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given to the Film and Sound Archives
for safe keeping - plus he would donate OPERATION NEWSREEL
$3 million to enable preservation at
archival standard. Copyright would of
course remain with Cinesound/
Movietone.
At a ceremony in Melbourne, Prime
Minister Bob Hawke and Rupert
Murdoch signed a contract setting up
Operation Newsreel. I had carefully
refrained from telling the Americans
about this, reasoning that it had nothing
to do with them, but the ‘mud hit the
fan’. I received abusive calls from LA
threatening my employment, and Jon
Dolgin, Executive Vice-President of
Fox phoned Rupert to try and stop the
ceremony. He was told to mind his own
business, go and make another
blockbuster movie and leave Rupert to
do what had to be done.
General opinion was that I had
achieved this coup for the benefit of
future Australians. In fact my principal
motivation was the preservation of the
work of great newsreel men I had
known: Eric Bierre, Sid Wood, Mark
McDonald, Jack Davey, Ken Hall,
Frank Killian and Harold Dews. I am
glad that I was successful.
I retired from Fox in 1990 at the age
The Cinesound Movietone Newsreel form was the precursor to
of sixty, after just under 43 years, the
Australian Newsreel Collection is a contemporary television and radio
longest serving employee of Twentieth
comprehensive collection of 4,000 reporting. The 50 years of newsreel
Century Fox - and therefore News Ltd.
newsreel films and documentation that reports mirror the evolving styles of
- in the world. I was surprised about
represents a unique range of news documentary and thematic reporting
this, but since it was passed on to me
stories covering all major events in and the changing formula of news
through the organization, I assume it to
Australian history, entertainment and segments. The production style of the
be right. There were multiple
sport from 1929 to 1975. newsreel films evokes the nature of
celebrations in LA and Sydney, and I
Each newsreel has independent Australian society at the time.
left Fox TV in the hands of my friend
significance but the Collection in its They represent how documentary
of many years, Tom Warne, who was
entirety provides a heritage resource of audiovisual communications were
well and favourably known to ‘The
immeasurable value. relayed to Australian audiences as
Boss’.
The newsreels had a significant and opposed to how contemporary news and
I could easily have stayed ten years
enduring influence on Australian current affairs commentary and
more, but the Americans had refused to
society in that they provided the only presentation are presented today. They
employ one of my sons to learn the
audiovisual depiction of major events encapsulate the unique form and
business, and Paul Keating was making
such as elections, wars, floods, narrative style that endeared the newsreel
nasty noises about changes to the
bushfires etc, reflecting the changing to a broad spectrum of Australians to this
superannuation rules. I believe I had a
attitudes of the Australian population day. The kookaburra and the kangaroo
charmed career, learning a lot in the
spanning almost half a century. This opening sequences have a special
University of Hard Knocks.
Collection of original material is meaning for many generations of
The only thing the Americans ever
housed in its entirety at ScreenSound Australian cinema audiences.
taught me is attributed to my erstwhile
Australia, the National Screen and A five-year project (Operation
boss and dear friend Bob Morin, “You
Sound Archive. Newsreel) was undertaken to restore,
don’t sell film sitting on your ass.” My
The Collection was donated in its copy and catalogue the Collection. The
successes greatly outnumbered my
entirety to ScreenSound Australia in documentary heritage has now been
failures, and remember, you only have
1988 by the owners 20th Century Fox stabilised with all necessary
to be right 51 percent of the time to be preservation copying completed. The
noticed! ★ and The Greater Union Organisation
who also sponsored the relocation, original materials and copies are stored
copying and cataloguing of the in appropriate conditions in secure
Collection and its documentation. storage facilities. ★
Image and text: www.amw.org.au
CINEMARECORD 2007 23