Absent Without Leave

Absent Without Leave

104 mins | Drama, Romance, War | Feb. 20, 1993

In 1942 Wellington, Daisy Edwards, 16 and pregnant, relies totally on her just-wed husband, Ed, who is little older than she. Ed is suddenly drafted into the army and is to be sent overseas to battle while Daisy is sent to her father in Auckland. When Ed's leave is cancelled at the last minute he takes the dangerous decision to go absent without leave to be with Daisy on her journey home. As a deserter, Ed is hunted, captured and imprisoned. Life inside is bad enought without the worry of what is going on outside. The film is based upon a true story.

Absent Without Leave

104 mins | Drama, Romance, War | Feb. 20, 1993

Absent Without Leave
In 1942 Wellington, Daisy Edwards, 16 and pregnant, relies totally on her just-wed husband, Ed, who is little older than she. Ed is suddenly drafted into the army and is to be sent overseas to battle while Daisy is sent to her father in Auckland. When Ed's leave is cancelled at the last minute he takes the dangerous decision to go absent without leave to be with Daisy on her journey home. As a deserter, Ed is hunted, captured and imprisoned. Life inside is bad enought without the worry of what is going on outside. The film is based upon a true story.
Producers New Zealand Film Commission, Meridian Films
Original title Absent Without Leave
Directors John Laing
Writers James Edwards, Graeme Tetley

Cast

Craig McLachlan

as James Edwards

Katrina Hobbs

as Daisy Edwards

Tony Barry

as Peter

Judie Douglass

as Ella

Ken Blackburn

as C.O.

Tony Burton

as Constable

Francis Bell

as Paddy

Robyn Malcolm

as Betty

David Copeland

as Claude

Desmond Kelly

as Daisy's Father

Rebecca Hobbs

as Daisy's Sister

Joan Foster

as Daisy's Stepmother

Mark Hadlow

as Prison Corporal

Jed Brophy

as Joe

Stephen Gledhill

as Tearoom Man