The Riddle of the Stinson (TV 1987)

In 1937, a routine passenger and mail flight crashes during bad weather on a flight between Brisbane and Sydney. A local bushman begins a search, and finds the wreckage and two survivors ... See full summary »

Director:

Chris Noonan

Writer:

Tony Morphett

Stars:

Jack Thompson, Helen O'Connor, Mary Haire

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Thompson	...	Bernard O'Reilly
Helen O'Connor	...	Viona O'Reilly
Mary Haire	...	Rose O'Reilly
Kendall Monaghan	...	Rhelma O'Reilly (as Kendall Monahan)
Norman Kaye	...	Binstead
Richard Roxburgh	...	Proud
Huw Williams	...	Westray
Russell Newman	...	Rolly Graham
Len Kaserman	...	Bill Fountain
Dennis Miller	...	Rev Boyden
Mark Lee	...	Pilot
Susan Lyons
Igor Sas
John Allen	...	Smyth
Barry Hill

Storyline

In 1937, a routine passenger and mail flight crashes during bad weather on a flight between Brisbane and Sydney. A local bushman begins a search, and finds the wreckage and two survivors ten days after the crash.

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Plot Keywords:

australia | backwoods | survival

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Filming Locations:

New South Wales, Australia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kennedy Miller Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

An excellent Australian movie...

This is one of those films that because it was made for TV it really never got enough screening to give it the credit it was truly due. The acting and directing is superb and the storyline based on fact makes the whole thing riveting from beginning to the end. We are taken with a small group of passengers into a nightmare situation as their light aircraft crashes in the middle of an immensely forested area in Australia's Great Dividing Range. That's bad enough, but to make matters worse the captain had to change course to avoid a storm ahead of them and wasn't able get through on the radio before they went down. Consequently the search and rescue team are looking in the wrong place for the survivors. The hopelessness of the survivors is graphically shown in all its raw detail even to the fact that the forest canopy is hardly marked where the plane went in adding even more to their terrible plight. A truly excellent piece of work by all concerned. I recorded this movie by chance late one night in the early nineties on VHS and have just copied it on to DVD so as not to lose it on an ever-decaying tape. 10 -10