AustLit logo
person or book cover
form y separately published work icon A Town Like Alice series - publisher   film/TV   romance  
Alternative title: Nevil Shute's A Town Like Alice
Adaptation of A Town Like Alice Nevil Shute , 1950 single work novel
Issue Details: First known date: 1981... 1981 A Town Like Alice
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Set during and immediately after World War II, A Town Like Alice is both a love story and a war story. It spans two decades and three continents. The story begins with the capture of a group of civilian women by the Japanese and follows the nightmare of their captivity in the jungles of Malaya. It is during this time that one of the women, Englishwoman Jean Paget, meets a cheerful and laconic Australian prisoner of war, Joe Harman, who hails from Alice Springs. When he is tortured for a simple act of kindness, she believes that he has died. Later, after the war has ended, she discovers that he didn't die, and sets out to find him in Australia. Meanwhile, he travels to England to find her. The two are eventually reunited in the rugged outback of Australia.

Source: Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series

Exhibitions

8047809
7993667

Notes

  • Moran suggests that producer Henry Crawford conceived the idea of tracking the movements of the three main characters Strachan, Jean, and Joe, a device that distinguishes it from the 1956 feature film.
  • Mini-series.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

An Epic Journey : The Making of a Town Like Alice Part 3 Scott McConnell , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: FilmInk , 3 June 2016;
An Epic Journey : The Making of A Town Like Alice Part 2 Scott McConnell , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: FilmInk , 29 May 2016;
An Epic Journey : The Making of A Town Like Alice Part 1 Scott McConnell , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: FilmInk , 17 May 2016;
The Power of Film Captures Our Lives in War Garry Maddox , 2012 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 25 April 2012; (p. 3)
The Power of Film Captures Our Lives in War Garry Maddox , 2012 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 25 April 2012; (p. 3)
An Epic Journey : The Making of A Town Like Alice Part 1 Scott McConnell , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: FilmInk , 17 May 2016;
An Epic Journey : The Making of A Town Like Alice Part 2 Scott McConnell , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: FilmInk , 29 May 2016;
An Epic Journey : The Making of a Town Like Alice Part 3 Scott McConnell , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: FilmInk , 3 June 2016;
Last amended 4 Dec 2014 14:30:43
Settings:
  • c
    Malaysia,
    c
    Southeast Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
  • c
    England,
    c
    c
    United Kingdom (UK),
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
  • c
    Australia,
    c
Newspapers:
    Powered by Trove
    X