Extraordinary people and extraordinary performances are the soul of this documentary, an entertainment special about our inherent fascination with the comic and the unusually skilled. Fire-eating presenter Mic Conway links the colourful reminiscences of the last of Australia’s vaudeville veterans - song and dance man Charles Norman; Contortionist Valantyne, Napier; “Australia’s Queen of the Air”, Olga Varona; and “Patterologist” Ron Shand. Using rare archival films of acts from the turn of the century, this film will leave you with a positive feeling about yourself, other people and the world at large.
Content notification
Our collection comprises over 70,000 moving image works, acquired and catalogued since the 1940s. As a result, some items and their descriptions may reflect outdated, offensive and possibly harmful views and opinions. ACMI is working to identify and redress such usages.
Learn more about our collection and our collection policy here. If you come across harmful content on our website that you would like to report, let us know.
How to watch
This work has not been digitised and is currently unavailable to view online. It may be possible for approved researchers to view.
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
308263
Language
English
Audience classification
G
Subject categories
Documentary → Documentary films - Australia
Music & Performing Arts → Circus performers
Music & Performing Arts → Performing arts
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)