Half a World Away (also known as The Great Air Race) is a 1991 Australian television miniseries directed by Marcus Cole from an original story by Ross Dimsey, who served as the producer of the series. The international cast included Helen Slater, Robert Reynolds, Caroline Goodall, Tim Hughes and Barry Bostwick. The film was based on the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race. The film was also known as The Great Air Race in video and international versions.[1]
Plot
In 1934, the "London to Melbourne Air Race" known as the "MacRobertson Trophy Air Race" named after Sir Macpherson Robertson (James Condon), a wealthy Australian confectionery manufacturer, was announced as a long-distance race open to competitors from all over the globe. As part of the Melbourne Centenary celebrations, the idea of the race was devised by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne with a prize fund of £50,000 put up by Sir Macpherson Robertson.
The other serious contenders were from the United States where celebrity pilots such as Roscoe Turner (Barry Bostwick), Clyde Pangborn (David Arnett) and Jacqueline Cochran (Helen Slater) were entered with potent long-distance racing aircraft. The most unusual entry was from KLM with a Douglas DC-2 airliner that would fly the course as part of a proving flight to establish the efficiency and safety of the airline.
Starting on 20 October 1934, the 20 competitors set off with many dramatic twists. Nearly all the competitors faced some adversity although the KLM crew flying an example of the new generation of American all-metal passenger transports, proved to be dependable, actually finishing second behind only the purpose-built de Havilland DH.88 racer Grosvenor House (G-ACSS) flown by Campbell Black and Scott.
Although Half a World Away has a proviso in the end credits indicating that the story is fictionalized, the production closely replicated actual events and depicted individuals involved in MacRobertson Air Race. The aircraft in the film included a North American AT-6 Texan (as a stand-in for the Granville R-6H "Q.E.D."), Avro Anson (portraying the Pangborn/TurnerBoeing 247D), Douglas DC-3 (a lookalike for KLM DC-2), DH.83 Fox Moth, DH.82 Tiger Moth and Boeing-Stearman Model 75.[2] A pair of non-flying replica DH.88 Comets were also featured, with "G-ACSS" being taxiable, produced by Monty Armstrong and "G-ACSP", a ground running static created by Ashley Briggs.[3]
Reception
Film Critic Hal Erickson noted: "Enhanced by the utilization of genuine vintage aircraft, 'Half a World Away' originally aired in Australia in May 1991. It has since been released to video as 'The Great Air Race'."[4] In a similar review, Mark Deming commented: "The Great Air Race is a made-for-TV movie that presents a fictionalized version of this thrilling moment in the history of air travel ..."[5]
The film was released as The Great Air Race in a DVD format by BFS Entertainment on 8 August 2000.[6]
Murray, Scott, ed. Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995: The Complete Guide to Tele-Features and Mini-Series. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1996. ISBN978-0-1955-3949-3.
