Bush Christmas came out in 1947 and it's a British-Australian co-production. The story is about five kids who chase some rustlers after they stole the family's horses. The Wikipedia tells me that it was one of the first films from Children's Entertainment Films, which later became the Children's Film Foundation. I've picked up several of the CFF DVDs over the last few years and enjoyed them quite a bit. There's a 1983 remake of the film called Bush Christmas or Prince And The Great Race. You can see it on YouTube. I should have watched it already but I just found it. It's introduces Nicole Kidman, something I might have known if I cared about her career any.
The 1947 Bush Christmas was written, directed and produced by Ralph Smart. He wrote and directed a good number of movies in a career that started in 1927 and ended in 1973. He died in 2001 at age 92. I'm probably a bigger fan of his TV work, shows like The Adventures Of Robin Hood, William Tell, The Invisible Man, Danger Man, Secret Agent and The Champions.
It's a pretty simple story, the kids meet up with some men on the trail and they let drop that they have a nice new horse and foal at their ranch. The next morning the horses are gone. The kids suspect the men and they head out after them. The horse thieves are no match for the kids and there's a happy ending. There's plenty of nice scenery and a good script with believable kids. Glad to have picked it up, I'll certainly watch it again.
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