Martin Lewis Movies

It is perhaps a blessing that Hannah Scott, daughter of American-born Australian settler Maggie Scott (Louise Caire Clark), had been sent off to boarding school school before the third season of Five Mile Creek got under way (this move was motivated by the departure of series regular Priscilla Weems). Financial setbacks have forced everyone in the community of Five Mile Creek, including Hannah's mom Maggie, hotel owner Kate (Liz Burch), and stagecoach drivers Jack (Rod Mullinar) and Con (Jay Kerr), to pull up stakes a seek out a new home in the Australian outback of the 1860s. The journey across the Great Divide is fraught with danger, and the settlers receive a none-too-friendly reception upon arrival in the town of Emu Plains. Even so, Maggie and Kate are able to get back to business, and Jack and Con quickly reestablish their stagecoach line. New to the series this season is handsome, callow cowboy Matt Buckland, played by Shannon Presby), and feisty, tomboyish miner's daughter Annie, enacted by a talented redheaded teenager named Nicole Kidman. Also, the character of Five Mile Creek's "boss" Charles Withers (Peter Carroll), hitherto appearing only on a recurring basis,has been elevated to full regular. Among the season's story developments: Annie sets her cap for Jack, but she proves to be a bit rough-and-tumble even for his tastes; Jack must compete with a dashing Irish sea captain (Noel Trevarthen) for the attentions of Maggie; a hotly contested election is highlighted by the arrival of a balloon ascensionist; Con has a deadly showdown with a masked bandit; and, perhaps inevitably, the female leads are imperiled in another hostage crisis. In the series finale, Con is given the opportunity to start a new stagecoach service in faraway America. How will this development affect his partnership with Jack--not to mention his romance with Kate? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the first of the 13 episodes comprising Five Mile Creek's first season, San Francisco-bred Maggie Scott (Louise Caire Clark) and her daughter Hannah (Priscilla Weems) arrive in the Australia of the 1860s, in search of Maggie's husband Adam, a prospector who'd headed "Down Under" during the territory's celebrated Gold Rush. Maggie and Hannah settle in Five Mile Creek, a community set up as a stagecoach stop, and quickly befriend local hotel owner Kate (Liz Wallace). At the same time, the Australian Express stagecoach service makes its maiden run, with co-owners Con (Jay Kerr) and Jack (Rod Mullinar) at the reigns. Despite the stiff resistance of their competitors and a variety of scurrilous "bushrangers", Con and Jack complete their first run with the help and moral support of Maggie, Kate and Kate's enigmatic Irish handyman Paddy (Michael Caton). In due time, big-hearted Kate will also rescue orphaned youngster Sam (Martin Lewis) from a life as a bandit (she'll also advertise for a husband in order to legally adopt the boy). Although overt violence is avoid during the series' inaugural season, there is action and suspense aplenty thanks to a variety of outlaws, claim jumpers and mysterious strangers. Midway through the season, Maggie becomes a widow, thereby opening up the possibility of a romance between herself and the headstrong Jack. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although it is sometimes billed as an animated feature, this children's story is an entirely live-action film, filled with wacky and silly-looking adults for the amusement of the youngsters. It is, however, based on Fatty Finn, a cartoon-strip character popular in 1930s Australia. Set in the earlier part of the century, the story concerns Fatty, a freckled youngster living in a pleasant suburb who feels the need to cut up a bit just to prove himself, and though he ruffles a lot of feathers, the fact that he is basically a good kid eventually settles them down again. The funny-looking paterfamilias, John Finn, is played by the beloved Australian national treasure Bert Newton. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide