By Erin Free

WHAT’S IT ABOUT? A one-time boxer, Aussie Rules player, and haulage contractor, Albert Jacka was also one of the Australian Army’s bravest, toughest, and most daring soldiers. He was the first Australian to be decorated with The Victoria Cross – the highest decoration for gallantry “in the face of the enemy” that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces – during WW1, where he showed extraordinary heroism on a number of bullet-riddled and blood-stained occasions. Amongst the horrors of Gallipoli, Jacka singlehandedly killed seven German soldiers, before holding a valued trench alone for an entire night against an onslaught of enemy fire. Upon being awarded The Victoria Cross for this gallant act (“Well, I got the beggars, sir,” Jacka famously said – unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth – when found by his superior officer the morning after, sitting amongst a pile of dead bodies), Albert Jacka became a national hero, and a regular fixture in Australian newspapers looking to boost homefront morale. A noted anti-authoritarian loved by his fellow soldiers but hated by his superiors, Jacka also fought in Pozieres (where he and seven fellow Aussies overpowered fifty German soldiers, and rescued over forty prisoners), Bullecourt (where he singlehandedly captured a two-man German patrol), Egypt (where he passed through officer training), and Polygon Wood (where he successfully led an attack on a seemingly impenetrable line of German pill-boxes). Upon returning home from the war, Jacka became an advocate for the poor and needy, and eventually became the Mayor of Melbourne’s St. Kilda. He passed away at the age of 39 due to complications stemming from the multitude of wounds and injuries that he had sustained during the war. 683501-20902f9c-cabf-11e3-9aee-4ab1c4ff1b91

WHY WOULD IT MAKE A GOOD MOVIE? As told thrillingly and expertly by author, Michael Lawriwsky, in his book, Hard Jacka: The Story Of A Gallipoli Legend, Albert Jacka is Australia’s ultimate war hero – an egalitarian, knockabout tough guy with Rambo’s military moves and Paul Hogan’s bone-dry sense of humour. His story takes in Australia’s major WW1 skirmishes, and comes loaded with colour, excitement, sadness, and the potential for truly epic storytelling…in short, the stuff that great movies are made of.

WHO SHOULD DIRECT IT? A master of both on-screen action (Dead Calm, Patriot Games, Clear And Present Danger) and intelligence (The Quiet American, Rabbit-Proof Fence), veteran Australian filmmaker, Phillip Noyce, could bring the requisite mix of grandeur and gritty realism to the wonderfully wide-canvas story of Albert Jacka.

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WHO SHOULD BE IN IT? Australia’s biggest on-screen hero is currently Chris Hemsworth (Thor, Rush), so who better to essay Albert Jacka’s above-and-beyond acts of wartime heroism? Flashy supporting roles, meanwhile, could go to David Wenham (as the almost equally courageous Lt. Crabbe, Jacka’s commanding officer in Gallipoli); Tom Wilkinson (as Major General Harold Bridgwood Walker, the highly regarded British officer in charge of the Australian forces at Pozieres); Hugo Weaving (as businessman and underworld figure, John Wren, who infamously offered 500 pounds and a gold watch to the first Australian winner of a Victoria Cross, and later became Jacka’s post-war partner in an electrical goods importing and exporting company); and Teresa Palmer (as Frances Veronica Carey, who Albert married in 1921, eleven years before his death)

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  • Barry Jacka
    Barry Jacka
    30 December 2016 at 9:23 am

    I agree 100%. Jacka VC by Ian Grant is excellent, too.

  • taite kindred (Jacka Side)
    taite kindred (Jacka Side)
    4 June 2017 at 12:51 am

    Same here mate Great Idea to Honor my uncle

  • Jeff Marriott
    Jeff Marriott
    15 May 2018 at 7:39 pm

    A crowdfund effort plus input from veteran affairs and other govt grants and initiatives would be a great place to investigate the feasability from a cost pov

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