Figure 1.--"The Valley Between" is about a German family, the Gunthers, that immigrated to Australia in the 1920s. It is about Bruno seen here who has three sisters and a strict father. The costiming is very accurate. |
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A HBC reader has reported a wonderful Australian TV mini-series--The Valley Between. It is a two disc movie, which I think it was produced for TV. Almost 5 hours in length. It was presented in six episodes during 1996. The film was based on the novels of Colin Thiele and directed by Robert Marchard. It was also apparently marketed as "Sun on the Stubble" which was the title of the book on which it was based. The film was marketed in Ameroica under the title, "Life on the Australian Prarie", perhaps to make it sound like an Australian version of Little House on the Parie".
The movie is based on Colin Thiele's Sun On The Stubble. Thiele himself was born in Eudunda, South Australia, which of course is the town depicted in the film during the 1920s.
Bruno is played by a very convincing boy actor, Jamie Croft. Jamie was born in New South Wales on August 4, 1981. He appears to be about 13/14 during the filming. His sidekick, Benny, is played with equal charm by Jeremey Schwerdt. Jamie Croft who played Bruno Gunther and was last seen as a boy in Foxtel adds in a grey shorts school pants uniform for Australian cable TV. Jamie is all grown up now and works on various shows on Foxtel pay TV network in Australia. His best role was as a little nephew Billy Moss to a vet aunty in"A Country Practice".
The films are set in australia during the 1920s. Another reader says it is the early 30s. All the scenes are in a valley with a one village store, one room school house, and a grange hall. They showed farm and school life with all the chores that boys and girls were required to do in this era. There were grange hall dances and Lutheran church services. The vintage cars and the gorgeous South Australian landscapes make this film a visual feast.
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"The Valley Between" is a family-oriented series about a German family, the Gunthers, that immigrated to Australia in the 1920s. It is about Bruno who has three sisters and a strict father. I don't recall that the boys' ages are actually mentioned in the film. The blurb on the CD says that Bruno is 14 and implies that Benny is about 15. The photos here of Bruno and Benny look like 14 and 15. The movie is a charming story about the family living in Southern Australia in the early 1930s. The main character is the high-spirited f14-year-old Bruno Gunther who gets into various scrapes and mischief when he is not doing his chores on the family farm. Bruno's best friend is the slightly older and taller Benny with whom he shares most of his adventures. The film gives a delightful picture of close-knit family life in a simpler and more idyllic age as Bruno and his friend are approaching manhood. There is an excellent account of Bruno's school where his rather prim female teacher almost despairs of his educational progress because of his various highjinks. The movie mixes wholesome humor with elements of poignancy and sadness. The various happenings are all seen through the eyes of the two energetic teenagers without in any sense demeaning the adults.
J Picnic Day for the little town is approaching, and Bruno, his sisters and their friends are getting new swimsuits. The wealthier families can afford the latest ready-to-wear styles. Bruno's mother will make the suits for the children. The scene begins with Mrs. Gunther measuring Bruno for his new suit. After recording his measurements, she shows him the wool she has selected for his suit: light brown and bright yellow. Bruno said he doesn't like the colors and made a face of disgust. Later, we see Bruno in his new swimsuit, his mother going over her handiwork. Bruno's suit is one piece, with shoulder straps holding his suit, about mid-thigh in length. Light brown is the main color, but three horizontal yellow stripes are around the chest area, and a single yellow stripe circles the bottom of each leg. Bruno doesn't like it, saying he's too old for such a suit, but his mother is undeterred by his complaints. Bruno said the straps were too loose, so his mother pulled both of them up. Then, he said the suit is too tight. Mother asked where, and Bruno could only look embarassed and answer, "Mom!"
The film depicts the children in a wide range of outfits showing the clothes for school, play, chores, and parties--all the different styles of clothing required. All the boys always wore short trousers up to the age of 15 or 16. The period clothing is very authentic. Bruno and Benny, like all the other boys of their age, wear short pants held up by wide, striped button-on suspenders, open-necked shirts, and high-top leather boots with three-quarter length woolen socks that always fall down around their ankles.
They wear light colored (mauve, light brown, or gray with striped or other pattern)long-sleeved shirts, usually rolled up above the elbow. Their short trousers are dark and above the knee, worn with gray socks turned
down to the tops of black, lace-up ankle-high boots. Their short trousers are held up with suspenders. Bruno sometimes wears a light colored knitted vest,
unbuttoned. The top buttons of a union suit can be seen, below the collar of Bruno's shirt. For church Bruno wore a black short pants suit with gray socks
and the black boots, a light gray shirt, buttoned at the top, but no necktie. The boys his age are dressed similarly. The clothes that the boys from the German families wear look very much like photos I've seen from Germany from the late 1920s-early 1930s. The boys make no attempt to keep their socks pulled up. Sometimes they also wear sleeveless vests, occasionally with neckband shirts made to be worn with detachable collars but the collars are always missing unless the lads have to get dressed up for some formal function like a party. At the very end, we see Bruno leaving his family on a train dressed in his first long trouser suit.
Our reader writes, "My wife and I found this movie quite charming and brought back old memories of the farm chores you had to do. One scene the pastor of the church was invited to their farm house and the boy was waxing and polishing the floor on his hands and knees for his visit. The mother said: 'I want to see you face on this floor'." An American reader writes, "I really loved this film--partly because the boy actors are so convincing." Another reader reports, "This series is well produced with good storylines and realistic characterizations.
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