William McInnes as PM Curtin

Respected actor William McInnes will star as John Curtin in the ABC’s new telemovie airing in late April.

Curtin became Prime Minister of Australia in 1941, just before Pearl Harbor was bombed and the Japanese were heading for Darwin. But he found himself at virtually at war with Churchill and his own cabinet, in a battle to defend Australia as he saw fit.

This biography written by Alison Niselle (Janus, Phoenix) and directed by Jessica Hobbs (Love My Way, McLeod’s Daughters) will also feature Noni Hazlehurst who plays wife to McInnes for the second time, as she did in the ABC’s 2006 telemovie, Stepfather of the Bride.

Press Release:

In the life of all Prime Ministers, comes the moment that tests the mettle of the man. In the life of every nation, comes the moment that tests the mettle of its people.

For John Curtin and Australia those two moments meet in 1941. This is where our story begins…

As Leader of the Opposition, Curtin (William McInnes) seems poised to reach out and claim his rightful destiny – the Prime Ministership of Australia. But he refuses to make a desperate grab for power. He waits for the government to self destruct. With the war against Hitler intensifying, the last thing the public wants is a weak and bickering government. Curtin is the only man deemed fit for the job. Power becomes his.

Curtin no sooner moves offices when the Pacific erupts. Pearl Harbour is bombed. For the first time, Australia lives in fear of invasion. The Japanese are working their way down through Asia with alarming ferocity. Australia is completely unprepared.

Blow by blow, we follow Curtin – our guide, our confidante, through a chilling and tumultuous ride over six months behind the walls of power. We pick up and run to get our footage, pry through half open doors, eavesdrop in the corridors – whatever it takes to keep our subject in focus.

Curtin lives and breathes his work and is forced to endure the deluge alone, while his wife Elsie, (Noni Hazlehurst) attends to her ailing mother back home. Then, Darwin is bombed. Australian defences are crushed.

Curtin battles via cables with the Empire’s heavyweight, Churchill, to reroute Australian troops to defend home soil. It quickly becomes a monumental battle of wills with Curtin fighting both Churchill and members of his own government. Curtin’s health deteriorates rapidly as he desperately seeks support.

This is a raw and intimate story of a driven and inspirational leader – a man who struggles to battle his own personal demons while serving and protecting a country at war.

Curtin premieres 8:30pm Sunday April 22 on ABC.