| Smithy | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Ken G. Hall |
| Produced by | N. P. Perry |
| Written by | John Chandler (aka Ken G. Hall) Max Afford Alec Coppel |
| Starring | Ron Randell John Tate Muriel Steinbeck Joy Nichols Charles 'Bud' Tingwell John Dease P. G. Taylor Billy Hughes Alec Kellaway |
| Music by | Henry Krips |
| Cinematography | George Heath, Bert Nicholas |
| Editing by | Terry Banks |
| Release date(s) | 1946 |
| Running time | 119 minutes |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Budget | ₤53,000[1] |
Smithy is a 1946 film about pioneering Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and his flight across the Pacific Ocean, from San Francisco, California, United States to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia during 1928. This was the first-ever trans-Pacific flight. Kingsford Smith was the pilot of the Fokker F.VII/3m three-engine monoplane "Southern Cross", with Australian aviator Charles Ulm as the relief pilot. The other two crew members were Americans James Warner and Harry Lyon.
The film Smithy was known as "Pacific Adventure" in the United States and as "Southern Cross" in the United Kingdom. The cast list for the movie included: Ron Randell as Charles Kingsford Smith and John Tate as the relief pilot Charles Ulm. P. G. Taylor, who had flown as second pilot and navigator with Kingsford Smith appeared as himself in the film, and former Prime Minister Billy Hughes also appeared in the film as himself. The film also featured the first on screen appearance of noted Australian actor Charles 'Bud' Tingwell who was cast as a RAAF control tower officer - winning the role as he could supply his own RAAF uniform.
The director of the film was Ken G. Hall. The aircraft used for the filming was the genuine Southern Cross, which has been purchased by the Australian Government 10 years earlier and refurbished by the RAAF. A surplus RAAF CAC Boomerang was used in flying sequences for Kingsford Smith's Lady Southern Cross Lockheed Altair.