The Dunera Boys

1985 Australian TV series or program

The Dunera Boys
Written by	Ben Lewin
Directed by	Ben Lewin
Starring	Bob Hoskins Warren Mitchell John Meillon
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
No. of episodes	2
Production
Producer	Bob Weis
Original release
Network	Network 10
Release	3 October 1985 (1985-10-03) – 1985 (1985)

The Dunera Boys (also known as Tapaus Dunera) is a 1985 Australian mini-series based on the Dunera incident.^[1]

Plot

At the beginning of the World War 2, in the interests of national security, the British Government made the decision to arrest all Germans in the UK, as well as many Jewish male refugees, whom the British feared might have been German spies. In 1940, a large group were rounded up and sent to Prisoner of war camps in Australia, aboard the HMT Dunera. Amongst them, are Morrie Mendellsohn (Bob Hoskins), a British fishmonger and Alexander Engelhardt (Joseph Spano), a concert violinist. The story depicts the hardship, alienation and brotherhood they encountered along the way.

Cast

Bob Hoskins as Morrie Mendellsohn
Joseph Spano as Alexander Engelhardt
Warren Mitchell as Mr. Braun
Joseph Furst as The Baron
John Meillon as Brigadier Templeton
Simon Chilvers as Colonel Berry
Julia Blake as Mum
Maurie Fields as Corporal Carter
Alex Menglet as Roth
Wyn Roberts as Slattery
Kym Gyngell as Private Bruce
Mark Little
Mary-Anne Fahey as Naomi Mendellsohn
Bruno Lucia as Abe Joelstein (uncredited)

Awards and nominations

Award	Category	Result
AFI Awards	Best Miniseries	Won
AFI Awards	Best Achievement in Direction in a Miniseries (Ben Lewin)	Won
AFI Awards	Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries (Simon Chilvers)	Won
AFI Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries (Deidre Rubenstein)	Won
AWGIE Awards	Best Television Miniseries Adaptation (Ben Lewin)	Won