Directed by Geoff Burrowes from a script by Burrowes and John Dixon, Return to Snowy River and its prequel were loosely based on a 104-line poem The Man From Snowy River, written by Banjo Paterson (using the name "The Banjo," after a racehorse his family owned), first published in the Australian news magazine The Bulletin in 1890.
The film was shot on location in Mansfield, Victoria, Australia, where an accident with one of the horses led to director Burrowes suing the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) for defamation after they condemned the euthanasia of a mare that was injured on the set. According to Burrowes, a pregnant mare collapsed while cantering and could not be raised because of a serious injury to her leg. Because Burrowes would not allow guns on the set, unless they were in the hands of the vet (who was on another set at the time) or an expert marksman, the experienced horsemen decided to put her out of her misery. "We could leave her in pain to fetch the rifle or do the job then and there as had always been done in the bush, using a method which every bushman is taught from his earliest days." Unfortunately, this method consisted of hitting the mare on the head several times with the blunt end of an ax, which the RSPCA criticized, despite having a representative on the set who did not protest. Burrowes was later acquitted of charges of aggravated cruelty, and the RSPCA was ordered to pay the director $38,000.
Return to Snowy River was produced by Burrowes Film Group, in association with Walt Disney Pictures, Silver Screen Partners III, and Hoyts Film Partnership with a budget of $8.7 million Australian dollars. When it was released on April 15, 1988, the film would go on to make $13,687,027 at the box office. Christopher Hicks, writing for The Deseret News called the film "a bit hackneyed and hokey around the edges, but is still fun in an old-fashioned western way with more than enough action, adventure, romance, and rough-and-tumble horseplay to please fans of the first film."
SOURCES:
"Film Director Set to Sue RSPCA" The Canberra Times 1 Jun 87
"Movie Makers Cleared of Cruelty Charges" The Canberra Times 16 Aug 87
The Internet Movie Database
Perkins, George A Season in New South Wales
www.sl.nsw.gov.au/events/exhibitions/2010/onehundred/100-objects/Exhibit-053.htm
