Two close friends from a rural town find their youthful ambitions and romantic entanglements shattered by the arrival of the First World War and the subsequent horrors of the Gallipoli campaign. A sprawling, handsomely mounted historical drama that ranks among the best Australian television productions of the eighties. The series successfully bridges the gap between intimate domestic struggle and the vast, terrifying scale of the trenches.
Peter Yeldham’s adaptation of the Roger McDonald novel is literate and moving, eschewing easy sentimentality in favor of a gritty, honest look at the loss of innocence. The production values are remarkably high for the period, supported by a cast of rising stars and seasoned veterans who bring the period to life with conviction.
Production Details
Australia / ABC - Lionheart TV International / 7x60 Minute Episodes / 1982
Directors: Chris Thomson, Di Drew
Writers: Peter Yeldham
Music: Bruce Smeaton
Main Cast
Scott Burgess as Billy McKenzie
Scott McGregor as Walter Gilchrist
Lorraine Bayly as Helen Gilchrist
Bill Hunter as Alan Gilchrist
Jackie Woodburn as Dina
Sigrid Thornton
Bill Kerr
Anne Haddy
Gerard Kennedy.