Pat Evison Movies
- 1992
- PG
A grandfather joins the undead and delights his grandson with his many new talents in this Australian comedy set in New Zealand. Fortunately, those talents do not include bloodsucking. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1990
In this children's drama, Steven Wilson (Andrew Shephard) has been sent from his country home to stay with his grandmother Pearl (Pat Evison) in Melbourne. She earns her keep working in the boxoffice of a theater, and Steven spends most of his time with her at the theater. For the most part, he has delightful encounters with the actors and theater workers, but the theater owner is a charmless and mean old fellow who only very reluctantly allows him on the premises. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pat Evison, Max Phipps, (more)
- 1986
Laurel and Emma are sisters, two young women who are, for a change, extremely happy exactly where they are, which is in a college town in the Blue Mountains of Australia. Their happiness is rudely ended when their mother, Anna, decides to relocate them to the spare and (to the girls) grossly uninteresting bush country of Australia. Their new school is extremely backwards and boring, and what is worse, their mother seems to have grown quite erratic, given to emotional fits and bouts of drinking. They lack the experience and imagination, perhaps, to understand the toll World War II is taking on her. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Remick, Miranda Otto, (more)
- 1985
Broaching an issue that would lead to considerable litigation and controversy over the years, first-time director Bill Bennett looks at the experience of one Australian Vietnam vet as he discovers he has leukemia and traces the probable cause to the defoliant known as Agent Orange (for the color of the containers) used by the Americans in the Vietnam war. When Col. Turner (Chris Haywood and his wife (Jennifer Cluff) and children move into a neighborhood of other veterans, they begin to notice that there is an unusual amount of sickness among the men. Then the colonel himself starts seeing rashes and bruises on his skin. He goes to a doctor and is diagnosed with leukemia. Convinced that this illness, like the others in the neighborhood, was caused by his exposure to Agent Orange, Turner begins a lawsuit to claim compensation. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Haywood, Jennifer Cluff, (more)
- 1984
When a strange child turns up on a beach, he is taken in by Luisa (Pat Evison), one of the local villagers. Given the name Jonasi (Telo Malese), the boy is referred to as "the silent one" by the locals when it is discovered that he seems to be unable to hear or speak. Feared and shunned by the villagers, Jonasi spends his days on the beach, where he mysteriously appeared, playing with an albino sea turtle. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Telo Malese, Pat Evison, (more)
- 1982
Fresh out of medical school, Paul Armstrong (Simon Burke) has landed a job at an Australian urban venereal and sexual disease clinic. While he understands the medical stuff he learned in school pretty well, he is stuffy and a bit of a prude. Most of all, he hasn't yet adjusted to the idea that homosexuals are real human beings. However, in this fast-paced yet gentle comedy, which focuses on the intern's clinical encounters, he swiftly learns the ropes and changes his tune on a lot of issues, as he encounters women and men with all sorts of social and sexual problems. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Haywood, Simon Burke, (more)
Star Struck is a light, frothy pop-culture musical comedy from Australia, where Jackie (Jo Kennedy) dreams of becoming a singing star and her cousin Angus (Ross O'Donovan) thinks he has what it takes to be a successful manager. After a spot at the hip club in town (wearing a kangaroo suit) fails to win Jackie any paying gigs, Angus enters her in a major talent competition to be held on New Year's Eve. If Jackie wins, her career is assured, and the $25,000 grand prize will help keep her parents' cafe open. But can Jackie stand the pressure? Will the band get it together in time? And will Angus ever get a girl? Star Struck plays like a mid-1980s "New Wave" variation on an old "Let's Put On A Show!" teenage musical, with tunes by Phil Judd and Tim Finn of the popular New Zealand band Split Enz. Keep your eyes peeled for a bit part played by Geoffrey Rush, 14 years before he would win an Oscar for his work in Shine. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jo Kennedy, Ross O'Donovan, (more)
- 1980
- PG
Despite its title, The Earthling is not a science fiction opus. Instead, it's a low-key character study about a doomed man who finds a new lease on life by helping another lost soul. Suffering from terminal cancer, Patrick Foley (William Holden) returns to his native Australia. Intending to live out his last few months alone, Foley comes out of his shell long enough to teach impressionable young orphan Shawn Daley (Ricky Schroder) a few Bush Country survival skills. Ironically, director Peter Collinson was himself a cancer victim, who died shortly after the film's completion. The Earthling works best on a kiddie-matinee level, with Holden's performance and the gorgeous photography its chief assets. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Holden, Rick Schroder, (more)
Based on a novel by Colleen McCullough (The Thorn Birds), this "May-December romance" stars Piper Laurie as Mary Horton, a lonely middle-aged American career woman who hires a handsome, mildly retarded young handyman named Tim (played by 22-year-old Mel Gibson in his third screen role). At first keeping her distance, Mary is drawn closer to Tim as the days pass. When Tim's mother dies, Mary becomes his surrogate mother, a relationship that deepens into romantic love. Tim's older sister Dawn (Deborah Kennedy) resents Mary's "intrusion" into their lives, but Tim's dad Ron (Alwyn Kurts) blesses the relationship, realizing that it is beneficial to both parties. Director Michael Pate avoids all opportunities to cheapen or sensationalize the material; while Tim and Mary do end up in bed, it is a sweet moment, not a prurient one. Tim was produced for Australian television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Piper Laurie, Mel Gibson, (more)
- 1976
The "Caddie" in this Australian thriller is not of the golfing variety, but is instead the nicknamed bestowed upon the heroine. Helen Morse plays a barmaid in 1930s Sydney whose husband walks out on her. Left with two kids to raise by herself, Helen struggles to make ends meet without losing her self-respect. Her favorite customer is Takis Emmanuel, who likens Helen to an expensive Cadillac (or "Caddie"). Romance blossoms between the two lost souls. Also appearing in Caddie is ubiquitous Aussie character actor Jack Thompson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Morse, Takis Emmanuel, (more)
