SMILEY EXCERPT

Available on DVD through Based on Moore Raymond’s 1945 novel, Smiley tells the lively tale of an imaginative young boy who lives in the small outback town of Murrumbilla. Smiley (Colin Petersen) is the quintessential Aussie larrikin lad on a mission and nothing or nobody is going to stand in his way. His father (Reg Lye) is often away droving cattle leaving overworked Mrs Greevins (Margaret Christensen) to regularly fret about her beloved little boy. Determined to buy himself a brand new bicycle, Smiley takes up a number of odd jobs in an effort to save up enough money. Despite his best intentions, Smiley lands himself in all manner of mischief along the way, getting involved unwittingly in some decidedly shady shenanigans. With a charismatic performance from Aussie icon Chips Rafferty (The Sundowners) as the venerable Sergeant Flaxman, Ralph Richardson (Doctor Zhivago) and Charles ’Bud’ Tingwell (The Castle), full of lighthearted moments and inn