HotToastyRag Most people don't give him much credit for being a serious actor, but Robert Mitchum actually had a lot of talent. Yes, he also happened to be very attractive and had a marvelous screen presence, but when given the chance, he showed off his acting chops. In The Sundowners, he tackles one of the most difficult accents for an American actor: an Australian accent.Paired with his favorite leading lady, Deborah Kerr, they play a married couple struggling in their covered wagon in the Australian outback. They have excellent chemistry together, as they always do, and the story shows classic moments in an Australian family's life. There are domestic squabbles, colorful supporting characters, and of course, a sheep-sheering scene. Bob and Deborah made four movies together, and this is the only one in which they play a married couple. I happen to think they're extremely adorable together, so I enjoy all of their pairings. They have such a great combination of careless and careful, prim and casual, and reserved and open, that whenever they work off one another onscreen, it's movie magic. Try one of their movies and see if you agree!

JohnHowardReid A Fred Zinnemann Production for Warner Bros Pictures, Ltd. Filmed at Associated British Studios, Elstree, England. Exteriors photographed in Australia. Copyright 1960 by Warner Bros Pictures. New York opening at the Radio City Music Hall: 8 December 1960 (ran 6 weeks). U.S. release: December 1960. U.K. release through Associated British-Pathé: 26 February 1961. Australian release: 30 November 1961. Sydney opening at the Regent. Running times: 141 minutes (New York), 138 minutes (Australia), 133 minutes (U.S.A.), 124 minutes (U.K.).SYNOPSIS: The Carmodys are a family of Australian "sundowners," itinerants who settle for the night wherever they happen to be when the sun goes down. Deborah Kerr, Best Actress of 1960 for her performance in The Sundowners. — The New York Film Critics. Robert Mitchum, Best Actor of 1960 for his performances in Home from the Hill and The Sundowners. — The National Board of Review. Third Best Film of 1960. — The National Board of Review. Fourth Best Film of 1960. — The New York Daily News. One of the Ten Best Films of 1960 (no order of preference given). — The New York World Telegram; The Saturday Review; The New York Post; The New York Journal American. Seventh Best Film of 1960. — The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Ninth Best Film of 1960. — The New York Herald Tribune. Sixth Best Film of 1960. — The New York Daily Mirror. Oddly, despite all this critical acclaim, The Sundowners did not make the top list of domestic box-office successes. It did, however, score in the Top Ten at the British Box-Office. In Australia, it came in as number three. Only Spartacus and El Cid, both road shows, took more money, so it's a London-to-a-brick bet that The Sundowners sold more tickets and was in fact Australia's most popular movie release of 1961. (Available on an excellent DVD from Warner).I must admit that the movie on DVD in 2017 stood up better than when I saw it on first release back in 1961. Now, while keeping your thumb firmly pressed on the fast-forward button during the dull domestic exchanges between Kerr and Mitchum, you can really enjoy the well- realized and excitingly staged scenes such as the bush-fire, the horse races, and the shearing contest. Technically, the movie looks good on DVD (especially in its hard matte format). Hildyard's photography is brightly colorful, while Tiomkin's lively, breezy music score rates as another major asset. And director Zinnemann does make full use of some really lavish production values in period sets and picturesque locations, while keeping the tale moving along at a fast enough clip, so that its long running time passes by with both remarkable celerity and a fair amount of delight.

Ed Uyeshima Set in the Australian outback In the 1920's, this forgotten 1960 saga is one of those films that has not quite gained a cult following but still provides delights upon discovery. At first glance, it feels like it will be a Disney live-action adventure along the lines of "Swiss Family Robinson", but director Fred Zinnemann (just coming off his acclaimed "The Nun's Story") presents a more complex dynamic around the Carmodys, an itinerant Irish-Australian family of three who travels from town to town picking up whatever work they can find (thus the film's title), usually driving large herds of sheep from one station to another. Paddy is the ostensible head of one such "sundowner" family, a proud man who enjoys being rootless. His steadfast wife Ida and dutiful son Sean, however, have grown tired of the constant movement and want to buy a farm so they can settle down. After picking up refined, jack-of-all- trades Englishman Rupert Venneker as an extra drover and surviving a life-threatening brush fire, Ida convinces Paddy to take a job at a station shearing sheep where she becomes the cook, Rupert a wool roller, and Sean as a tar boy. As Ida collects their earnings in a Mason jar, Paddy starts to get feelings of wanderlust again, and the inevitable family struggle occurs.Now throw in an unaided baby delivery, a sheep-shearing contest, and a horse race, and you get the idea of what goes on in this episodic story which manages to be constantly engaging despite the lack of real conflict in the story. A lot of the credit belongs to the two stars reunited from their previous vehicle, John Huston's "Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison" (1957). Speaking with a convincing Aussie accent, Robert Mitchum manages to exude his particular brand of machismo without losing his humility as Paddy. Deborah Kerr makes plainspoken Ida a tower of tolerance and still holds her own with clear authority. Together they generate a sexy and honest rapport that gives the movie its beating heart and makes the concessions each character make for the other believable. A solid cast provides able support including Peter Ustinov as the erudite Rupert, Glynis Johns (later Mrs. Banks in "Mary Poppins") as a feisty bar owner who captures Rupert's heart, and Michael Anderson Jr. as too-good-to-be-true Sean. The economical screenplay is credited to Isobel Lennart ("Funny Girl") but was mostly penned by the author of the source novel, Jon Cleary. David Lean's favorite cinematographer Jack Hildyard ("The Bridge on the River Kwai") does an impressive job capturing the barren outback in all its sunbaked beauty.

moonspinner55 Director Fred Zinnemann helmed this wonderful screen-version of Jon Cleary's book about an Australian sheepherder who is at odds with his headstrong wife: he wants to keep moving, traveling from place to place without putting down roots, while she would prefer settling down and giving their teenage son a chance to make friends. Richly-textured comedy-drama comes together splendidly after an awkward beginning, with well-matched Deborah Kerr and Robert Mitchum (reunited from 1957's "Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison") doing terrific work in the leads, Peter Ustinov equally fine as a bachelor they meet along the way. A lengthy film, but never a boring one, with beautiful photography and memorable characters and set-pieces. ***1/2 from ****