Article: Herald Sun (Melbourne), April 18th, 2007

Behind the Iron Curtin
Kylie Miller

FOR actor William McInnes, playing great Australian wartime Prime Minister John Curtin was a dream role.

The 90-minute ABC telemovie Curtin, which again pairs McInnes with Noni Hazlehurst (Stepfather of the Bride) as his on-screen wife, picks up Curtin's story from his rise to Prime Minister in the middle of World War II and follows the toughest six months of his life. It exposes viewers to the backroom dealings between politicians, advisers and the media, and his testy relationship with Australia's powerful allies. It looks at Curtin's unlikely friendships with Japanese diplomat Tatsuo Kawai as well as Bob Menzies, the Liberal Prime Minister he replaced.

McInnes has an interest in history and politics. His father was a staunch Labor man. Curtin's story was familiar and one he relishes telling. "It's good that the ABC can make something like this and for it not be partisan,'' he says. "It's not a flag-waver for the Labor Party. It's just a really good story. You don't have to take sides to celebrate history.'' Writer Alison Nisselle took care to be as historically accurate as possible. Scattered throughout are snippets of Curtin's rallying speeches: "Australian policy will be made by Australians for Australians!''

But mostly, McInnes says, Curtin tells a ripping yarn about a great Australian, his love for his family and his inner turmoil. Stress, depression, alcoholism and exhaustion contributed to his early death a few weeks before peace was declared. "It was a good script because he wasn't just being painted as a Dudley Do-right,'' he says. "He was flawed, as well as his more heroic aspects. He could be envious and weak and vacillating and conniving. "He was an alcoholic who suffered from depression. He had a really difficult time talking to people and offloading his worries.''

McInnes, as a volunteer for the support organisation Mensline, says he is acutely aware that these are problems many men face.

But John Curtin was also a hero who defied the wishes of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American President Franklin Roosevelt to bring home the 16th Brigade of 64,000 Australians. He saved them from certain death.

Though Curtin was a great Labor leader, he belongs to all Australians, McInnes says. "Curtin actually showed that the Labor Party could govern effectively in its own right in a time of crisis and that was a major factor in the health of Australian democracy,'' he says. "Any time the Labor Party had been in power for any length of time in the past, it would split and collapse.''

Directed by Jessica Hobbs and produced by Andrew Wiseman and Richard Keddie, Curtin was filmed at the ABC's Ripponlea studios and recreates 1940s Australia in scenes shot at Point Cook air force base.

To prepare for the role, McInnes listened to Curtin's speeches to catch the cadence in his voice. "You don't want to do an impersonation. You're trying to get an essence of the guy.''