My Brother Tom

I happen to have "My Brother Tom" on DVD (converted from an old video tape) and every now and then I watch it to remind myself of what a good Australian telemovie it is. Based on the novel of the same name by James Aldridge, the TV version sticks quite closely to the book, with a few exceptions, like the ending.

Tom Jennings stars as Tom Quayle, a young Protestant man, living in the (fictitious) Victorian town of St Helen in the summer of 1938. He falls in love with Peggy MacGibbon (Catherine McClements), a Catholic, and the two try to hide their love for one another. They know that if it becomes publicly known, there will be backlash/division amongst an already divided town.

Christopher Cummins plays Kit, Tom's older brother, who also narrates parts of the movie, as he reminisces about his brother Tom, and Peggy.

It is quite a cute telemovie, with some good acting by all and despite its 'age', "My Brother Tom" is still quite good to watch now.

Oh that was so good! It was very nicely done and the actor who played tom quale was good! we watched it for English because we were reading a series of books much like this movie (in our books it was catholic boy meets protestant girl). It took several lessons to watch it all but it was very good. especially the ending, that was so sad! a few girls in my class were in tears and i was getting all watery-eyed! it was a nice romance story and you could really tell that they loved each other... the end is not quite what i would've thought it was going to be, but i liked it all the same... it fits, and is sooooo sad! i would definitely recommed this movie to all in search of a touching romance.

I stumbled across this delightful Australian mini TV series by accident, but I am so glad I did. It is a well scripted and wonderfully executed mini TV drama. Gordon Jackson gives his usual polished performance along with many others. Point to note, if this was indeed Catherine McClements debut TV role, she carried it off superbly. Her performance was that of someone who had been in front of a camera all her life. Maturity beyond her then very young years. It is a simple story of first love overcoming bigotry and hatred in a small community in Australia in 1938. There is little to dislike about it even if the ending is not quite what you would have wanted.

I saw this movie on VHS back in 1987 by an "accident" together with some friend. Everyone was very moved by this love-story between a protestant and a catholic, which parents was the main preachers in the town. Youth love and rigorous parents is not always the easiest, and both suffered under it! Highly recommended from my heart