The Lighthorsemen is a 1987 Australian feature film about the men of a World War I light horse unit involved in the Battle of Beersheeba (Oct. 31, 1917). The film is based on a true story and most of the characters in the film were based on real people.
It follows in the wake of other Australian New Wave war films such as Breaker Morant (1980), Gallipoli (1981), and the 5-part TV series Anzacs (1985). Recurring themes of these films include the Australian identity, such as mateship and larrikinism, the loss of innocence in war, and also the continued coming of age of the Australian nation and its soldiers (the ANZAC spirit).
Plot summary
Palestine, 1917: The British (and Commonwealth Dominion forces) advance in the Middle East has been stopped by the Turkish line running from Gaza to Beersheba. The British high command orders an attack on Gaza. Four Australians, Frank (Gary Sweet), Scotty (Jon Blake) an Irish-Australian, Chiller (Tom McKenzie) and Tas (John Walton) are a part of the 4th Light Horse Brigade, and are in the thick of the battle. However, it is a failure. Meanwhile, a young railway worker from country Victoria, Dave (Peter Phelps) is determined to join up and serve his country and decides to join the Light Horse. Back in Palestine, Frank is wounded in a skirmish and is taken to hospital. Unfortunately, he receives a "Dear John" and, not long after, dies of his wounds. The men then learn that they are receiving a new replacement for their troops, which turns out to be Dave. At first, Tas especially regards Dave as another young kid trying to get himself killed.
Not long after, Dave's squadron is dispatched to attack a Turkish recon patrol near their camp. During the fight, Dave finds himself unable or unwilling to fire his weapon, and as a result, there are doubts among the ranks if Dave will prove to be a good soldier. A day or so later, the Light Horse camp is attacked by a German bi-plane in which Dave is wounded. He is taken to a field hospital where he meets an Australian nurse named Anne, and the two begin a relationship. Upon recovery, Dave seems reluctant to return to his unit but assures Anne he will come back alive. After his return, he is greeted back by the men, all except Tas who still feels Dave is not cut-out to be a soldier.
During another attack on a Turkish position, Dave once again cannot bring himself to kill the enemy and it nearly puts the entire troop in danger. Tas reports his actions to his superiors who also sees Dave's inability to fight. His commander offers Dave a transfer to the Medical Corps, where he will not need to carry a weapon, but where he will still be exposed to the fighting. Dave accepts the transfer and the others agree that giving him a transfer was saving his life.
At the same time, the British are planning a new offensive with the capture of Beersheba. Major Richard Meinertzhagen (Anthony Andrews), escorted by Tas, heads towards the Turkish lines under the cover of a birdwatching trip. When attacked by Turkish cavalry he deliberately leaves behind false documents indicating that the attack on Beersheba will only be a diversion.
The Australians are dispatched to fight in the offensive and leave for Beersheba immediately, but are sent in with limited water and supplies. The Australians bombard the town and the 4000 Turkish-German defenders prepare for an assault. However, the German military advisor believes it is a diversionary attack and advises the Turkish commander he does not need reinforcements.
However, with time running out [some of the horses have not been watered for close to 40 hours], the British command realise any attack upon the defences will probably fail. However, the Australian commanders ask the British to send in the Australian Light Horse—the British consent, however they think it will be a suicide mission. The 4th and 12th Regiments are ordered to be the attacking force, while Dave and the rest of the medical detachment prepare for casualties and are ordered in behind the Light Horse.
The Turks report the Australian mounted soldiers lining up to charge, however the officer in charge orders the Turks not to open fire until they dismount. The Australians begin advancing on the Turkish positions, gradually speeding up to a charge. The Turks realise too late that the soldiers are not dismounting and open fire. Artillery fire is sporadic and of limited effect and the attack is so fast the Turkish infantry forget to adjust the sights on their rifles as the Light Horse get closer, eventually firing straight over the Australians' heads.
During the charge, Tas and his horse are hit by an artillery shell and he falls. The rest of the men continue on. The Australians make it "under the guns" and reach the Turkish trenches. Dave finds the body of Tas lying in the sand, and upset over the death, he remounts his horse and gallops towards the fighting.
The Australians manage to capture the first Turkish defences with hand to hand fighting. Scotty and a few others manage to take control of the guns. Chiller however is in the trench fight and falls to the ground wounded. Dave notices him there and begins to patch him up. However, a Turk throws a grenade nearby, and in order to protect his mate, Dave shields him from the grenade with his body, which then blows his back open. Chiller hollers for a stretcher bearer and both Chiller and Dave are taken away by medics.
Scotty however continues to fight on into the town. He and a few others manage to subdue the remaining defenders before most of them surrender. Suddenly demolition charges begin to explode and he follows a cable to a small building, where he finds and captures a German officer trying to destroy the wells. Overall, the attack was a success and the Australians miraculously suffer only 31 dead and 36 wounded.
The story ends with Dave and Chiller surviving their wounds and meeting up with Anne at the hospital (In the longer movie version, Scotty is promoted from corporal to sergeant). The coda states that the characters upon which Anne and Dave were based were married after the war and lived until 1974. Chiller returned to his unit and served out the rest of the war and became a cattle farmer after the war. Scotty survived the war but is later badly wounded and marries after the war and also lives a long life.
Background
Despite being set in Palestine and Egypt, the film was shot entirely on location in Hawker, Victoria and South Australia.
Actor Jon Blake was injured in a car accident near Nectar Brook, South Australia after shooting had wrapped on the last day of filming, 1 December 1986. He received permanent brain damage and is now bed ridden.
Reception
The film received mixed views by critics, many claimed the film lacked a clear message about war, where "The result is a sort of pacifist-aggressive war adventure"[1]. Other critics have cited average acting (eg. "None of the performances are really bad, but none are very good"[2]) or undynamic script (eg. "Mostly it's equine cinematography, a four-legged coffeetable movie about the Australian cavalry."[3]). More recently, others cite the absence of online content: "The volume of material on the internet of any given topic is a good measure of its current value. As such, I would say that The Lighthorsemen is fast becoming obsolete."[4]
Part of the reason for these reviews may be the fact that the well planned and low casualty raid on Beersheba turned out to be completely different from the pointless carnage depicted in Peter Weir's Gallipoli (1981). Another may be due to director Simon Wincer and his screenwriter approaching the war from a morally justified and patriotic viewpoint, one which would have seemed outdated when compared to the darker themed anti-Vietnam War movies of the era.
The Lighthorsemen is included in the Australian Film Commission’s ‘Top Australian films at the Australian box office’ list at number 83. The film grossed $1,617,288 in Australia after its release in 1987. It was also released in Canada, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States in 1988[5].
Rotten Tomatoes gives it an 80% critic rating, based on five reviews.[6]
Awards
It won an AFI award in 1988 for Best Original Music Score and another for Best Achievement in Sound.[7] It was also nominated for Best Achievement in Cinematography.
References
External links
