Donald Crombie Movies

A teenaged lad tries to come to terms with the fact that he is "Selkie" -- a seal-human hybrid -- in this Australian family movie. Jamie Duncan (Shimon Moore) moves with his marine-scientist mother Iona (Celine O'Leary) to Jackson Island. Iona heads up a research center on the island, and Jamie soon encounters her dour assistant (Edmund Pegge) and an evil tuna fisherman (Michael Habib). En route to the research center, Jamie hits it off with Samantha (Chelsea Bruland). Their budding puppy love is thrown for a loop when Jamie jumps into the ocean to save Samantha -- and turns into a seal. After his grandfather explains his unusual lineage, Jamie resolves to find the secret potion that will make him all human. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

In this romance, after they accidentally have a little fender bender, a lawyer's wife and a truck driver find true love in Australia. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This Australian-British co-production was based on the historical novel by Ronald McKie. In the last months of WWII, a group of 14 intrepid British and Aussie soldiers combined forces for a daring and dangerous mission. "Operation Jaywick" was designed to cripple the Japanese naval fleet in Singapore harbor. With only a few rickety wooden boats, a handful of weapons, and a surplus of guts at their disposal, the title characters set about to complete their mission and return home in one piece. A collaboration between TVS and Ten Network, the four 60-minute episodes of The Heroes aired in England in 1989. Three years later, many of the same cast and crew members were reassembled for a sequel, the redundantly titled Heroes II: The Return. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title of the 1986 Australian miniseries Cyclone Tracy refers to an infamous hurricane that hit and nearly destroyed the northern Australian city of Darwin between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, 1974, killing well over 100 and leaving over 20,000 homeless. This docudrama recreates that terrible series of events. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Many cinematic versions of this story which first appeared in 1889 (authored by Rolf Boldrewood) have been produced, the first was an Australian film dating back to 1907, and this mid-'80s interpretation is also an Australian release. The focus is on Captain Starlight (Sam Neill) and his gang of outlaws who terrorize the countryside in the late 19th century. Dick and Jim Marsten (Steven Vidler and Christopher Cummins) leave home to join Captain Starlight's gang of brigands, following fast on their father's own footsteps. Opposing the Marstens and the rest of the gang is the determined Sir Frederick Morringer (Robert Grubb). Love interests, arguments, and episodic adventures fill the time until the inevitable final showdown with the law. Originally intended as a series on television, the sequences have been cut to fit into a continuous, 2 1/2-hour movie -- unfortunately deleting background on the main protagonists and their lovers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Director Donald Crombie's fourth feature tackles the problem of out-of-control redevelopment by unscrupulous corporate developers. Angel Street is a row of charming and quaint homes on the shore of Australia's Sydney Harbor. A development company wants to buy the homes, raze the street, and build high-rise apartments in their wake. When B.C. Simmonds (Alexander Archdale), the leader of the residents' group, dies under mysterious circumstances, his daughter Jessica (Liz Alexander) takes up the residents' cause against the developers, assisted by Elliot (John Hargreaves), the Communist union official with whom Jessica had a brief affair. It turns out that the developers are not just businessmen, but have a malevolent connection with the government. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

In Queensland, Australia in the 1920s, a rugged Irishman bucks the encroaching modern age to the detriment of himself and his family in The Irishman. Michael Craig plays Paddy Doolan, an individualistic force-of-nature who runs a team of imposing and impressive Clydesdale draught horses. With the internal combustion engine making inroads into the Australian outback, Doolan insists on ignoring the on-coming mechanical monstrosity and continues to put all his faith into his horse team. His recalcitrance tears apart his family -- consisting of his acquiescent wife Jenny (Robyn Nevin); his rebellious older son Will (Lou Brown); and supportive younger son Michael (Simon Burke). Refusing to give in to changing times, he not only ends up destroying his business and his family but himself as well. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

One of several feature film versions of the late 19th century novel by Rolf Boldrewood, this frontier adventure is set not in the Wild West of the U.S., but in the equally untamed Australian Outback of the same era. Two brothers, Jim (David McCallum) and Dick Marsten (Ronald Lewis) follow in their father's footsteps by leaving home to seek adventure as gunfighters. They become outlaws in the roving band led by stylish Captain Starlight (Peter Finch), who leads them on a series of escapades robbing banks and rustling cattle. Though they find the excitement and romance they craved, the Marstens soon become disillusioned with a life on the run and begin to wish that they could resume the mantle of honest, hard-working citizens. Unfortunately, events transpire to put the entire Starlight gang out of operation before the brothers can recommence their formerly law-abiding ways. Produced by Britain's Rank Organization, Robbery Under Arms (1957) was followed by a television series remake in 1985 and a handful of other films set against the colorful backdrop of the Australian frontier, including The Man from Snowy River (1982) and Quigley Down Under (1990). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide