Pulped Fiction
Pulped Fiction brings together a selection of early film adaptations of comics and comic strips, as well as comic serials made for television. The program features early silent cinema and television favourites.
The Kids Stakes 1927 All ages
Sun 8 Jan 1.00pm (with Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: The Flying House) / Cinema A
35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, SILENT, 76 MINUTES, AUSTRALIA, ENGLISH INTERTITLES / DIRECTOR: TAL ORDELL / BASED ON THE COMIC STRIP CHARACTERS CREATED BY SYD NICHOLLS / SCRIPT: TAL ORDELL / CINEMATOGRAPHER: ARTHUR HIGGINS / CAST: ROBIN ORDELL, EILEEN ALEXANDER, FRANK BOYD / PRODUCTION CO: ORDELL-COYLE PRODUCTIONS / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: NATIONAL FILM AND SOUND ARCHIVE OF AUSTRALIA
The Kids Stakes is one of the greatest Australian comedies of the silent era, based on Australia’s own ‘Fatty Finn’ comic strip by radical cartoonist Sydney Nicholls. Set in Sydney, six-year-old Fatty enters his pet goat into the annual race and must face his biggest rival. The film is best remembered for its finale: a billy goat race filmed in Rockhampton, Queensland.
Screens with Winsor McCay’s Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: The Flying House 1921 (12mins) based on the original comic strip by Winsor McCay.
Screening presented with live musical accompaniment by organist David Bailey with the Gallery’s 1929 Wurlitzer organ.
Blondie 1938 All ages
Sun 8 Jan 3.00pm (with A bout with a Trout + Popeye the Sailor with Little Swee' Pea) / Cinema A
35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 70 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: FRANK R STRAYER / BASED ON THE COMIC STRIP CHARACTERS CREATED BY CHIC YOUNG / SCRIPT: RICHARD FLOURNOY, CHIC YOUNG / CINEMATOGRAPHER: HENRY FREULICH / EDITOR: GENE HAVLICK / CAST: PENNY SINGLETON, ARTHUR LAKE, LARRY SIMMS / PRODUCTION CO: COLUMBIA PICTURES CORPORATION / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: ECHO BRIDGE HOME ENTERTAINMENT / SCREENING FORMAT: BETACAM SP
On the eve of his fifth wedding anniversary, Dagwood is struggling to hold onto his job but his odd behaviour leads his wife Blondie to believe he is having an affair. Blondie is a whimsical look at life in 1930s Middle America and the first of twenty-eight domestic comedies adapted from the popular comic strip still published today.
Screens with Izzy Sparber’s A Bout with a Trout 1947 (8mins) based on the original comic strip by Marge and Dave Fleischer’s Popeye the Sailor with Little Swee' Pea 1936 (7mins) based on the original comic strip by Elizie Crisler Segar.
Gasoline Alley 1951 All ages
Sun 15 Jan 1.00pm (For Better or For Worse: Crazy Little Thing Called Love) / Cinema A
35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 76 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: EDWARD BERNDS / BASED ON THE COMIC STRIP CHARACTERS CREATED BY FRANK KING / SCRIPT: EDWARD BERNDS / CINEMATOGRAPHER: LESTER WHITE / EDITOR: AARON STELL / CAST: SCOTTY BECKETT, JIMMY LYDON, SUSAN MORROW, DON BEDDOE / PRODUCTION CO: COLUMBIA PICTURES CORPORATION / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: KIT PARKER FILMS / SCREENING FORMAT: DIGITAL CINEMA
Family conflicts arise when Corky tries to find his independence by buying a rundown dinner with the help of his half-brother Skeezix. Based on the second-longest-running comic strip in the United States, and the first to show its characters ageing through the decades, this charming film adaptation captures the gentle spirit of the strip and its likable small town setting.
Screens with Troy Sullivan’s For Better or For Worse: Crazy Little Thing Called Love 2000 (8mins) based on the original comic strip by Lynn Johnston.
Footrot Flats: the Dog’s Tale 1987 PG
Sun 15 Jan 3.00pm / Cinema A
35MM, COLOUR, STEREO, 71 MINUTES, AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: MURRAY BALL / BASED ON THE COMIC STRIP CHARACTERS CREATED BY MURRAY BALL / SCRIPT: MURRAY BALL, TOM SCOTT / EDITORS: MICHAEL HORTON, DENNIS JONES / CAST: JOHN CLARKE, PETER ROWLEY, FIONA DAMUEL / PRODUCTION CO: MAGPIE PRODUCTIONS / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: SOUTH PACIFIC FILMS
Based on New Zealand’s most beloved comic strip, Footrot Flats is an affectionate look at small town life through the eyes of Dog (the dog). Bringing to life the iconic characters of Wal Footrot, Cheeky Hobson, Spit Murphy and Dog’s ladylove Jess, this delightful animation is a celebration of the New Zealand life, landscape and vernacular.
San Mao liu lang ji (The Winter of Three Hairs) 1949 Ages 15+
Sun 29 Jan 3.00pm / Cinema A
35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 74 MINUTES, CHINA, MANDARIN (ENGLISH SUBTITLES) / DIRECTORS/EDITORS: GONG YAN, MING ZHAO / BASED ON THE MANHUA CHARACTER ‘SANMAO’ (1935) CREATED BY LEPING ZHANG / SCRIPT: HANSHENG YANG / CINEMATOGRAPHYERS: ZHONGLIANG HAN, JINMING ZHU / PRODUCTION CO: KUNLUN FILM / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: CINEMA EPOCH / SCREENING FORMAT: DIGITAL BETACAM
This classic of Chinese cinema follows the orphan San Mao through the winter of 1948 as he fends for himself doing odd jobs, avoiding crooks and joining a loyal gang of children. Starving, San Mao decides to sell himself to a rich family who look after him and teach him good manners. He quickly feels trapped by their bourgeois lifestyle and escapes onto the street again.
Afro Samurai 2007 MA15+
Sun 12 Feb 2.45pm / Cinema A
DIGITAL BETACAM, COLOUR, SOUND, 125 MINUTES, USA/JAPAN, ENGLISH/FRENCH / DIRECTOR: TAKASHI OKAZAKI / BASED ON THE MANGA SERIES ‘AFRO SAMURAI’ BY TAKASHI OKAZAKI / SCRIPT: TOMOHIRO YAMASHITA, DEREK DRAPER, CHRIS YOO / PRODUCTION CO: GONZO / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: 2006 TAKASHI OKAZAKI, GONZO/SAMURAI PROJECT / SCREENING FORMAT: DIGITAL CINEMA
In a futuristic vision of Feudal Japan, Afro Samurai (voiced by Samuel L Jackson) travels the lonely landscape with the intention of executing the brutal warrior responsible for his father’s death. Afro Samurai was inspired by Manga creator Okazaki’s love of American soul and hip hop music, an aesthetic which underpins this highly entertaining 5-episode television series.
