Jon Finlayson Movies
- 1991
Adapted from the book Garry O'Connor, the two-part Australian TV movie Darlings of the Gods tells the story of the benighted romance between stage and film stars Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. Anthony Higgins and Mel Martin look and sound so much like the very famous characters they're playing that the effect is somewhat eerie. This highly fictionalized account charts one year in the stormy Oliver-Leigh marriage. Also appearing are Jerome Ehlers as Peter Finch, Rhys McConnochie as Ralph Richardson, and Shane Briant as Cecil Beaton. Filmed in 1989, part one of Darlings of the Gods was first presented in the US over the A&E cable service on February 21, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anthony Higgins, Mel Martin, (more)
- 1990
A Picasso artwork and a counterfeit are searched for by a group of criminals joined by MTV personality Daddo. ~ Rovi
- 1984
The Australian Foreplay is a belated continuation of the "Alvin Purple" movie series of the 1970s. The hero is a feckless 18-year-old named Alvin Purple (Gerry Sont). He gets into all sorts of trouble because of his irresistibility to the opposite sex. Evidently, Foreplay was popular enough "down under" to compel distributors to retitle the 1974 series entry Alvin Purple Rides Again as Foreplay the Prequel. Unrated, but chock full of sexual situations and strong language, Foreplay made its American debut via cable television. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1984
Classical music DJ John Hargreaves neglects his wife Wendy Hughes, who responds by entering into an illicit romance. Upon finding out, Hargreaves leaves Hughes, but doesn't want to tell his parents; they'd never liked Hughes, and he isn't in the mood for a chorus of "I told you so"s. What is already painful for Hargreaves is amplified when his dying father, suspecting that something's wrong, lectures his son on the sanctity of marriage--even a bad one. Director Paul Cox used the Australian My First Wife as a kind of catharsis, to purge himself of ill-will concerning the bust-up of his own marriage. The film won three Australian academy awards, including one for the reluctantly revelatory Cox. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Hargreaves, Wendy Hughes, (more)
- 1984
In this sequel to the Australian smash hit comedy Alvin Purple (1973) and Alvin Rides Again (1974), the story centers on Alvin's 18-year old son, who just like his dad, attracts women like flies to honey, but is terrified of them. He is only comfortable with one woman, a young usherette at the local cinema. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gerry Sont, Lenita Psillakis, (more)
Effusive piano tuner Norman Kaye is on the less sunny side of forty and still unattached. Shy and self-effacing office worker Wendy Hughes is likewise getting on in years sans a lifetime companion. From the outset, we know that Kaye and Hughes will somehow come together. This, however, is the only predictable aspect of this quirky Australian comedy. Director Paul Cox co-wrote the ever-fresh screenplay of Lonely Hearts with John Clarke. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Wendy Hughes, Norman Kaye, (more)
This program captures a performance of the Magic Show, the Broadway musical that made a young man named Doug Henning famous, and reintroduced magic into the consciousness of America. Enormously successful, the blend of catchy songs and stunning illusions paved the way for the success of later magicians. ~ Rob Ferrier, Rovi
Dennis Hopper plays the title character in this true story of a 19th-century Australian gold-digger who is pressed into a life of crime. A six-year stint in jail doesn't provide reform, but does introduce him to an Aboriginal partner-in-crime (David Gulpilil). The duo then proceed to terrorize the province of New South Wales with no lack of violence. The TV version was retitled Mad Dog. ~ John Bush, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dennis Hopper, Jack Thompson, (more)
- 1974
Alvin Purple (Graeme Blundell), the lothario hero of the Australian low-budgeter Alvin Purple (1974), "rides again" in this slapped-together sequel. This time, Alvin has more to contend with than the requisite beautiful girls who find him irresistable. It seems that there's an American gangster around and about, "Balls" McGee (also played by Graeme Blundell), who's the spitting image of our hero. The predictability of the plotline is enlivened by the film's unending stream of vulgar sight gags and scatological dialogue. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
