Other titles:MEN OF TIMOR (ledger and story title) [Alternative Title]
Summary: Apparently a British newsreel re-use of Damien Parer's film of Australian troops, cut off on the island of Timor, operating as a guerrilla unit against the Japanese garrison.
Description: A map explains the position of Timor; material illustrating the Australians' jungle living conditions includes film of natives delivering a crocodile (tied to a pole) as meat; scenes of a patrol, men firing etc suggest the operations conducted by these "masters of ambush and surprise attack". A radio is constructed out of home-made and stolen parts, and contact established with the Australian mainland, which had previously not been aware of the troops' existence as a fighting force: personal questions and answers prove their 'bona fides' (reconstructed sequence) and supplies are sent in, as well as letters and money to pay 'loyal' Timorese. With several of these "loyal" natives a 'collaborationist' village is raided and prisoners taken. In an improvised ceremony, Captain 'The Bull' Laidlaw commends 3 NCOs; film closes with close-ups of Guerrilla 'types'. The English commentary includes two excerpts from the original Australian commentary.
Alternative Title:MEN OF TIMOR (ledger and story title) [Alternative Title]
Colour:B&W
Digitised:No
Object_Number:COI 242
Sound:Sound
Access Conditions:NON-IWM
Featured Period:1939-1945
Production Date:1943-03-22
Production Country: GB
Production Details: British Movietone News (Production company)
Parer, Damien (Production individual)
Personalities, Units and Organisations: Laidlaw, G (person)
Australian Army, 23rd Australian Infantry Brigade, Sparrow Force (regiment/service)
Keywords: operations, Australian military - sortie (object name)
society, Timorese - ethnic (object name)
Indonesia & Timor (geography)
Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W
Sound format: Sound
Soundtrack language: English
Title language: None
Subtitle language: None
Technical Details: Format: 35mm
Number of items/reels/tapes: 1
Footage: 635 ft; Running time: 7 mins
