The Sundowners
| The Sundowners | |
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film poster
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| Directed by | Fred Zinnemann |
| Produced by | Gerry Blattner, Fred Zinnemann |
| Screenplay by | Isobel Lennart |
| Based on |
The Sundowners 1952 novel by Jon Cleary |
| Starring |
Deborah Kerr Robert Mitchum Peter Ustinov |
| Music by | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| Cinematography | Jack Hildyard |
| Edited by | Jack Harris |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
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Release date
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Running time
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141 min. |
| Country | USA / UK / Australia |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $3.8 million |
The Sundowners is a 1960 Technicolor film that tells the story of an Australian outback family torn between the father's desires to continue his nomadic sheep-herding ways and the wife's and son's desire to settle down in one place. The movie stars Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum, and Peter Ustinov, with a supporting cast including Glynis Johns, Dina Merrill, Michael Anderson, Jr., and Chips Rafferty.
The screenplay was adapted by Isobel Lennart from Jon Cleary's novel of the same name; it was produced and directed by Fred Zinnemann.
At the 33rd Academy Awards, The Sundowners was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Deborah Kerr), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Glynis Johns), Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.
Irish-Australian Paddy Carmody (Robert Mitchum) is a sheep drover and shearer, roving the sparsely-populated back country with his wife Ida (Deborah Kerr) and son Sean (Michael Anderson, Jr.). They are sundowners, constantly moving, pitching their tent whenever the sun goes down. Ida and Sean want to settle down, but Paddy has wanderlust and never wants to stay in one place for long. While passing through the bush the family meet refined Englishman Rupert Venneker (Peter Ustinov) and hire him to help drive a large herd of sheep to the town of Cawndilla. Along the way, they survive a dangerous brush fire.
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Wikipedia