Directing

Chris Thomson

Born January 1, 1945 · New Zealand

Died July 1, 2015 · aged 70

Chris Thomson (1945 - 1 July 2015) was a New Zealander director and producer. While still in his 20s Chris Thomson was given command of a number of landmark New Zealand TV dramas, including genre-hopping colonial tale The Killing of Kane and The Alpha Plan (1969), Aotearoa’s first dramatic TV series. After time working for the BBC, he moved to Australia and began a busy career as a director, incl…

Known For

TrucksTrucks · 1997
Trucks
4.61997
MovieHorrorScience Fiction
A group of seemingly humanistic trucks takeover a truck stop and starts killing everything in sight. The remaining townsfolk must band together and come up with a way to murder the inanimate objects, a seemingly difficult task considering the abnormal circumstances.
The Empty BeachThe Empty Beach · 1985
The Empty Beach
4.91985
MovieThrillerMystery
Before shady businessman John Singer disappeared off Bondi Beach, his name meant money--big and small, clean and dirty--a man absorbed in a world of greed and dishonesty. Singer's widow, Marion, believes he's still alive and she employs the investigative skills of the tough, no-nonsense private eye, Cliff Hardy to find him. Battered and bruised, Hardy battles through the filth of corruption and the stench of political blackmail. He comes face to face with the crime bosses, who feed off human misery and eliminate their rivals without thinking twice. From the high life and low life of Sydney, to the seediness and splendour of Bondi Beach, Cliff Hardy uncovers the ultimate truth.
The DelinquentsThe Delinquents · 1989
The Delinquents
5.11989
MovieDramaRomance
A small town in Australia, in the late 1950s: Brownie and Lola are deeply in love. But because they are under-age, their parents are against their relationship and try to separate them.
The City of NoThe City of No · 1971
The City of No
7.01971
MovieDramaTV Movie
Two men's friendship has been weakened by their contrasting approaches to life. Bob (Jeremy Stephens) has left his wife to paint pictures of a lover (Shirley Gruar) who is much younger than him. Lawyer Graham (Bill Johnson, who later played Mr Wilberforce in Under the Mountain) is the voice of reason, trying to convince Bob to quit his bohemian lifestyle. But is Graham really acting in his mate's best interests?
Moving TargetMoving Target · 1988
Moving Target
6.11988
MovieThrillerCrime
A teenage musician goes on the run from killers and the police when he returns home to find his home empty and his family gone.
The PerfectionistThe Perfectionist · 1985
The Perfectionist
8.01985
MovieComedyTV Movie
Barbara and Steward are happily married and have three kids. But one day Barbara decides that her children are old enough now and she can quit as housewife and start to study. Against the will of her husband she employs babysitter Eric while she attends university. Steward reacts increasingly nervous about the presence of another man in his family and brings their marriage into a crisis.
Stop at NothingStop at Nothing · 1991
Stop at Nothing
7.71991
MovieDramaThriller
An ex-prosecutor takes a bodyguard job protecting a girl from a mother who has lost custody. The father was accused of sexually abusing the daughter but the evidence was dismissed. Who's lying?
SwimsuitSwimsuit · 1989
Swimsuit
5.01989
MovieComedyRomance
Mrs. Allison is the owner of the Saltare Swimsuit company. Her top man Brian, and his not so bright assitant Willard have to find men and women that can be prospective models for her swimwear. The movie looks at the personal life of many of the young hopefuls. The men and women take strenuous photo shoots and workouts, but few will be chosen.

Movies

TrucksTrucks · 1997
Trucks
4.61997
MovieHorrorScience Fiction
A group of seemingly humanistic trucks takeover a truck stop and starts killing everything in sight. The remaining townsfolk must band together and come up with a way to murder the inanimate objects, a seemingly difficult task considering the abnormal circumstances.
The Empty BeachThe Empty Beach · 1985
The Empty Beach
4.91985
MovieThrillerMystery
Before shady businessman John Singer disappeared off Bondi Beach, his name meant money--big and small, clean and dirty--a man absorbed in a world of greed and dishonesty. Singer's widow, Marion, believes he's still alive and she employs the investigative skills of the tough, no-nonsense private eye, Cliff Hardy to find him. Battered and bruised, Hardy battles through the filth of corruption and the stench of political blackmail. He comes face to face with the crime bosses, who feed off human misery and eliminate their rivals without thinking twice. From the high life and low life of Sydney, to the seediness and splendour of Bondi Beach, Cliff Hardy uncovers the ultimate truth.
The DelinquentsThe Delinquents · 1989
The Delinquents
5.11989
MovieDramaRomance
A small town in Australia, in the late 1950s: Brownie and Lola are deeply in love. But because they are under-age, their parents are against their relationship and try to separate them.
The City of NoThe City of No · 1971
The City of No
7.01971
MovieDramaTV Movie
Two men's friendship has been weakened by their contrasting approaches to life. Bob (Jeremy Stephens) has left his wife to paint pictures of a lover (Shirley Gruar) who is much younger than him. Lawyer Graham (Bill Johnson, who later played Mr Wilberforce in Under the Mountain) is the voice of reason, trying to convince Bob to quit his bohemian lifestyle. But is Graham really acting in his mate's best interests?
Moving TargetMoving Target · 1988
Moving Target
6.11988
MovieThrillerCrime
A teenage musician goes on the run from killers and the police when he returns home to find his home empty and his family gone.
The PerfectionistThe Perfectionist · 1985
The Perfectionist
8.01985
MovieComedyTV Movie
Barbara and Steward are happily married and have three kids. But one day Barbara decides that her children are old enough now and she can quit as housewife and start to study. Against the will of her husband she employs babysitter Eric while she attends university. Steward reacts increasingly nervous about the presence of another man in his family and brings their marriage into a crisis.
Stop at NothingStop at Nothing · 1991
Stop at Nothing
7.71991
MovieDramaThriller
An ex-prosecutor takes a bodyguard job protecting a girl from a mother who has lost custody. The father was accused of sexually abusing the daughter but the evidence was dismissed. Who's lying?
SwimsuitSwimsuit · 1989
Swimsuit
5.01989
MovieComedyRomance
Mrs. Allison is the owner of the Saltare Swimsuit company. Her top man Brian, and his not so bright assitant Willard have to find men and women that can be prospective models for her swimwear. The movie looks at the personal life of many of the young hopefuls. The men and women take strenuous photo shoots and workouts, but few will be chosen.
The Rainbow Warrior ConspiracyThe Rainbow Warrior Conspiracy · 1988
The Rainbow Warrior Conspiracy
5.51988
MovieDramaTV Movie
Dramatisation of the sinking of the Greenpeace ship 'The Rainbow Warrior' by French agents in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1985.
Woman on the LedgeWoman on the Ledge · 1993
Woman on the Ledge
3.31993
MovieDramaTV Movie
Three longtime friends each struggle with a major life crisis threatening to destroy her.
The Flood: Who Will Save Our Children?The Flood: Who Will Save Our Children? · 1993
The Flood: Who Will Save Our Children?
6.31993
MovieTV MovieDrama
In rural Comfort, Texas, the strict protestant Horizon Bible church community holds its annual, pretty strictly supervised summer camp, with mandatory prayer sessions, for fraternizing teens from all over the States. The day before their departure, storm weather is announced, the busses even ride early to keep ahead, but the wind makes a river rise too fast: the busses are caught, everybody must run on foot. As TV reporters see from their helicopter, the rising water is too fast for one bus after choosing the wrong way, children and staff must climb in trees but can't cling on very long.
WaterfrontWaterfront · 1984
Waterfront
1984
Movie
Australian dockyard workers go on strike. Immigrant Italian workers are brought in as scab labour. In the midst of all this, an Italian woman meets & falls in love with one of the Australians.
The Morrison Murders: Based on a True StoryThe Morrison Murders: Based on a True Story · 1996
The Morrison Murders: Based on a True Story
4.51996
MovieCrime
A husband and wife and their youngest son are murdered in this true story. Their two other sons are left to cope with their loss, but the local sherrif begins to suspect that one of the brothers committed the crime, and must convince the other to help him discover the truth.
Old Man March Is DeadOld Man March Is Dead · 1976
Old Man March Is Dead
1976
MovieDrama
In rural New Zealand an alcoholic ex-soldier is desperate to obtain more liquor. His family try to keep liquor away from him.
A Passage to InvernessA Passage to Inverness · 1977
A Passage to Inverness
7.01977
Movie
A striptease artist is prosecuted for indecency. Meanwhile, his aunt wants him to visit her, before she dies.

TV Shows

A Country PracticeA Country Practice · 1981
A Country Practice
5.91981
SeriesDrama
A Country Practice was an Australian television drama series. At its inception, one of the longest-running of its kind, produced by James Davern of JNP Productions, who had wrote the pilot episode and entered a script contest for the network in 1979, coming third and winning a merit award. It ran on the Seven Network for 1,058 episodes from 18 November 1981 to 22 November 1993. It was produced in ATN-7's production facility at Epping, Sydney. After its lengthy run on the seven network it was picked up by network ten with a mainly new cast from April to November 1994 for 30 episodes, although the ten series was not as successful as its predecessor . The Channel Seven series was also filmed on location in Pitt Town, while, the Channel Ten series was filmed on location in Emerald, Victoria.
The Flying DoctorsThe Flying Doctors · 1986
The Flying Doctors
6.61986
SeriesDrama
The Flying Doctors is an Australian drama series produced by Crawford Productions that revolved around the everyday lifesaving efforts of the real Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia. It was initially a 1985 mini-series based in the fictional outback town of Cooper's Crossing starring Andrew McFarlane as the newly arrived Dr. Tom Callaghan. The success of the mini series led to its return the following year as an on-going series with McFarlane being joined by a new doctor, Chris Randall, played by Liz Burch. McFarlane left during the first season and actor Robert Grubb came in as new doctor Geoff Standish. The series' episodes were mostly self-contained but also featured ongoing storylines, such as Dr. Standish's romance with Sister Kate Wellings. Other major characters included pilot Sam Patterson, mechanic Emma Plimpton, local policeman Sgt. Jack Carruthers and Vic and Nancy Buckley, who ran the local pub/hotel, The Majestic. Andrew McFarlane also later returned to the series, resuming his role as Dr. Callaghan. The popular series ran for nine seasons and was successfully screened internationally.
Police RescuePolice Rescue · 1991
Police Rescue
6.71991
SeriesDrama
Police Rescue was an Australian television series The series dealt with the New South Wales Police Rescue Squad based in Sydney and their work attending to various incidents from road accidents to train crashes.
The HitchhikerThe Hitchhiker · 1983
The Hitchhiker
6.31983
SeriesDramaCrime
A young hitchhiker introduces characters who are about to experience a frightening and sometimes supernatural incident of some kind in this moody anthology series.
Centre PlayCentre Play · 1973
Centre Play
7.01973
SeriesDrama
Anthology series of half hour plays produced in BBC's Television Centre's studios.
FlipperFlipper · 1995
Flipper
6.91995
SeriesDrama
Flipper is a 1995–2000 American family adventure drama series developed by E.F. Wallengren, Michael Nankin and Reuben Leder, a sequel to Jack Cowden's 1964–67 NBC series of the same name. In and around the Bal Harbor Institute, a marine mammal research facility in beautiful Florida Keys, groundbreaking studies are being conducted on dolphin behavior and everyone's favorite dolphin finds adventure.
Time TraxTime Trax · 1993
Time Trax
6.51993
SeriesSci-Fi & Fantasy
Time Trax is an American/Australian co-produced science fiction television series that first aired in 1993. A police officer, sent through time into the past, has to track down and return convicted criminals who have escaped prison in the future. This was the last new production from Lorimar Television.
The ChallengeThe Challenge · 1986
The Challenge
9.01986
SeriesDrama
The story of the 1983 America's Cup challenge, where the Australian team financed by business tycoon Alan Bond, finally wrests the cup from the New York Yacht Club, after an unbroken 132 year winning streak.