia showing the first silent movies

Date of release
1977-05-05
TMDB
6.5 / 10 (11)
Runtime
1h 39m
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Director
John Power

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Box office: A$566K
  • Awards: 4 · Nominations: 7. Including: National Board of Review: Top Ten Films; AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role; AACTA Award for Best Costume Design; AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score

The Picture Show Man is a 1977 Australian film directed by John Power, about a travelling film exhibitor in the 1920s. He has to deal with the rebelliousness of his son and a rival American exhibitor.

Production

The film was based on the memoirs of Lyle Penn, whose father was a travelling film exhibitor. He saw Joan Long being interviewed on television about her documentary on early Australian cinema, The Pictures That Moved and sent his memoirs to her. She optioned them and adapted it into a screenplay. Long was reluctant to direct the movie, and she hired John Power.

The film was funded by the Australian Film Commission ($250,000), the New South Wales government ($120,000), the Women's Film Fund, private investors and with support from then-Premier of New South Wales Neville Wran.

Shooting began on 17 October 1976 and went until 4 December, a total of seven weeks. It took place in and around Tamworth. Relations between Joan Long and John Power were not always smooth, and the two occasionally clashed over interpretation.

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

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