Smithy (film)
Encyclopedia
Smithy is a 1946
film about pioneering Australian aviator
Sir Charles Kingsford Smith
and his flight across the Pacific Ocean, from San Francisco, California
, United States to Brisbane
, Queensland, Australia during 1928. This was the first-ever trans-Pacific flight. Kingsford Smith was the pilot
of the Fokker
F.VII/3m
three-engine monoplane "Southern Cross
", with Australian aviator Charles Ulm
as the relief pilot. The other two crew members were Americans James Warner
and Harry Lyon.
The film Smithy was known as "Pacific Adventure" in the United States and as "Southern Cross" in the United Kingdom. The cast list for the movie included: Ron Randell
as Charles Kingsford Smith and John Tate as the relief pilot Charles Ulm. P. G. Taylor, who had flown as second pilot and navigator with Kingsford Smith appeared as himself in the film, and former Prime Minister Billy Hughes
also appeared in the film as himself. The film also featured the first on screen appearance of noted Australian actor Charles 'Bud' Tingwell
who was cast as a RAAF control tower officer - winning the role as he could supply his own RAAF uniform.
The director
of the film was Ken G. Hall
. The aircraft used for the filming was the genuine Southern Cross
, which has been purchased by the Australian Government 10 years earlier and refurbished by the RAAF. A surplus RAAF CAC Boomerang
was used in flying sequences for Kingsford Smith's Lady Southern Cross Lockheed Altair.
1946 in film
The year 1946 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*November 21 - William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives premieres in New York featuring an ensemble cast including Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell.*December 20 - Frank Capra's It's a...
film about pioneering Australian aviator
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
Sir Charles Kingsford Smith
Charles Kingsford Smith
Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith MC, AFC , often called by his nickname Smithy, was an early Australian aviator. In 1928, he earned global fame when he made the first trans-Pacific flight from the United States to Australia...
and his flight across the Pacific Ocean, from San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States to Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Queensland, Australia during 1928. This was the first-ever trans-Pacific flight. Kingsford Smith was the pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
of the Fokker
Fokker
Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names, starting out in 1912 in Schwerin, Germany, moving to the Netherlands in 1919....
F.VII/3m
Fokker F.VII
The Fokker F.VII, also known as the Fokker Trimotor, was an airliner produced in the 1920s by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker, Fokker's American subsidiary Atlantic Aircraft Corporation, and other companies under licence....
three-engine monoplane "Southern Cross
Southern Cross (aircraft)
Southern Cross is the name of the Fokker F.VIIb/3m trimotor monoplane which in 1928 was flown by Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew in the first ever trans-Pacific flight, from the mainland United States to Australia, about ....
", with Australian aviator Charles Ulm
Charles Ulm
Charles Thomas Philippe Ulm AFC was a pioneer Australian aviator.-World War I:Ulm joined the AIF in September 1914, lying about his name and age to get in. He fought and was wounded at Gallipoli in 1915, and on the Western Front in 1918.Charles Ulm was married twice. In 1919 he married Isabel...
as the relief pilot. The other two crew members were Americans James Warner
James Warner (aviator)
James Warner is noted as the radio operator on the aircraft Southern Cross piloted by Sir Charles Kingsford Smith for the first trans-Pacific flight in 1928, during which radio was first used successfully on a long distance flight.-Early life:...
and Harry Lyon.
The film Smithy was known as "Pacific Adventure" in the United States and as "Southern Cross" in the United Kingdom. The cast list for the movie included: Ron Randell
Ron Randell
Ronald Egan "Ron" Randell was an Australian-born American film and stage actor.-Biography:Randell was born in Sydney. He started his career as a stage and radio performer in his teens. He soon established himself as a leading male juvenile for radio, acting for 2KY Players, George Edwards, BAP...
as Charles Kingsford Smith and John Tate as the relief pilot Charles Ulm. P. G. Taylor, who had flown as second pilot and navigator with Kingsford Smith appeared as himself in the film, and former Prime Minister Billy Hughes
Billy Hughes
William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923....
also appeared in the film as himself. The film also featured the first on screen appearance of noted Australian actor Charles 'Bud' Tingwell
Charles Tingwell
In 1941, aged 18, he volunteered for war service overseas with the Royal Australian Air Force. Under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, personnel from Commonwealth air forces were part of a joint training and assignment system. Consequently, Tingwell trained as a pilot in Canada during 1942...
who was cast as a RAAF control tower officer - winning the role as he could supply his own RAAF uniform.
The director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
of the film was Ken G. Hall
Ken G. Hall
Kenneth George Hall, AO OBE , better known as Ken G. Hall, was an Australian film director, considered one of the most important figures in the history of the Australian film industry.-Early years:...
. The aircraft used for the filming was the genuine Southern Cross
Southern Cross (aircraft)
Southern Cross is the name of the Fokker F.VIIb/3m trimotor monoplane which in 1928 was flown by Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew in the first ever trans-Pacific flight, from the mainland United States to Australia, about ....
, which has been purchased by the Australian Government 10 years earlier and refurbished by the RAAF. A surplus RAAF CAC Boomerang
CAC Boomerang
The CAC Boomerang was a World War II fighter aircraft designed and manufactured in Australia between 1942 and 1945. The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation produced Boomerangs under the production contract numbers CA-12, CA-13, CA-14 and CA-19, with aircraft supplied under each subsequent contract...
was used in flying sequences for Kingsford Smith's Lady Southern Cross Lockheed Altair.
External links
- Smithy at ASO
- 'Smithy' photographs - Airborne Connections
- 'Smithy' poster
- about the 'Smithy' movie - National Film and Sound Archive
- 'Smithy' movie - National Film and Sound Archive
- 'Smithy' movie - Gould Genealogy
- Smithy and the Southern Cross - State Library of NSW