OZ Spot: Death-ride …

… on the1940 Triumph T6. What inspired this interest in the movie, The Great Escape, was a letter to a columnist in a weekend travel magazine. It said: “My father was interned during the last war in Stalag Luft III in Zagan, Poland. He was the inspiration for the film, The Great Escape. I know nothing is left of the camp but I believe there is a museum. I am planning to visit Zagan soon.”

The columnist replied: “There certainly is a museum there. It is at Zagan. It tells the story of the German POW camp at Stalag Luft. The museum has done a fine job of recreating the watch towers and barracks that once stood on the site … for the Allied airmen imprisoned there. ‘Harry’s Tunnel, the one depicted in the movie, was a true highlight. Possibly, one of the key scenes in the film was actor Steve McQueen’s death-ride on the motorcycle."

Here’s what the reviewer wrote: “The film’s most totemic scene and the biggest diversion from the real-life escape was McQueen’s doomed motorcycle leap over the Swiss border fences. The exercise was carried out by the stunt man, Bud Ekins. Which is not say that McQueen couldn’t have pulled it off. “Ekins was an accomplished biker. But the film insurers, however, refused to allow McQueen take the final leap.”

– Adapted by Frank Morris.

Film Greats, 1984: Movie star Slim!
His life was a film saga!

Slim Dusty, Australian great, now the nation’s culture icon.
 

Slim, a remarkable man!

“There has never been a country and western musical like it before,” said Kent Chadwick. “The movie portrays Australia today and yesterday … spanning more that forty years in the saga of a remarkable man who is Australian, Slim Dusty. The Slim Dusty Movie, a $2.3 million production based on the colourful life of Australia’s favourite country music star, will be released on October 18, 1984 – and that’s official. Producer Kent Chadwick, who had been working on the project for more than three years, says it will “be more than just a musical.” The film traces Slim Dusty’s career and follows his early days in NSW and ascent to the top – a period of 40 years. Says Chadwick: “It’s a film that’s as much about Australia and its people as it is about Slim Dusty; it’s a terrific story.” Dusty recorded his first single, When The Rain Tumbles Down, in the late 1940s. Since then, he has recorded 54 LPs and over 600 songs. Also appearing in the film, Joy McKean, and their children, Anne Kirkpatrick and David. 

 

Young Slim in action

The young Slim Dusty (Dean Stidworthy) makes his debut on radio. By the time he was 15, Slim had had many years performing in public at local dances and country shows. “He had chosen the name “Slim Dusty” when he was ten years old. “I settled on ‘Slim’ because it was a typical cowboy name and ‘Dusty because that’s what the  Australian outback is,” said Slim in a radio interview.

 

Slim’s road to fame

Slim Dusty (now older, Jon Blake) tunes up his guitar in the studios of a Sydney radio station while he waits for the McKean Sisters, Joy and Heather (Sandy Paul and Mary Charleston) to finish their number. Slim marries Joy McKean in 1951. Writes Eric Watson, in the book. Country Music in Australia, “Joy proved to be of immeasurable help to Slim’s life and career.”

 

On the dusty trail

Slim Dusty on the country circuit. “The performers took the bit between their teeth and hitched their cars to caravans and hit the road,” Heather  McKean said. “They covered every State in Australia playing in local halls and pubs in the remote outback towns, suburbs and big cities. 

<< The 90 min saga, Slim & l, played on the ABC-TV last month, used certain sections of the  film, which throws some light on Slim’s early life.

Slim Dusty: Looking Forward, Looking Back

Slim Dusty goes through the family album of photographs to catch up on some of the highpoints growing up. Slim sings one his famous favourite songs, Looking Forward, Looking Back.

OZ Spot: Yo-Yo’s – What’s their origin?

There’s another side to the Yo-Yo – its origin! The Yo-Yo’s magic, aided by the ‘string’ and ultrafast hands of all type of players, has been around for centuries. Prehistoric man used it as a hunting device; it’s been compared to the boomerang. Made from stone or wood, with a ‘string’ of hide or vine, hunters would crouch in trees waiting to snare small animals. Once it had stunned the animals, the yo-yo would return the sting to the hunter.
 

Since it first surfaced in ancient Greece about 3000 BC, the yo-yo has been know by various names. The Greek youth aptly called it a disc. In 18th century England, it gained popularity as a ‘bandalore’ and playing it was one of George IV’s ‘simple pleasures’. In France, during the Revolution, it was called L’Enigrette – but only kings, courtesans and members of the aristocracy could afford one. There was a recent report, that a yo-yo had been found in China in the coffins of a rich merchant. Historians claim it dated from before 3000 BC!

The yo-yo will never go away! 

Comic Break