Rupert Kathner
Encyclopedia
Rupert Kathner was an Australian film director
best known for newsreels and low-budget films. He worked with Alma Brooks, an ex-barmaid, who co-produced, operated the camera, edited, co-scripted and acted in their films. Kathner and Brooks were also "shady con artists and fugitives from the law", sometimes described as the "Bonnie and Clyde
" of the Australian film industry.
Kathner died of a brain haemorrhage in 1954.
and horse-racing.
(2006) is a feature-length documentary which re-enacts Kathner and Brooks' "movie-making spree that took on the Hollywood barons, a corrupt police Commissioner and the cultural cringe all in their passionate pursuit to make Australian films. On the run from police across thousands of miles, they would stop at almost nothing to get their films made." Hunt Angels "uses an innovative digital composite technique whereby the characters come alive in the real world of Sydney in the 30's and 40's".
The film was directed by Alec Morgan. It stars Ben Mendelsohn
and Victoria Hill
, playing the roles of Kathner and Brooks, and includes interviews with "real" people such as actor Bud Tingwell, filmmaker/distributor Andrew Pike, and Kathner's son, Paul F. Kathner.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
best known for newsreels and low-budget films. He worked with Alma Brooks, an ex-barmaid, who co-produced, operated the camera, edited, co-scripted and acted in their films. Kathner and Brooks were also "shady con artists and fugitives from the law", sometimes described as the "Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut Barrow were well-known outlaws, robbers, and criminals who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. Their exploits captured the attention of the American public during the "public enemy era" between 1931 and 1934...
" of the Australian film industry.
Kathner died of a brain haemorrhage in 1954.
Newsreels
Kathner and Brooks achieved their first success with their "shocking (for the time) newsreels". The most popular of these was about the unsolved murder case, The Pyjama Girl Murder. The newsreel was about to be distributed internationally when WWII broke out.Features
Kathner and Brook's features were essentially B-grade movies, and dealt with typically Australian topics such as Ned KellyNed Kelly
Edward "Ned" Kelly was an Irish Australian bushranger. He is considered by some to be merely a cold-blooded cop killer — others, however, consider him to be a folk hero and symbol of Irish Australian resistance against the Anglo-Australian ruling class.Kelly was born in Victoria to an Irish...
and horse-racing.
Hunt Angels
Hunt AngelsHunt Angels
Hunt Angels is a 2006 Australian docudrama, directed by Alec Morgan, starring Victoria Hill and Ben Mendelsohn. Hunt Angels was filmed in Sydney, Australia and opened in Australia on 30 November 2006 after premiering at the Melbourne International Film Festival in August.-Plot:In the late 1930s,...
(2006) is a feature-length documentary which re-enacts Kathner and Brooks' "movie-making spree that took on the Hollywood barons, a corrupt police Commissioner and the cultural cringe all in their passionate pursuit to make Australian films. On the run from police across thousands of miles, they would stop at almost nothing to get their films made." Hunt Angels "uses an innovative digital composite technique whereby the characters come alive in the real world of Sydney in the 30's and 40's".
The film was directed by Alec Morgan. It stars Ben Mendelsohn
Ben Mendelsohn
Paul Benjamin "Ben" Mendelsohn is an Australian actor.-Early life:Mendelsohn was born in Melbourne, Australia, the son of Carole Ann and Frederick Mendelsohn. He attended Heidelberg Primary School and Banyule High School. His father is a prominent medical researcher who heads the Howard Florey...
and Victoria Hill
Victoria Hill
Victoria Hill is an Australian actress, writer and producer. She is the daughter of the Chancellor of the University of Adelaide Robert Hill and the Australian president of UNICEF, Diana Hill...
, playing the roles of Kathner and Brooks, and includes interviews with "real" people such as actor Bud Tingwell, filmmaker/distributor Andrew Pike, and Kathner's son, Paul F. Kathner.
Feature Films
- Phantom GoldPhantom GoldPhantom Gold is a 1936 adventure film about the search for Lasseter's Reef. It was the first feature from director Rupert Kathner.-External links:* in the Internet Movie Database...
(1937) - Below the SurfaceBelow the SurfaceBelow the Surface is a 1938 adventure tale set in the coal region of Newcastle, Australia. The story concerns two miners who compete for an important coal contract....
(1938) - Wings of DestinyWings of DestinyWings of Destiny is a 1940 action movie about the activities of fifth columnists in Australia during World War II.-Cast:*Marshall Crosby*John Fernside*George Lloyd*Cecil Perry*Raymond Longford as Peters-External links:...
(1940) - Racing LuckRacing LuckRacing Luck is a 1941 Australian comedy film directed by Rupert Kathner and starring Joe Valli, George Lloyd and Marshall Crosby. The jockey Darby Munro, who had a cameo as himself, described it as the best Australian film he had ever seen.-Cast:...
(1941) - The Glenrowan AffairThe Glenrowan AffairThe Glenrowan Affair is a 1951 movie about Ned Kelly from director Rupert Kathner. It was Kathner's final film and stars VFL star Bob Chitty as Kelly.-Cast:* Bob Chitty as Ned Kelly* Alan Henderson* Ben Crowe* Charles Tingwell as narrator...
(1951), aka A Message to Kelly
Newsreels
- Australia Today - Lucky Strike at Larkinville (1938)
- Australia Today - Customs Officers Fight Against Drugs (1938)
- Australia Today - The Pyjama Girl Murder Case (1939)
- Australia Today - Fort Denison (1939)
- Australia Today - Man Eater (1939)
- Australia Today - Men of Tomorrow (1939)
External links
- Rupert Kathner at IMDB
- Rupert Kathner at Australian Screen OnlineAustralian Screen OnlineAustralian Screen Online is an on-line database operated by the Australian National Film and Sound Archive. It provides information about and excerpts from a wide selection of Australian feature films, documentaries, television programs, newsreels, short films, animations, and home-movies. It also...
- Rupert Kathner at the National Film and Sound ArchiveNational Film and Sound ArchiveThe National Film and Sound Archive is Australia’s audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national collection of audiovisual materials and related items...