Who Killed Jenny Langby?

Who Killed Jenny Langby? follows the days and choices surrounding an Adelaide mother of five as observers piece together the circumstances that surround her life. The film uses a hybrid approach, mixing documentary footage with more intimate dramatic scenes to present the pressures she faced from work, marriage, and her community. It focuses on Jenny Langby, her husband Frank, and their children, showing how financial strain, social expectations, and everyday conflict intersect in a single Australian family. Rather than presenting a single culprit or a sensational verdict, the film invites viewers to weigh the competing accounts of friends, neighbors, and authorities, leaving the question open while depicting the human cost of a troubled personal world. It avoids sensationalism.

Directed by Greg Barker and Donald Crombie, this 1975 Australian production blends documentary realism with narrative drama. It uses real life contexts from an Adelaide family to explore private struggles amid public scrutiny. The filmmakers balance testimony, observation, and staged scenes to create a sense of immediacy.

Box office data for this title isn't widely published, and it remains a lesser known entry from Australia in the mid 1970s. Its influence is mainly within academic or critical discussions of Australian cinema rather than mainstream success.

There are no widely reported awards for Who Killed Jenny Langby? The film did not become a major awards fixture, but it has been cited in analyses of 1970s Australian cinema for tackling household tension and the social context that shapes personal crisis.

Reception is mixed and contextual, with viewers and critics drawn to its careful portrayal of ordinary people under pressure. The film foregrounds resilience, the fragility of domestic life, and how communities respond to personal crisis without rushing to verdict. Its approach invites viewers to question what counts as evidence.