That prankster who, according to an old Christmas song, put a tack on teacher's chair or filled the sugar bowl up with salt, we all remember one. The character of Smiley, if he were to be around 10 in 1956, could easily be a grandfather or great-grandfather by now, telling is descendants of his antics as a kid even though he disciplined his children for the same things. An absolute little rascal who more than two decades after the height of the series of movie shorts known as "Our Gang", is the Australian variation of those archetypes, loveable even if he's often a nuisance (even to other kids), and ultimately quite the charmer, easy to forgive. Colin Petersen went onto an aspiring musical career, but because of personal choices will most likely be remembered more for this role than for the early days of the Bee Gees.
This kid started with problems as early as his christening, those caused by conflicts between his parents, total opposites who managed to stay together through thick or thin even if they were the Australian version of the Bickersons. The basic structure of the film deals with the hard times of the family and how Smiley makes his way through those moments with a variety of adventures and a large number of mentors whom he encounters on a regular basis. Of course, he's got his own desires, in this case for a bike, and this shows each of his little schemes to come up with the money. A subplot involving Smiley finding opium is a bit bizarre to say the least.
As others have noted, the accent is often a bit crude, but you can't deny it's real. Fantastic color photography of the Australian outback makes this worth looking at. British acting legend Ralph Richardson and Australian acting legend Chips Rafferty were the only two actors whose names I knew prior to seeing this, and they have small roles. The musical numbers (which includes the cliched "Waltzing Matilda") are a bit corny, but there's plenty of charm as well. Dated and often sentimental, but for the most part, watchable, not leaving me bored or desperate for it to be over.
This kid started with problems as early as his christening, those caused by conflicts between his parents, total opposites who managed to stay together through thick or thin even if they were the Australian version of the Bickersons. The basic structure of the film deals with the hard times of the family and how Smiley makes his way through those moments with a variety of adventures and a large number of mentors whom he encounters on a regular basis. Of course, he's got his own desires, in this case for a bike, and this shows each of his little schemes to come up with the money. A subplot involving Smiley finding opium is a bit bizarre to say the least.
As others have noted, the accent is often a bit crude, but you can't deny it's real. Fantastic color photography of the Australian outback makes this worth looking at. British acting legend Ralph Richardson and Australian acting legend Chips Rafferty were the only two actors whose names I knew prior to seeing this, and they have small roles. The musical numbers (which includes the cliched "Waltzing Matilda") are a bit corny, but there's plenty of charm as well. Dated and often sentimental, but for the most part, watchable, not leaving me bored or desperate for it to be over.