Sunstruck *** (1972, Harry Secombe, Maggie Fitzgibbon, John Meillon, Dawn Lake, Peter Whittle, Bobby Limb) – Classic Movie Review 10,772

Director James Gilbert’s 1972 Australian romantic comedy drama Sunstruck stars Harry Secombe, who is ideally cast as Stanley Evans, an amiable but reticent Welsh teacher who acts on a poster he sees offering work in Australian schools – ‘teach in the sun’ – and ends up running the local school in the small town of Kookaburra Springs.

Naturally the new immigrant finds that there are troubles out in the blazing hot Outback and that the path to happiness is far from smooth before he has formed a choir and got the Aussies singing.

Sunstruck is gentle, rather cosy but nice and fairly appealing stuff, with a sincere original screenplay by Stan Mars, and decent acting from likeable stars Secombe, Maggie Fitzgibbon as Shirley Marshall, the down-to-earth woman he takes a shine to, and ubiquitous Aussie actor John Meillon as Mick Cassidy, the village official who befriends him.

Also in the cast are Dawn Lake, Peter Whittle, Bobby Limb, Dennis Jordan, Norman Erskine, Jack Allen, Roger Cox, Tommy Mack, John Armstrong, Benita Collings, and Derek Nimmo and Donald Houston as themselves.

Sunstruck is directed by James Gilbert, runs 91 minutes, is made by Immigrant Productions, is released by Anglo-EMI (UK) and MGM-UA (US), is written by Stan Mars (original screenplay), James Gilbert (additional material), Jimmy Grafton (additional material) and Elwyn Jones (additional material), is shot in Eastmancolor by Brian West, is produced by Jack Neary and James Grafton, is scored by Peter Knight and is designed by David Copping.

It was the second film to be financed by the Australian Film Development Corporation (after the 1972 Private Collection), paying for a quarter of the $400,000 (Australian) budget.

The film was shot mainly on location in the environs of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia, where its world premiere took place on 18 November 1972.

It was the second and final film starring husband and wife Australian TV personalities Bobby Limb and Dawn Lake.

It is Harry Secombe’s final cinema film.

RIP Maggie Fitzgibbon, who died on 8 June 2020, aged 91.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 10,772

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