Rebecca Gilling Movies
Lead actress Rebecca Gilling first appeared onscreen in the '80s. ~ All Movie Guide- 1990
The three-part British-Australian TV production The Paper Man could be described as the miniseries equivalent of Citizen Kane. John Bach headed the huge cast as Philip Cromwell, a canny Australian entrepreneur who through "ways of his own" became his country's most powerful media mogul. Any resemblance between Cromwell and the real-life Rupert Murdoch was, of course, purely coincidental. Telecast in 1990, The Paper Man was seen in the United Kingdom via Granada Television, and in Australia over that continent's ABC network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Bach, Oliver Tobias, (more)
- 1989
Dangerous Life originated as a six-hour HBO miniseries about the 1986 Philippine revolution. Gary Busey stars as an American TV journalist, on the scene when the tempestuous situation in Manila boils over. He puts his own life on the line to get the inside story of the overthrow of the Marcos regime. By its very nature, most of the film had to be shot everywhere but the Philippines. Since its original 1988 HBO run, A Dangerous Life has been edited down to a 162-minute TV movie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
While in Australia, The Saint encounters a Hong Kong syndicate obsessed to own an abandoned amusement park. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1988
This feature-length TV pilot stars Lee Majors as an American horse breeder who tries to make a go in New South Wales (shades of Man From Snowy River). Accompanying Majors "down under" is his son (William Hughes); father and son entrench themselves in the ranch of Majors' ex-wife (Rebecca Gilling), who lives with her younger sons. Just when it seems a reconciliation is possible, the woman is killed, forcing Majors to take over the ranch and work it with the help of his three sons and his former father-in-law (Martin Vaughan). Danger Down Under was telecast in March of 1988, where it lost out in a Monday-night ratings battle to Newhart. The film has since been syndicated under two alternate titles: Austral Downs and Harris Down Under. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Blue Lightning stars Sam Elliot as an American private eye operating in the Australian outback. Robert Culp is co-starred as a super-criminal in search of a valuable opal. Culp is forced to fight the ethically suspect Elliot for possession of the gem, while Rebecca Gilling vacillates as the heroine. Written by William P. Kelley, who won an Oscar for Witness but no awards for this, Blue Lightning has the distinct aroma of a busted TV pilot. It was first telecast May 7, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Filmed in Australia, the TV miniseries Return to Eden stars Rebecca Gilling as a wealthy young woman whose husband tries to murder her. Left for dead, she survives and assumes a new identity in order to exact vengeance on her treacherous hubby. This three-part, six-hour miniseries debuted in syndication beginning on Oct 27, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rebecca Gilling
- 1975
The Far East and the Land Down Under are about to have a head-on collision in this action drama. Fang (Jimmy Wang Yu) is an undercover detective from Hong Kong sent to Australia to crack open the operation of a Sydney mob boss named Wilton (George Lazenby). Fang puts his skills as a hang glider pilot and martial arts master to work as he sets up Wilton for a literally explosive finale. Samo Hung (aka Kim Po Hung), later to become a major martial arts star in his own right, appears in a supporting role and has an impressive battle with an Australian cop. The film also features the song "Sky High" by Jigsaw, which would go on to become a Top 40 hit. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jimmy Wang Yu, George Lazenby, (more)
An undercover cop named Stone (Ken Shorter) infiltrates an outlaw biker gang called the Grave Diggers, only to discover that he has more in common with the two-wheeled warriors than he previously though after a professional assassin attempts to set them up for a big fall. A prominent environmental activist has just been assassinated, and the police suspect that the Grave Diggers are withholding crucial information relating to the killing. Realizing that the Grave Diggers will never speak to regular policemen, the cops recruit Stone to ride with the gang and find out what they know. Accepted into the fold after saving the life of a grateful Grave Digger, Stone begins to respect the Undertaker (Sandy Harbutt) and his crew due to the fact that they operate by their own unique code of ethics. Later, as the Grave Diggers prepare to strike back against a rival motorcycle club, Stone suspects a set-up and attempts to convince them not to fall for it. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Stone was correct. When the violence finally erupts, no one is safe from the bloodshed that threatens to destroy the Grave Diggers, and consume Stone in the process. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2008
- R
- Add Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation to QueueAdd Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation to top of Queue
Filmmaker Mark Hartley explores Australia's hidden genre in this documentary that casually casts aside "official" film history to celebrate the demented genius of director Brian Trenchard-Smith, and the exciting wave of little-known but supremely entertaining films that entertained adventurous Australian filmgoers throughout the 1970s and '80s. Every film student worth his or her weight in celluloid has seen Breaker Morant and Picnic at Hanging Rock, but what about the lesser-known gems that didn't make the film-school textbooks? In his forward to Tim Lucas' book Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark, director Martin Scorsese states, "We have to keep resisting the idea of official film history, a stately procession of 'important works' that leaves some of the most exciting films and filmmakers tucked away in the shadows." In this documentary, director Hartley explores the films forgotten by "official film history" with the comprehensive eye of a true film buff. As a child watching such films as Snapshot and The Man from Hong Kong, Hartley immediately recognized how wildly disparate they were in tone and execution from the films that comprised Australia's traditional film library. Appearing like American genre films that just happened to be shot in Australia and cast with Australian actors, these so-called "Ozploitation" flicks flourished in the wake of relaxed censorship laws down under. Yet despite constant chatter about the "new wave" of Australian cinema, financially successful films like The Man from Hong Kong and Patrick that were popular both at home and abroad were never mentioned, sneeringly dismissed as "genre" films rather than Australian films. Perhaps in the wake of such successful Australian films as Wolf Creek and Undead -- and looking ahead to such films as the slasher shocker Storm Warning and the eagerly anticipated remake of Long Weekend -- curious filmgoers are finally prepared to discover what they've been missing all these years. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1990
- R
What happens when baby-boom rock 'n rollers, having had their fleeting moment of fame and notoriety, grow up, get other jobs, and have children of their own? For one thing, if this movie is to be believed, they envy their children's musical abilities and, when the youngsters get involved in their own version of rebel-music, they re-create the famed "generation gap" all over again. Johnny (played by Australian actor John Waters) was a member of a 1960s band called the Chosen Ones and enjoyed the famed trinity of that era: sex, drugs and rock 'n roll. Now the middle-aged man is bored with his "straight" job and wants to see if he can't start a revival of his band's popularity, but his wife wants his career change to be more practical and suggests that they invest in a restaurant. At the same time, Johnny's much more talented son Paul is making waves in his own band. One highlight of this film is the surprisingly skillful music-making of the performers, none of them music pros. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Waters, Rebecca Gilling, (more)
- 1985
- R
Based on a novel by Morris West, this is a classic American cowboy tale set in Australia's exotic outback, with the Aborigines pitted against a rancher, Lance Dillon (John Stanton) because he is on their land. After a renegade Aborigine, Mundaru (Tommy Lewis), kills one of Lance's Brahma bull's and a ranch hand who gets involved, Mundaru spears the fleeing Lance in the shoulder but does not catch up with him to finish the job. The story of Lance's survival is the focus of the film, along with a parallel story of his wife, Mary (Rebecca Gilling), temporarily falling for Lance's opposite, Sgt. Neil Adams (Ivar Kants). The characters of the two men, and Mundaru, are contrasted against a setting of conflict that escalates out of control. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Stanton, Rebecca Gilling, (more)
