“AUSTRALIA TODAY”

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 September 1938, Page 5

“AUSTRALIA TODAY”

NEW FILM SERIES. An interesting attempt to dramatise current events in Australia in the form of a screen magazine, inspired by the famous newsreel “March of Time,” is “Australia Today,” to be released by Action Pictures. “Australia Today” is produced by the Enterprise Film Corporation, who have succeeded in creating-the tense atmosphere and dramatic element essential to such a pictorial digest. The success of the firri attempt to make such a picture, which the producers hope to issue monthly, is a good omen for the future of Australian films. The subjects chosen for this first number of “Australia Today” are particularly interesting in that two of them ire of topical interest. One is “Below the Surface” and deals with the situation in the coal industry. The other is concerned with the vital question of starting-price gambling in Australia, and is filmed under the caption of “Backyard Betting.” The commentary accompanying the latter is pungent and forceful, and drives home the drama and sordiclness that permeates the question. The section dealing with the coal crisis is openly partisan, and depicts the conditions under which the miners are obliged to labour. The other subject concerns drug smuggling in Australia.