Carole Skinner Movies

Aimed at children, this live-action Australian adventure follows an adorable golden retriever puppy on a cross-country search for the dingoes who comprise his doggy roots. Though the cocky young puppy's real name is Muffin, he prefers to think of himself as Napoleon. His quest begins at a children's birthday party where he frolics gaily with the children until he lands in a basket that has several helium balloons tied to it and is suddenly carried away. Eventually he lands on the rocky shore of distant Sydney Harbor. There he is befriended by a parrot-like galah named Birdo Lucci (other sly in-jokes for film buffs abound in the story). Together, the two buddies head into the bush in search of Napoleon's forebears. Along the way, they encounter a variety of native Australian critters including a koala, a kindly mother kangaroo, a hissy frill-necked lizard, a mean snake and a terrifying black cat who mistakes Napoleon for a giant mouse. Eventually, Napoleon meets his distant relatives too. Like the animals in Babe, this film's closest relative, the animals in this outing are endowed with human voices and qualities. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Originally titled The Umbrella Woman, The Good Wife is set in an Australian lumber town in 1939. Marge Hills (Rachel Ward), the bored wife of kindly-but-dull Sonny Hills (Bryan Brown) begins dreaming of outside romances. She unexpectedly gets her wish in the form of Sonny's much-younger brother Sugar (Steven Vidler), whom Sonny cheerfully offers to his wife as a surrogate bedmate. Given this curious arrangement, one wonders why Marge is so upset when she is propositioned by handsome stranger Neville Gifford (Sam Neill). Eventually, Gifford sleeps with every other woman in town but Marge. Fed up with the unimaginative lovers in her own house, Marge finally gives in to Gifford, arousing the jealousy not of the cloddish Sonny, but of the immature Sugar. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The inspirational autobiogry of A.B. Facey was the source for the four-part Austalian miniseries A Fortunate Life. Spanning the years from 1897 to 1916, the story began when eight-year-old Bert Facey, abandoned by his widowed mother, was forced to work on a farm run by sadistic horse thieves. After several years of backbreaking manual labor, Bert was given a break when he went to live on the farm owned by the Philips family. Conscripted into the Army at the outbreak of WWII, the hero managed to survive the carnage at Gallipoli, and after additional hardships and setbacks, enjoyed a happily-ever-after as the husband of the beautiful Evelyn, a union that would endure for six decades. Facey's book was published in 1981, one year before his death at age 77. The TV version of A Fortunate Life was telecast by Australia's Nine Network in 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this slightly downbeat film about the history of working women in Australia, the tone is somber although each well-won step forward is highlighted. Clips from newsreels and feature films (not identified) are enhanced by narration, and even the underprivileged aboriginal women are considered - along with many other topics. Divided into four parts, the first segment examines the influx of female prisoners into Australia at the end of the 18th century and their demonstrations in the prisons against deplorable conditions. The story of women's rights continues up to 1914, including the fight for the right to vote. The second part covers the role of women in World War I and before World War II. The third segment continues through the second World War with the role of women in a diminished work force and considers the issue of equal pay for equal work in the years up to 1969. The last segment traces the feminist movement up to contemporary times (early 1980s). ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Heatwave is the mildly interesting story of a woman's attempt to stop a redevelopment plot which she thought was the cover-up for fraud and other criminal activity. Kate (Judy Davis), through her own efforts, manages to find some evidence to support her claims and also have a romance. Davis gives an energetic performance as the crusading woman, but the script lacks a convincing plot or characters. While it has some good moments, Heatwave is primarily notable because it was one of the earlier efforts of Australian director Phillip Noyce, who went on to make the very exciting Dead Calm. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi