Forty Thousand Horsemen

Forty Thousand Horsemen
Directed byCharles Chauvel
Written by
Produced byCharles Chauvel
Starring
Cinematography
Edited byWilliam Shepherd
Music by
Production
company
Famous Feature Films
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 26 December 1940 (1940-12-26) (Australia)
  • 22 August 1941 (1941-08-22) (UK)[1]
  • 14 August 1941 (1941-08-14) (US)
Running time
  • 100 minutes (Aust)
  • 89 mins (UK)
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Budget£30,000[6][7]
Box office£130,000[8]

Forty Thousand Horsemen (aka 40,000 Horsemen) is a 1940 Australian war film directed by Charles Chauvel. The film tells the story of the Australian Light Horse (mounted rifleman as distinct from cavalry) which operated in the desert at the Sinai and Palestine campaign during World War I. It follows the adventures of three rowdy heroes in fighting and romance. The film culminates at the Battle of Beersheba which is reputedly "the last successful cavalry charge in history". The film was clearly a propaganda weapon, to aid in recruitment and lift the pride of Australians at home during World War II. It was one of the most successful Australian movies of its day.[9] It was later remade in 1987 as The Lighthorsemen.

  1. ^ "AUSTRALIAN FILM IN LONDON". The Sydney Morning Herald. 22 August 1941. p. 6. Retrieved 18 August 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ Copyright registration at National Archives of Australia
  3. ^ "Effects for Light Horse Film". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 September 1940. p. 20. Retrieved 18 August 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "The Music Hour". South Coast Bulletin. Brisbane. 28 December 1949. p. 7. Retrieved 20 April 2020 – via Trove.
  5. ^ "Of Local Origin
    Umbrella Entertainment". The New York Times. 14 August 1941. p. 21.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference smh was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "It All Began With a Feature Movie on the Kelly Gang". The News. Adelaide. 16 November 1946. p. 2. Retrieved 20 February 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "OUR FUTURE IN FILM INDUSTRY". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane. 4 December 1946. p. 2. Retrieved 1 August 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 192.