This is a period film of three people who arrive in a Queensland country town in the 1950s: two unemployed men on foot carrying swags and a single woman looking for work. There appears to be a recession on as well as a shearer's strike, and the men are told there are no jobs in town and to move on.
They return to the bush and find an abandoned hut for some shelter. The single woman comes to help the older man who is sick from sleeping rough, and nurses him back to health. The three establish a friendship, and live together platonically for a while, but are eventually forced to move when the townsfolk, who see them as undesirable, burn down their hut and force them to move on. They consider separating, but eventually stick together, and make money by hustling gamblers at the boxing matches in the travelling shows.
On one hand, the film looks very old-fashioned and melodramatic. The dialogue is awkward and the story verges on cliché. However a number of good performances make it slightly believable and strangely watchable, despite its dramatic shortcomings. Bill Kerr as the older man, and Tony Barry as the policeman are particularly good, while John Jarratt as the younger man and Lorna Lesley as the cheery young woman are also good. Other characters in the film are more caricatures.
Overall, it's pretty dull though, with just a few good moments.
They return to the bush and find an abandoned hut for some shelter. The single woman comes to help the older man who is sick from sleeping rough, and nurses him back to health. The three establish a friendship, and live together platonically for a while, but are eventually forced to move when the townsfolk, who see them as undesirable, burn down their hut and force them to move on. They consider separating, but eventually stick together, and make money by hustling gamblers at the boxing matches in the travelling shows.
On one hand, the film looks very old-fashioned and melodramatic. The dialogue is awkward and the story verges on cliché. However a number of good performances make it slightly believable and strangely watchable, despite its dramatic shortcomings. Bill Kerr as the older man, and Tony Barry as the policeman are particularly good, while John Jarratt as the younger man and Lorna Lesley as the cheery young woman are also good. Other characters in the film are more caricatures.
Overall, it's pretty dull though, with just a few good moments.