The Mango Tree

Am I mistaken or are some reviewers locating the action in the wrong era? Although it is some time since I saw this, I am reasonably sure it took place around the time of World War I, not World War II. Not a great movie for the time; only Helpmann's presence lent scenes any credence.

THE MANGO TREE is a charming, pedestrian stroll through one young man's formative teens in rural sub tropical Queensland Australia set around WW2. Today it would not even be made or maybe for TV as a mini series. As a film in panavision it is exceptionally beautiful to see but requires a gentle heart and a patient mature outlook. Lead actor Christopher Pate is the son of actor Michael Pate who also produced the film. Unfortunately for Christopher, he did not have his father's good looks and instead of someone lasting as an actor and as a role player here, we have him. If a better and more dynamic young actor was in this then I think the film would be more memorable. Instead today it is almost forgotten and was never revived much past 1980. I fits as part of the many 'new Australian films' of the post 1975 renaissance. It played in cinemas as part of a popular double feature with either MY BRILLIANT CAREER or the extraordinary epic THE IRISHMAN also made around the same time. Robert Helpmann's hilarious turn as the town drunk is a standout performance. Helpmann's sister Sheila is seen in THE GETTING OF WISDOM made a year later. THE MANGO TREE was pretty good but may not stand up so well today.

I was 11 and living in a small town called Gayndah, in Queensland, when this film was being made. I remember Sir Robert Helpmann, and an American actor with dark hair and a wandering eye.

I also remember a scene in front of the Burnett Hotel in Gayndah, in which a horse was tranquilized so that it would collapse.

This 1977 period drama about a teenager finishing school in North Queensland in 1917, suffers in comparison with other period films of the time such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Getting of Wisdom, My Brilliant Career etc. By comparison, it is somewhat dull and plodding. The main character is annoyingly uncharismatic and dull, the dialogue obvious and the dramatic elements downplayed. Though there is a kidnapping, a shootout with a mad preacher, a couple of deaths and an affair with an older woman, somehow nothing is very believable or involving.

The main character is the grinning Christopher Pate, the America-born son of Australian actor Michael Pate (who wrote and produced this film), but he isn't good enough to lift this film, and this was his only leading role. American actress Geraldine Fitzgerald, who plays his grandmother is better, but her character as the strong matriarch of the town is a little too good to be true, and her American accent occasionally intrudes. However she did earn an AFI Best Actress Award nomination for her strong performance.

The only other notable actors are the famous dancer, Sir Robert Helpman, as an intellectual drunk, and Gerard Kennedy, taking a break from tough-cop roles to play an American-style fire-and-brimstone preacher who goes mad and kidnaps his niece. The photography is underwhelming and the colours look washed out.

There's something about this film that feels like an American television melodrama rather than an Australian feature film. It also looks a bit dated, like Little House on the Prairie transplanted to North Queensland; a good 'family' film. On the positive side, the countryside does look interesting at times, despite the photography.

Christopher Pate is terrific in his first major acting role. He stars as Jamie, a young man growing up in the small Australian town of Bundaberg during the early 1940's. Jamie loves his life, surrounded by friendly locals, and being brought up by his warm caring grandmother played by Geraldine Fitzgerald. But unfortunately, Jamie decides to leave for the city at the end of the Second World War. Great perfomances by all, including Gerard Kennedy as the 'nutty' preacher, and Robert Helpmann as the drunken professor who befriends Jamie. This scenic drama is beautifully filmed on locations around Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia, which is my hometown. I would recommend this film to anyone who would like to see a well acted Australian drama.