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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
A film tracing the life and career of Fred Ward: imprisoned on Cockatoo Island for horse stealing, he escapes and reinvents himself as the bushranger Captain Thunderbolt.
Notes
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The National Film and Sound Archive has made the original trailer for the film available on their YouTube channel at http://youtu.be/CkdFUO7lTfc (Sighted 21/10/2011).
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The National Film and Sound archive has a number of images related to this film available on their Flickr page, in two sets of images:
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/nfsa/sets/72157624021366785/
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/nfsa/sets/72157624145724638/
(Sighted: 17/7/2014)
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Contemporary newspaper reports indicate that adjustments were made to the narrative with a view to export to Britain:
'Unfortunately the requirements of British censorship do not permit the inclusion of the true and highly romantic story of the association between Thunderbolt and the half-caste [sic] girl, Mary Ann Bugg' (Sunday Herald, 8 April 1951, p.1S).
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Contemporary reports indicate plans to spin the film into a television series:
'THOSE who have seen the Australian film, "Captain Thunderbolt," which was released last week at the Plaza Theatre, Northcote, wondered why producer John Wiltshire permitted the notorious bushranger to escape at the end of the picture instead of being killed, as actually happened.
'"Television" was the reason why Thunderbolt was allowed to elude his pursuers. Mr. Wiltshire and his film company, I understand, intend using Thunderbolt for a prolonged adventure series when TV operates in Australia!' (Argus, 20 August 1955, p.41)
The projected television series was not produced.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Hard Labour : Cecil Holmes’s Captain Thunderbolt (1953)
2020
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Senses of Cinema , April no. 94 2020;'Although born in New Zealand, Cecil Holmes is nevertheless one of the most significant and ambitious filmmakers to work in Australia between the 1950s and the 1970s. A dedicated leftist, in fact a communist, his work consistently demonstrated a humanitarian commitment to the socially disenfranchised, ranging from the underlying capitalist conditions that force decent citizens into bushranging and stealing, to the social, political, cultural and economic conditions confronting Indigenous communities in contemporary Australia. After starting his career with New Zealand’s National Film Unit – where he made the Grierson-like short, The Coaster (1948), and Golden Bay (1949), amongst others – Holmes instigated the first public-service strike in his homeland, and not long after fled to Australia. His initial work in his new country was completed under John Heyer at the Shell Film Unit, hardly the most apt or nurturing environment for a filmmaker of Holmes’s overriding political, social and cultural allegiances. Moving out from under such corporate and governmental patronage was certainly the making of Holmes as a filmmaker, even if he then often struggled to get his subsequent films of the 1950s into the marketplace and onto screens.' (Introduction)
-
Unsung Aussie Filmmakers – Grant Taylor : A Top Ten
2019
single work
essay
— Appears in: FilmInk , 29 July 2019; -
Cinematic Visions of Australian Colonial Authority in Captain Thunderbolt (1953), Robbery Under Arms (1957) and Eureka Stockade (1949)
2016
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Studies in Australasian Cinema , vol. 10 no. 2 2016; (p. 237-249) This paper interrogates representations of colonial authority, in particular the police force, in three films with a colonial Australian setting that were produced following the Second World War by British or Australian producers: the local production Captain Thunderbolt (1953) directed by Cecil Holmes; Jack Lee’s British adaptation of Australian literary classic Robbery Under Arms (1957) and Harry Watt’s Eureka Stockade (1949), which was the British production company Ealing Studios’ second production in Australia. I argue that the three films reflect differing approaches to understanding Australian national identity through their representations of authority, ideologically influenced by left-wing politics, the global marketplace and British imperialism. Where Captain Thunderbolt treats the colonial police and government with the sardonic irony and distance of a resistant community, both Eureka Stockade and Robbery Under Arms reinforce and justify Australia’s colonial administration. By detailing the economic, political and social contexts that contributed to these films, I demonstrate how various interest groups appropriated notions of Australian character and history to suit their ideological goals in line with Richard White’s (1992 White, Richard. 1992 arguments in ‘Inventing Australia’. Turning to history and folklore, these interests – including the Australian government, British media conglomerate the Rank Organisation and various left-wing organisations – infused the past they evoked in these films with new meanings that suited their vision of the future.' (Publication summary) -
Looking for Captain Thunderbolt (Cecil Holmes, 1953)
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: Senses of Cinema , March no. 70 2014;
— Review of Captain Thunderbolt 1953 single work film/TV -
The Search for Captain Thunderbolt : An Interview with David Donaldson
Anthony Lambert
(interviewer),
2011
single work
interview
— Appears in: Studies in Australasian Cinema , 6 April vol. 5 no. 1 2011; (p. 81-87) 'This issue's Vaultage feature is an interview with David Donaldson, the first-ever director of the 'Sydney Film Festival' (SFF), about his search for the original print of the 1953 Australian film Captain Thunderbolt. In this illuminating interview, Donaldson discusses the ups and downs of the search, how it became a search project with connections to the festival and the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA). He reflects on his time at the festival's helm, the Film Users Association (FUA), the films of Cecil Holmes and his own recollections of Holmes - the director and the man.' (Editor's abstract)
-
Looking for Captain Thunderbolt (Cecil Holmes, 1953)
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: Senses of Cinema , March no. 70 2014;
— Review of Captain Thunderbolt 1953 single work film/TV -
Hunt for Captain Thunderbolt May Turn Up Negative
2010
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 6 June 2010; (p. 13) Helen Pitt reports on the search for the original negatives of a range of Australian films including Captain Thunderbolt (1953). -
The Search for Captain Thunderbolt : An Interview with David Donaldson
Anthony Lambert
(interviewer),
2011
single work
interview
— Appears in: Studies in Australasian Cinema , 6 April vol. 5 no. 1 2011; (p. 81-87) 'This issue's Vaultage feature is an interview with David Donaldson, the first-ever director of the 'Sydney Film Festival' (SFF), about his search for the original print of the 1953 Australian film Captain Thunderbolt. In this illuminating interview, Donaldson discusses the ups and downs of the search, how it became a search project with connections to the festival and the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA). He reflects on his time at the festival's helm, the Film Users Association (FUA), the films of Cecil Holmes and his own recollections of Holmes - the director and the man.' (Editor's abstract)
-
Cinematic Visions of Australian Colonial Authority in Captain Thunderbolt (1953), Robbery Under Arms (1957) and Eureka Stockade (1949)
2016
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Studies in Australasian Cinema , vol. 10 no. 2 2016; (p. 237-249) This paper interrogates representations of colonial authority, in particular the police force, in three films with a colonial Australian setting that were produced following the Second World War by British or Australian producers: the local production Captain Thunderbolt (1953) directed by Cecil Holmes; Jack Lee’s British adaptation of Australian literary classic Robbery Under Arms (1957) and Harry Watt’s Eureka Stockade (1949), which was the British production company Ealing Studios’ second production in Australia. I argue that the three films reflect differing approaches to understanding Australian national identity through their representations of authority, ideologically influenced by left-wing politics, the global marketplace and British imperialism. Where Captain Thunderbolt treats the colonial police and government with the sardonic irony and distance of a resistant community, both Eureka Stockade and Robbery Under Arms reinforce and justify Australia’s colonial administration. By detailing the economic, political and social contexts that contributed to these films, I demonstrate how various interest groups appropriated notions of Australian character and history to suit their ideological goals in line with Richard White’s (1992 White, Richard. 1992 arguments in ‘Inventing Australia’. Turning to history and folklore, these interests – including the Australian government, British media conglomerate the Rank Organisation and various left-wing organisations – infused the past they evoked in these films with new meanings that suited their vision of the future.' (Publication summary) -
Unsung Aussie Filmmakers – Grant Taylor : A Top Ten
2019
single work
essay
— Appears in: FilmInk , 29 July 2019; -
Hard Labour : Cecil Holmes’s Captain Thunderbolt (1953)
2020
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Senses of Cinema , April no. 94 2020;'Although born in New Zealand, Cecil Holmes is nevertheless one of the most significant and ambitious filmmakers to work in Australia between the 1950s and the 1970s. A dedicated leftist, in fact a communist, his work consistently demonstrated a humanitarian commitment to the socially disenfranchised, ranging from the underlying capitalist conditions that force decent citizens into bushranging and stealing, to the social, political, cultural and economic conditions confronting Indigenous communities in contemporary Australia. After starting his career with New Zealand’s National Film Unit – where he made the Grierson-like short, The Coaster (1948), and Golden Bay (1949), amongst others – Holmes instigated the first public-service strike in his homeland, and not long after fled to Australia. His initial work in his new country was completed under John Heyer at the Shell Film Unit, hardly the most apt or nurturing environment for a filmmaker of Holmes’s overriding political, social and cultural allegiances. Moving out from under such corporate and governmental patronage was certainly the making of Holmes as a filmmaker, even if he then often struggled to get his subsequent films of the 1950s into the marketplace and onto screens.' (Introduction)
- New South Wales,
- 1800-1899
