Source: Some information on this page may have been sourced as part of the 2023 Wikimedia Australia Partnership Projects grant, with the purpose of improving and expanding the use of Wikidata on our website. Wikidata is a free and open knowledge base that can be read and edited by both humans and machines. Read more about this project here.
Forty thousand horsemen is set during World War 1 and deals with the exploits of the Australian Light Horse in Palestine. Chauvel’s uncle, who led the actual charge at Beersheba, was the inspiration for this acclaimed historical recreation. The film is unapologetically intensly nationalistic, viewed through the eyes of three Anzacs, Red (Grant Taylor), Larry (Pat Twohill) and Jim (Chips Rafferty). This internationally successful film established Chips Rafferty’s laconic bushman stereotype for which he became renown and established Chauvel as a world class director.
Content notification
Our collection comprises over 40,000 moving image works, acquired and catalogued between the 1940s and early 2000s. As a result, some items may reflect outdated, offensive and possibly harmful views and opinions. ACMI is working to identify and redress such usages.
Learn more about our collection and our collection policy here. If you come across harmful content on our website that you would like to report, let us know.
How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
306319
Language
English
Audience classification
G
Subject categories
Armed Forces, Military, War & Weapons → Australia. Army. Light Horse Regiment
Armed Forces, Military, War & Weapons → World War, 1914-1918 - Arabian Peninsula
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Black and White
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)