Martin Vaughan Movies

Recalling Peter Weir's Last Wave (1997), Manuela Alberti directs this thriller about Monsignor Tommaso (Fabrizio Bentivoglio), who dreams that an Australian aborigine is trying to tell him something. When he learns that his daughter is missing and that the part of the country in which she lives is terrorized by a serial killer, Tommaso hops on the first plane. He soon encounters Willie (David Ngoombujarra), the aborigine of his dreams. The duo search the outback looking for the missing girl before running into city-born aborigine cop Sutherland (John Moore). ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

This feature-length TV pilot stars Lee Majors as an American horse breeder who tries to make a go in New South Wales (shades of Man From Snowy River). Accompanying Majors "down under" is his son (William Hughes); father and son entrench themselves in the ranch of Majors' ex-wife (Rebecca Gilling), who lives with her younger sons. Just when it seems a reconciliation is possible, the woman is killed, forcing Majors to take over the ranch and work it with the help of his three sons and his former father-in-law (Martin Vaughan). Danger Down Under was telecast in March of 1988, where it lost out in a Monday-night ratings battle to Newhart. The film has since been syndicated under two alternate titles: Austral Downs and Harris Down Under. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

Phar Lap, the legendary New Zealand-bred racing horse, is as well-known today for his mysterious death as for his fabulous accomplishments in life. Beginning at the end, the film flashes back to the day that Phar Lap, despite his lack of pedigree, is purchased on impulse by trainer Harry Telford (Martin Vaughan). Phar Lap loses his first races, but Telford's faith in the animal is unshakable. Suddenly the horse becomes a winner, thanks to the love and diligence of stableboy Tommy Woodcock (Tom Burlinson). American-promoter Dave Davis (Ron Leibman) arranges for Phar Lap to be entered in several top races, where his "long shot" status results in heavy losses for the professional gamblers. Just after winning an important race in Mexico, Phar Lap collapse and dies; though the film never comes out and says as much, it is assumed that the horse was "murdered" by the gambling interests. The film is based on a book by Michael Wilkinson. The real-life Tommy Woodcock appears in the film as an elderly trainer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Even today, the Australian outback (the never-never of the title) is a daunting place to be left alone. In 1901, it was even more rugged and wild. In this artful drama, Jeannie Gunn (Angela Punch McGregor), a very genteel and citified Victorian-era newlywed, joins her husband in the Northern Territory to help manage a station ("station" is Aussie for "a large ranch"). There she gradually sheds her prim ways and, thanks to her friendship with the local Aborigines, becomes a representative of an entirely new class, sometimes called "Australian outback women." In addition to chronicling the transformation of a Victorian woman, this film offers insight into the situation of Aborigine society at the time, and it received high praise from Australian reviewers. It is based on the diaries of Jeannie Gunn herself. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this youthful drama, a teenager attempts to put her life back together after attempting suicide. The events leading up to the attempt are presented via flashback. Included are scenes of the conflicts between her parents, her sister, and her boyfriend. All of these struggles lead her to marry an aspiring poet. Once married she is appalled to discover that she has become just like her father: loud and domineering. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Peter Weir's haunting and evocative mystery is set in the Australia of 1900, a mystical place where the British have attempted to impose their Christian culture with such tweedy refinements as a girls' boarding school. After gauzily-photographed, nicely underplayed scenes of the girls' budding sexuality being restrained in Victorian corsets, the uptight headmistress (Rachel Roberts) takes them on a Valentine's Day picnic into the countryside, and several of the girls, led by the lovely Miranda (Anne Lambert) decide to explore a nearby volcanic rock formation. It's a desolate, primitive, vaguely menacing place, where one can almost feel the presence of ancient pagan spirits. Something -- and there is an unspoken but palpable emphasis on the inherent carnality of the place -- draws four of the girls to explore the rock. Three never return. No one ever finds out why. The repercussions for the school are tragic, and of course Roberts reacts with near-crazed anger, but what really happened? Weir gives enough clues to suggest any number of explanations, both physical and supernatural. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Corin Redgrave plays a highly principled Australian doctor in Between Wars. As indicated by the title, the film concentrates on Redgrave's activities while the world around him is engulfed in combat. Arthur Dignam and Judy Morris are also featured. Between Wars was originally produced for Australian television in 1974. It was given a limited American theatrical and cable release 11 years later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide