Smiley Gets a Gun

Smiley
Directed byAnthony Kimmins
Written byAnthony Kimmins
Rex Rienits
Based onnovel by Moore Raymond
Produced byAnthony Kimmins
StarringSybil Thorndike
Chips Rafferty
CinematographyEdward Scaife
Edited byG. Turney-Smith
Music byWilbur Sampson
Color processColor by DeLuxe
Production
company
Canberra Films
Distributed byTwentieth Century Fox
Release dates
  • May 1958 (1958-05) (London)
  • December 1958 (1958-12) (Australia)
  • April 15, 1959 (1959-04-15) (Fargo)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

Smiley Gets a Gun is a 1958 Australian comedy-drama film in CinemaScope directed by Anthony Kimmins and starring Sybil Thorndike and Chips Rafferty. It is the sequel to the 1956 film Smiley.

Synopsis

A young boy named Smiley desperately wants a gun. A deal is made between him and Sergeant Flaxman that if he gets 8 nicks (marks on a certain tree) for his good deeds he will get a .22 caliber £2 rifle. He has several adventures and is accused of stealing some gold. Smiley runs away but the real thief is caught and Smiley is rewarded with a gun.

Cast

Production

The novel Smiley had been so popular that author Moore Raymond followed it up with Smiley Gets a Gun in 1947.[1]

The father of the actor who first played Smiley, Colin Petersen, wanted more money to return. [2] This mean a replacement had to be found. Anthony Kimmins looked at over 4,000 other applicants before finding Keith Calvert.[3] Moore Raymond also had returned to England, writing Smiley comics for Swift Comics. Kimmins' daughter Verena who helped the young actors in the first Smiley movie had a featured role in the film.

Filming took eight weeks towards the end of 1957. Shooting took place at Camden and Pagewood Studios.[4]

Release

The film was less successful than its predecessor and a proposed third film, Smiley Wins the Ashes, was never made.[5][2]

References

  1. ^ "YOUNG AUSTRALIAN". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 14 February 1947. p. 13 Edition: SECOND EDITION. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  2. ^ a b Vagg, Stephen (26 November 2024). "The Brief Movie Stardom of Colin (Smiley) Petersen". Filmink. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Smiley and his gun". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 25 December 1957. p. 10. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  4. ^ "SMILEY GETS A GUN". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 3 September 1958. p. 66. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  5. ^ Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998 p226


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