A Thousand Skies

For the album, see A Thousand Skies (album).

A Thousand Skies
Genre	mini-series
Written by	David Stevens
Directed by	David Stevens
Starring	John Walton Andrew Clarke Joss McWilliam
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
No. of episodes	3
Production
Producers	Ross Dimsey Robert Ginn
Camera setup	David Eggby
Running time	3 x 2 hours
Original release
Network	Seven Network
Release	9 October (1985-10-09) – 23 October 1985 (1985-10-23)

A Thousand Skies is a 1985 Australian mini series about the life of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith.

It was based on the novel The Empty Sky by Tasman Beattie and was partly financed by Film Victoria. The budget was $4.5 million.[1]

Film Victoria invested $120,000 in script development and $400,000 to the production.[2]

Writer-director David Stevens was best known for directing the mini series of A Town Like Alice. When offered the film he was reluctant to make it until he read The Empty Sky and he became intrigued by the character of Keith Anderson.[3]

Stevens said "It is about the nature of greatness and the nature of friendship. It is also a love story - an eternal triangle between three men." The series was shot at 144 different locations. The only sets built were the planes which cost $500,000.[4]

Cast

• John Walton as Charles Kingsford Smith
• Andrew Clarke as Charles Ulm
• Joss McWilliam as Keith Anderson
• Jane Menelaus as Thelma McKenna
• Geoff Parry as Bob Hitchcock
• Celine O'Leary as Mary Powell-Kingsford Smith
• Helen Jones as Bon Hilliard
• Phyllis Burford as Kate Kingsford Smith
• Richard Hutson as William Kingsford Smith
• Judith Massey as Mrs. Hilliard
• Paul Karo as English director
• Harold Baigent as Swampy Dawkins
• Nick Holland as Bert Day
• Hardy Stow as Harry Lyon
• David Arnett as Jim Warner
• Denzil Howson as Mr. Hilliard
• Alan Fletcher as John Stannage
• David Frezza as Announcer in San Francisco
• Reg Gorman as Joe the Fireman

Reception

The Age called it "emotionally unvinvolving" but said "the series is well worth pursuing."[5]

Another reviewer from the same paper called it "television excellence".[6]

The series rated in the low twenties, which was relatively disappointing.[7]

References

1. Ed. Scott Murray, Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995, Oxford University Press, 1996 p241
2. "Smithy mini series". The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 June 1984. p. 13.
3. McNamara, Marie (3 October 1985). "Smithy the Hero Made Human". The Age Green Guide. p. 1.
4. "Smithy's life warts and all". The Sydney Morning Herald Green Guide. 7 October 1985. p. 2.
5. "Bold view of Smithy". The Age. 3 October 1985. p. 37.
6. Hooks, Barbara (7 October 1985). "Smithy is god like with a few warts too". The Age. p. 2.
7. "Nine sets the pace". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 October 1995. p. 147.

External links

• A Thousand Skies at IMDb