Recently watched The Great Macarthy. You may have heard TGM is a classic Aussie fillum. You heard wrong. You heard right if your idea of "classic Aussie fillum" equates to "must be rubbish", which is not an unheard-of connection.
TGM is a mess: think Alvin Purple meets the Club.
During the commentary, Bruce Smeaton, who did the music, concedes that "every country has to serve its apprenticeship" before going on to compare TGM to the Ealing comedies, but only the bad ones: "We talk about the Ealing comedies, but not all of them were funny. Some of them were pretty terrible."
TGM, though, is not completely unwatchable. Not for me, a Melbourne boy and footy fan. While it's a dreadful balls up as a fillum, it's worth a squizz for the locations and faces. The Lake Oval, the MCG and St Kilda beach are three of the more obvious settings. I didn't know they filmed scenes at half time of the 1974 grand final. And there are numerous football faces. There is also a scene set in Albert Park in which a young HG Nelson appears as an onlooker at a Nazi Party rally. Really.
Then there's this exchange during the commentary between Sydney executive producer Richard Brennan and Melbourne film bloke Paul Harris:
RB: "They're playing Fitzroy, a team that no longer exists. That is Fitzroy, isn't it?"
PH: "Yep."
Later, Brennan - but not Harris - almost concedes he got it wrong:
RB: "The team I identified as Footsroy is the Western Bulldogs."
The team he identified as Fitzroy, then Footsroy, then the Western Bulldogs is Footscray. No doubt you joined those dots long ago. Fitzroy are gone, Footscray of 1974 have been replaced by the Western Bulldogs, and Footsroy only existed if you count the failed 1989 merger between Footscray and Fitzroy.
Coincidentally, look who showed up in TGM: post Footsroy coach Terry "Squirrel Grip" Wheeler, who has just grabbed a ball.
There's another oddity.
Brennan, watching footage of a match between South and Fitzroy, remarks "this was a game that, in fact, the Swans lost by 7 points."
In no match between South and Footscray or South and Fitzroy in 1973, 1974 or 1975 did the Swans lose by 7 points.
Posted by: Tony Tea | 09 January 2009 at 16:35
I used to wear shorts like that. I don't have children. I think that there may be a connection...
Posted by: Random | 10 January 2009 at 06:41
What was the film with Alvin Purple and the bloke out of Homicide where they burst into song in the change rooms. I remember that it was one of the Late Show toilet breaks back in the day, and by christ it looked abysmal.
Old mate from Homicide was doing the worst American accident ever - that's all I remember.
Posted by: Adam 1.0 | 10 January 2009 at 18:15
First picture: I didn't know Norman Gunston was a footie umpire. Note also Dame Edna Everidge (then simply Mrs Everidge) in the front row in orange hat
Posted by: Professor Rosseforp | 11 January 2009 at 17:11
R: To be fair to the shorts, they were much tighter ten years later.
A: No, Blundell wasn't in TGM. Can you give me more about the shocker? I don't know the other fillum you're on about.
P: Funny you should mention that. The Dame is the top man at the footy club (even though the real Baz hates footy), and Kate Fitzpatrick is his daughter.
Posted by: Tony T. | 11 January 2009 at 17:47
Sadly almost every other Late Show toilet break except that one is on YouTube.
It was a clip in a locker room featuring Blundell and I think without watching the clip again George Mallaby. They start singing a song about how they had to "Think About The Game". Mallaby (?) was putting on a shonky American accent and singing about how he picked up some waitress in Kansas City and then couldn't do anything because he "thought about the game".
Smacked of an ABC production to be honest. Nothing on IMDB puts them in anything together. I've always wanted to know what sport they were playing considering they had a bloke with an American accent in their team.
Posted by: Adam 1.0 | 11 January 2009 at 22:26
Still no idea.
I was going to match Blundell with some of the names from Homicide, but bugger me if there aren't a zillion names who went through the show.
Graeme Blundell and Gus Mercurio were in Power Without Glory.
Posted by: Tony Tea | 13 January 2009 at 13:41
This is what Blundell was in prior to 1980. Any ideas?
The Odd Angry Shot
Kostas
Weekend of Shadows
Don's Party
Alvin Purple
Mad Dog Morgan
Power Without Glory
The Sentimental Bloke
Alvin Purple Rides Again
Homicide
Marion
The Box
Matlock Police
Three Old Friends
Alvin Purple
Ryan
Division 4
Stork
Two Thousand Weeks
Posted by: Tony Tea | 13 January 2009 at 13:47
Fast Talking and Spotswood are another two good Melbourne-spotting movies, with quite a few outside scenes.
Posted by: Big Ramifications | 13 January 2009 at 14:22
Boynton dun the research.
She says it's not Blundell, and is Mallaby: And The Big Men Fly.
Posted by: Tony Tea | 13 January 2009 at 14:53
I'm convinced Blundell was in the one I'm thinking of. Will break out the DVD's later at confirm.
Posted by: Adam 1.0 | 14 January 2009 at 15:15
Jesus, Tony.
It's the shit-shoveller with the arse out of his trousers and two bob in his pocket that makes Australia.
Every time there's a bit of trouble, there he is, standing like a bloody fool outside the recruiting office with his hand out for a rifle, while the rich boys are hanging back, or waiting for their father to get then a nice, safe job.
And while you're stuck over here with a lot of poor bastards from the other side, who are just as scared as you, shooting at you, the rich kids are back home, having a bit of a slum or a chop at yer bird.
Posted by: Big Ramifications | 16 January 2009 at 16:33
Odd Angry Biggy.
Posted by: Tony Tea | 16 January 2009 at 16:45
Well done. Especially if you didn't Google. No way I woulda picked that.
.
.
.
Although I don't have as much time to gob off as I used to, occassionally I'd post 100% 'Nam war movie quotes on political forum threads.
Just randomly - often not even fitting in with the discussion. But the strike rate was phenomenal.
95% chance some peacenik would get their panties in a bunch. They'd answer back and ya just hit 'em with another random quote. And another.
/small things
//small minds
Posted by: Big Ramifications | 16 January 2009 at 17:19
Also random quotes from A Few Good Men.
Not a 'Nam movie, but way too much fodder in there to ignore. I made it an honorary member of my 'Nam war movie quotes stable.
/GYOFB!
Posted by: Big Ramifications | 16 January 2009 at 17:27
A Few Good Men - the horror.
Posted by: Tony T. | 19 January 2009 at 19:11