Colin Friels Movies
Bearded, Scots-born leading man Colin Friels has spent most of his professional career in Australia. A 1976 graduate of that country's National Institute of Dramatic Art, Friels rapidly found work in all branches of popular entertainment, but was particularly successful in such stage productions as Hamlet, Macbeth and The Man From Muckinpin. Entering films in 1983, Friels made his international mark as a cheeky misfit in Malcolm (1986), an assignment that won him the Australian Film Institute "Best Actor" award. Married to actress Judy Davis, Colin Friels has kept busy into the 1990s in films like Class Action (1991) and A Good Man in Africa (1994). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this hilarious, award-winning comedy, Malcolm (Colin Friels) is an innocent, naive mechanical genius with a distinct gap where sexual and social awareness normally reside. He first gets into trouble when he builds his version of a streetcar and then takes it on a joyride through Melbourne -- a definite no-no. That exploit costs him his job as a maintenance man for the streetcar company. Out of work, Malcolm is forced to take in two boarders who are actually a con man and his female companion. The con artist is intrigued by all of Malcolm's mechanical inventions, and cash registers are clicking at the back of his mind. It does not take him long to convince Malcolm to join them in robbing a bank -- which turns out to be even more adventurous than the streetcar ride through Melbourne. Director Nadia Tass and her husband, co-producer, scripter and cinematographer David Parker followed up with an enjoyable and funny Rikky and Pete. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colin Friels, John Hargreaves, (more)
- 1984
- PG
Director Igor Auzins and screenwriter Peter Schreck, best known for their work on the Australian film We of the Never Never, were reteamed on Coolangatta Gold. The story takes place on the Gold Coast of Queensland, where for many years a grueling athletic competition has been held. Participants in the "Coolangata Gold" are required to swim, run and surf-ski over a course of 26 miles. Still smarting over losing the contest in 1960, ageing athlete Joe Lucas (Nick Tait) forces his son Adam (Colin Friels) to participate in the "Gold." But though he's up to the challenge, Adam is more interested in charting his own course in life. The film's highlights include an exciting last-lap finale, and an extended guest appearance by real-life Coolangatta Gold champion Grant Kenny. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joss Mc William, Josephine Smulders, (more)
- 1983
- R
The Australian-made Buddies is essentially a Down Under gold rush western. Two friends in Queensland team up with a miner and his girl friend to search for diamonds. Their quest is threatened by a gang of slavering claim-jumpers. Colin Friels, Harold Hopkins, Dennis Miller and Kris McQuade (the girl) are the protagonists in this attractive location-filmed effort. The Australian film Buddies is sometimes confused with an unrelated U.S. produced AIDS-related drama of the same title. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colin Friels, Harold Hopkins, (more)
- 1983
- Add For the Term of His Natural Life to QueueAdd For the Term of His Natural Life to top of Queue
For the Term of His Natural Life, Australian novelist Marcus Clarke's epic tale of the hardships and deprivations of his native country in the 1830s, served as the basis for one of the most famous Australian films of the silent era. That was in 1927; 56 years later, Clarke's novel again went before the cameras, this time resulting in a three-part, six-hour TV miniseries. Colin Friels starred as Londoner Rufus Dawes, who thanks to treachery and deceit was arrested on a trumped-up charge and transported to a penal colony in Tasmania, while an impostor laid claim to his birthright. Eighteen years into his incarcaration, Rufus managed to escape, and was subsequently reunited with his sweet Sylvia (Susan Lyons), daughter of the colony's warden. Unfortunately, a happy ending was not in the cards for the hero and heroine. For the Term of His Natural Life aired over Australia's Nine Network in 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
Monkey Grip is a frank portrayal of a year in the life of a divorced mother (Noni Hazlehurst) living in Melbourne, trying to cope with her daughter and her own relationship with a drug addict while trying to get into the music business. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colin Friels, Alice Garner, (more)
