happy manThis very hap­py look­ing young man is New Zealan­der Ron Tonk­ins (pic­tured with Mar­garet Chap­man) who trav­elled to Hol­ly­wood in 1946 and worked as a pub­lic­i­ty pho­tog­ra­ph­er.

Inter­est­ing thing is, dur­ing his time in Hol­ly­wood he shot reels and reels of Super 8 film footage like any usu­al tourist. Com­plete­ly Bizarre thing is, he had unlim­it­ed access to the stars of the day and the major Hol­ly­wood lots (includ­ing Hopa­long Cas­sidy). All with­out a secu­ri­ty guard in sight.

Come and watch this “back­stage” look at Hol­ly­wood, shot by a plucky Kiwi and nar­rat­ed with his own rec­ol­lec­tions, “Here’s Mar­lene Diet­rich and she’s ask­ing me, ‘What’s New Zealand like Ron?’ ??!?!

I kid you not, this rare record of Kiwi inge­nu­ity must be seen to be believed.

Screen­ing Thurs­day 12 and Fri­day 13 March, 7pm. FREE ADMISSSION at the Film Archive.