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The Sundowners (1960) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.5/10   1,060 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 7% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Fred Zinnemann
Writers:
Isobel Lennart (screenplay)
Jon Cleary (novel)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Sundowners on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
11 August 1961 (West Germany) more
Genre:
Drama | Adventure more
Tagline:
Across Six Thousand Miles of Excitement...Across a Whole World of Adventure Comes the Rousing, Story of Real People Called "The Sundowners"! more
Plot:
In the Australian Outback, the Carmody family--Paddy, Ida and their teenage son Sean--are sheep drovers... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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Awards:
Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 7 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
Actress Deborah Kerr Dies at 86
 (From IMDb News. 18 October 2007)

Oscar Winner Peter Ustinov Dies at 82
 (From WENN. 29 March 2004)

User Comments:
A quiet pleasure,slightly faded by time more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Deborah Kerr ... Ida Carmody

Robert Mitchum ... Paddy Carmody

Peter Ustinov ... Rupert Venneker
Glynis Johns ... Mrs. Firth
Dina Merrill ... Jean Halstead
Chips Rafferty ... Quinlan
Michael Anderson Jr. ... Sean Carmody
Lola Brooks ... Liz Brown
Wylie Watson ... Herb Johnson
John Meillon ... Bluey Brown
Ronald Fraser ... Ocker
Gerry Duggan ... Shearer
Leonard Teale ... Shearer
Peter Carver ... Shearer
Dick Bentley ... Shearer
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Fred Zinnemann's The Sundowners (UK) (complete title)
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Runtime:
133 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound Recording)
Certification:
UK:U | West Germany:12 (f) | Canada:G (video rating) | Finland:K-8 | USA:Approved | Australia:G
Company:
Warner Bros. more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Peter Carver was only cast as Clint the Shearer only after the actor first cast was cast in a different part. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Fade to Black (1980) more

FAQ

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13 out of 16 people found the following comment useful:-
A quiet pleasure,slightly faded by time, 25 January 2002
Author: lorenellroy from United Kingdom

"The Sundowners" was a favourite movie of mine at the time of its initial release in 1960,and watching it again recently it still came across as a an engaging and pleasant little movie but one that perhaps has lost something of its impact with the passing years,ones in which Australian movies and actors have come to the fore internationally.In 1960 it was considered necessary to import two Hollywood names to give world wide box office appeal,something not necessary today with performers like Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett.(Of the egregious,smarmy self -centred Anglophobe Mr Gibson I will remain silent) Sundowners are itinerants ,moving from place to place in a small wagon picking up work on an as and when basis.The Carmody family-Paddy,Ida and teenage son Sean -are one such but while Paddy is content with the life the others are keen to put down roots and buy a farm. The picaresque tale tells of how the family as they drift across Australia finding work at a sheep station,becoming race horse owners etc gradually resolve their conflicts En route they meet a nomadic upper class Englishman,played as well as ever by Ustinov who acts as a kind of comic relief as he dispenses well honed epigrams The central section dealing with life on the sheep ranch is the best with some richly comic scenes including a shearing contest and some bar room scenes straight out of John Ford

The accents of Kerr and Mitchum are not secure or convincing but they carry the roles through sheer star power and their are strong contributions fron Glynis Johns and John Meillon

Still enjoyable but a remake with indigenous actors would be an interesting idea Still,all in all a bitter-sweet little gem of a movie I am glad I saw it again

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