Peter And Life For Caddie example essay topic
437 words
The movie Caddie stars Helen Morse as 'Caddie' Marsh, a young woman in the depression, Jackie Weaver, as Caddie's friend Leslie, Jack Thompson as Ted, and Takes Emmanuel as Peter. Caddie is set in the times of the Australian depression and was the first remotely successful Australian feature film. It follows the story of a spirited woman and her experiences over seven life-shaping years of her life. Through her eyes we see the effect of the depression on the average Australians of the time. The movie tells the story of a young Sydney woman during the years 1925 to 1932 in which time she changes from a young suburban 25 year old matron and mother to a free-wheeling woman of 32. The film opens with Caddie learning that her husband is in love with her best friend, Ester, and taking the only course she feels is open to her; she leaves him taking the children with her. To earn enough money to keep her and the children, Caddie takes a job as a barmaid, and soon learns the ropes with the help of fellow barmaid Josie. One day Ted, the SP bookmaker comes into the pub. He names her Caddie after his brand new Cadillac that, like her, he says has class and beauty. Caddie is struggling to look after her two children, Anne, and Terry properly, so she makes the very difficult decision to put them into children's homes.
Through a friend, Caddie meets Peter, a Greek immigrant and successful businessman. They fall in love and become lovers, but fate strikes with the sudden illness of Peter's father and he has to leave for Greece. Winter two years later, and the Great Depression is taking its toll on Sydney and Caddie. She has trouble staying employed, and finally is bed-ridden suffering from malnutrition and nervous exhaustion. She is befriended by "Bill the Rabbi to" and his younger brother Sonny, who share their meagre belongings with her until she is well and strong again. Caddie takes yet another job as a barmaid, and meets Paddy Reilly who talks her into becoming an SP bookie.
She rents another house, is able to pay Bill and Sonny back for their many kindnesses and hears regularly from Peter, and life for Caddie appears to look good again. However, at the end, we learn that Peter is killed in a motorcycle accident before he got to marry Caddie, like they planned. This movie was quite okay for the time it was made, 1970.
