Little Boy Lost (1978 film)
Encyclopedia
Little Boy Lost is a 1978
Australia
n drama film
starring Nathan Dawes as Stephen Walls, John Hargreaves as Jacko Walls, Lorna Lesley as Dorrie Walls, Tony Barry
as Constable O'Dea and Steve Dodd
as William Stanley, the Aboriginal tracker
.
Johnny Ashcroft
and Gay Kayler
performed the vocals on the movie sound track, also a specially recorded version of the Little Boy Lost hit song
, which is played at the end of the film.
Scenes were shot on location in Guyra, Tubbumurra and Narrabeen, New South Wales
, Australia
.
The World Premiere was held in Armidale, NSW. Johnny Ashcroft and Gay Kayler sang the Little Boy Lost song from the movie live on stage to Nathan Dawes and his stand-in, Toshi Bourke.
The problem in finding Stephen is that he was taught to not speak to strangers, and is afraid of those who attempt to speak to him. He does not know that the crowds of people attempting to make contact are not enemies, but have volunteered to find him.
Four days elapse and hope of his rescue diminishes. A group of searchers finally spot the boy and are able to convince him that they are there to help him get back home to his family.
1978 in film
The year 1978 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 1 - Bob Dylan's film Renaldo and Clara, a documentary of the "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour premieres in Los Angeles, California....
Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
starring Nathan Dawes as Stephen Walls, John Hargreaves as Jacko Walls, Lorna Lesley as Dorrie Walls, Tony Barry
Tony Barry
Tony Barry is an Australian actor who has performed in 55 feature films and 45 television series, across a four-decade career.-Filmography:He is known for his roles in the 2008 film Australia, Return to Snowy River, Never Say Die, the 1988 film Surfer and The Coca-Cola Kid.After acting in...
as Constable O'Dea and Steve Dodd
Steve Dodd
Steve Dodd , is an Indigenous Australian actor, notable for playing indigenous characters across seven decades of Australian film. After beginning his working life as a stockman and rodeo rider, Dodd was given his first film roles by prominent Australian actor Chips Rafferty...
as William Stanley, the Aboriginal tracker
Aboriginal tracker
In the years following British settlement in Australia, aboriginal trackers or black trackers, as they became known, were enlisted by settlers to assist them in navigating their way through the Australian landscape...
.
Johnny Ashcroft
Johnny Ashcroft
Johnny Ashcroft is an Australian country music entertainer, songwriter, recording artist and musician.- Early roots :...
and Gay Kayler
Gay Kayler
Gay Kayler is an Australian country music entertainer and recording artist. Gay used her maiden name in her professional career until 1978, when she changed the spelling to Kayler to maintain a consistency of pronunciation.- A blossoming career :Gay comes from a musical family...
performed the vocals on the movie sound track, also a specially recorded version of the Little Boy Lost hit song
Little Boy Lost (song)
Little Boy Lost, was an Australian hit song, recorded by Johnny Ashcroft. He composed this song from a lyric idea put forward by DJ, Tony Withers.-Historic event:The song accurately relates the saga of Australia’s greatest land and air search...
, which is played at the end of the film.
Scenes were shot on location in Guyra, Tubbumurra and Narrabeen, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
The World Premiere was held in Armidale, NSW. Johnny Ashcroft and Gay Kayler sang the Little Boy Lost song from the movie live on stage to Nathan Dawes and his stand-in, Toshi Bourke.
Synopsis
The film is based on the true story of a missing Australian child, Stephen Walls (played by Dawes). After his disappearance,a massive search is organized across the Guyra area as its citizens spring into action.The problem in finding Stephen is that he was taught to not speak to strangers, and is afraid of those who attempt to speak to him. He does not know that the crowds of people attempting to make contact are not enemies, but have volunteered to find him.
Four days elapse and hope of his rescue diminishes. A group of searchers finally spot the boy and are able to convince him that they are there to help him get back home to his family.
External links
- Little Boy Lost movie at the National Film and Sound Archive
- Johnny Ashcroft's Little Boy Lost song with movie clips on YouTube
- Little Boy Lost listing in No.1 Hits of 1960
- History of Country Music–In 1960…“Little Boy Lost… topping charts nationwide”
- Ray Hadley, 2GB Sydney, interviews Johnny Ashcroft on 50th Anniversary of the 1960 Little Boy Lost search 5 Feb 2010
- Kelly Fuller, ABC New England North West, interviews Johnny on 50th Anniversary 7 Feb 2010
- Spencer Howson, ABC Brisbane, interviews Johnny on 50th Anniversary 5 Feb 2010
- Tim Cox, ABC Hobart, blog re Johnny and 50th Anniversary, 11 Feb 2010