Vale Donald Crombie - A link to an audio recording of tributes paid by Malcolm Smith, Peter James, Damien Parer, Bruce Moir and Murray Forest

The director of Caddie, The Irishman, Cathy's Child, Who Killed Jenny Langby and many more died aged 82 on 25 March. 

In the Sydney Morning Herald Justin Kurzel wrote a wonderful obituary which begins with these thoughts: "Donald Crombie was my first film hero. Although my childhood was littered with sports heroes, I didn’t have any creative heroes. I fell in love with cinema in the 1980s by sneaking into my parents living room on Saturday nights when the ABC aired an Australian film. I hid behind the couch and watched these complex, grown-up stories, mostly from the new wave of Australian directors such as Peter Weir, Bruce Beresford, Gillian Armstrong, Fred Schepisi and George Miller.

"Crombie was right there with them, an integral part of this group of filmmakers. His films such as Caddie, Cathy’s Child and The Irishman played a crucial role in shaping Australia’s cultural renaissance, fostering a new-found sense of confidence and identity."

Several short audio tributes to Donald Crombie were recorded by colleagues who were attending a lunch shortly after his death.   The speakers are Malcolm Smith, Peter James, Damien Parer, Bruce Moir and Murray  Forrest.  The audio was recorded by Malcolm Smith and the link is to the site of the Australian Media Oral History Group.

You can listen to it if you click here

Helen Morse, Jackie Weaver, Caddie