Queensland during which Ashley praised the achievements of the Curtin government, and claimed the film illustrated these. The then-leader of the opposition, Arthur Fadden, complained that the movie was being used for electioneering purposes (it was near the time of the 1943 election) and asked for it to be withdrawn from distribution. Film withdrawn Despite Ashley's protests, Curtin ordered that all future screenings of South West Pacific be stopped, and the movie be replaced by an entirely new documentary to be made later. Curtin claimed this was not because of Fadden's complaint, but due to his belief that South West Pacific was not sufficiently realistic and vivid to do justice to Australian services fighting in the South-west Pacific area; he wanted a better portrayal of the war in this zone, with more emphasis on fighting troops. Curtin later stated "I make it clear that the decision to make what I have described as a better film than South-west Pacific in no way reflects on the ability of Cinesound Productions Ltd. as producers of motion pictures. That company was asked to do a Pacific film and it did so in accordance with the specifications given to it." Queensland Theatres Ltd then wrote to Curtin requesting that they continue to be allowed to show the film and Curtin said he would have another look at it. The government later made Jungle Patrol (1944), set during the Markham, Ramu and Finisterre campaigns, which used real soldiers and emphasised fighting troops. It was made by Tom Gurr who wrote South West Pacific. Doc Evatt took a copy of the film to the US and Britain. Later reputation Filmink magazine wrote that the plot involving Steinbeck was strong enough for a feature. References External links South West Pacific at Australian Screen Online South West Pacific at National Film and Sound Archive Complete copy of film at Australian War Memorial 1943 films Australian World War II propaganda films Australian drama short films Australian aviation films Films directed by Ken G. Hall Australian black-and-white films