Dawn! is a 1979 Australian sports biopic about the three-time Olympic gold medallist swimmer Dawn Fraser, who served as technical adviser for the production. It starred Bronwyn Mackay Payne and Bunney Brooke, and was written by Joy Cavill and directed by Ken Hannam. The film was entered into the 11th Moscow International Film Festival.[2]
| Dawn! | |
|---|---|
 Original release poster | |
| Directed by | Ken Hannam |
| Written by | Joy Cavill |
| Produced by | Joy Cavill |
| Starring | Bronwyn Mackay-Payne Ron Haddrick Bunny Brooke Tom Richards Ivar Kants |
| Cinematography | Russell Boyd |
| Edited by | Max Lemon |
| Music by | Michael Carlos |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Hoyts Distribution (Australia) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 109 minutes |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $641,000[1] |
Plot
editThe film deals with Dawn Fraser's rise to fame as a champion Olympic swimmer, her anti-authoritarian clashes with Australian Swimming officials, her triumphs, marriage and eventual divorce.
Cast
edit- Bronwyn Mackay-Payne as Dawn Fraser
- Ron Haddrick as Pop
- Bunney Brooke as Mum
- Tom Richardsas Harry
- John Diedrich as Gary
- Gabrielle Hartley as Kate
- Ivar Kants as Len
- David Cameron as Joe
- Kevin Wilson as Bippy
- Kevin Manser as Official
- John Clayton as Syd
- Lyndall Barbour as Edie
- Deborah Kennedy
Production
editThe film was produced by Joy Cavill who had previously made a documentary, The Dawn Fraser Story (1964).
In the 1970s Cavill wrote a script based on Fraser's life and showed it to Jill Robb and John Morris of the South Australian Film Corporation. They agrees to put up $250,000 and raise the balance of the money in exchange for 50% of the profits.[1]
The lead, Bronwyn Mackay-Payne, was cast after a search that involved interviewing 1,200 girls and screen testing ten. Mackay-Payne had never acted before.[3]
Shooting began on 19 September 1977 and went for ten weeks, with studio work in Adelaide and location shooting in Balmain, Sydney, Melbourne Olympic Stadium, and Tokyo.[1]
Reception
editThe film performed disappointingly at the box office.[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d David Stratton, The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival, Angus & Robertson, 1980 pp. 111–113
- ^ "11th Moscow International Film Festival (1979)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
- ^ "LIFE STYLE". The Canberra Times. 17 June 1977. p. 9. Retrieved 20 December 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
External links
edit- Dawn! – IMDb
- Dawn! at Oz Movies
- Dawn's Own Website
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