Do you remember When the Queen Came to Town?

MOVIE review: This dinky, but delightful documentary commemorates the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s 1954 tour of Australia and New Zealand.

When the Queen Came to Town (G)

Director : Maurice Murphy (documentary debut)

Starring : Bert Newton (narrator), Lorraine Bayly.

Rating : 3 stars

“She came, we saw, she conquered”

A dinky, but delightful documentary, When the Queen Came to Town commemorates the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s landmark 1954 tour of Australia and New Zealand.

Having only just ascended the throne and very much an unknown commodity in those innocent, pre-television times, the novice monarch charmed the socks off both nations with an epic trek that took in over 130 locations.

Whether participating in a ticker-tape parade through a capital city, or doing a lap of a country sports oval in a fancy open-topped jalopy, the Queen made every moment count for her adoring subjects.

While Her Majesty’s ‘game face’ at this time was not as welcoming as it has later come to be known - there are occasions here where the famously grumpy Prince Phillip is grinning like a loon by comparison to his missus - the Queen’s iconic, air-swishing wave was already a surefire crowd-pleaser.

Speaking of crowds, the numbers shown to be flooding the streets as the royal entourage make their way down the main drag are never less than astonishing.

It is estimated that approximately 80 per cent of all Australians saw Queen Elizabeth pass by in person in 1954, and going on the extraordinary scenes documented here (accompanied by a noise The Beatles grew accustomed to on these shores a decade later) that figure will not come into dispute.

Those who were there share their stories, which are often more evocative than Bert Newton’s narration, which comes off as a little stilted compared to his best work at the microphone.

Originally published as Do you remember When the Queen Came to Town?