Forty Thousand Horsemen is a 1940 Australian war film directed by Charles Chauvel. The film tells the story of the Australian Light Horse cavalry which operated in the desert at the Sinai and Palestine Campaign during World War I. It follows the adventures of three rowdy heroes in fighting and romance. The film culminates at the Battle of Beersheba which is reputedly "the last successful cavalry charge in history". The film was clearly a propaganda weapon, to aid in recruitment and lift the pride of Australians at home during World War II. Filming commenced in 1938 on the Cronulla sand... dunes, south of Sydney, with interiors shot in the Cinesound studios at Bondi. Joe Valli reprised his Scottish cariciture from Pat Hanna's Digger Shows. The film was a massive success at the box office, being seen by 287,000 in Sydney alone during a ten week run on first release. It was released in the USA by Sherman S. Krellberg for Monogram Pictures.
more
| Release date: | 1941 |
| Directed by: | Charles Chauvel |
| Runtime: | 100 Minutes |
| Producer: | Charles Chauvel |
| Editor: | William Shepherd |
| Music by: | Lindley Evans |
| Cinematography: | George Heath |
| Screenplay by: | Elsa Chauvel, Charles Chauvel |
| Genre: | Adventure, Action |