John Godden Movies
- 1988
Damon Kennedy (Tamblyn Lord) is a rich kid who falls in with a trio of teen thugs in this violent exploitation film. When the trio brutally attacks Damon's girlfriend and her family, he seek vengeance against the thugs. The boys rob and kill a wealthy businessman and his family, putting Damon on the wrong side of the law. Damon later justifies his violence as good training that will help him in the ruthless world of business. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tamblyn Lord, Craig Pearce, (more)
- 1986
- R
The premise in this actioner (set in the 1990s, which probably seemed futuristic at this time) is that the world's economy has hit the skids and in Australia, street punks are looting cars for their spare parts. In order to control the mobs of roaming gangs, the Aussie government rounds them up and stashes them in prison camps. When Crabs (Ned Manning) takes his girlfriend Carmen (Natalie McCurry) out to a drive-in movie on a date he does not realize he has just pulled into one of these prisons. In no time at all his tires have been stolen and he sees that he's been trapped. The rest of the action (spliced with humor) involves Crabs fending for himself and trying to finds a way out. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ned Manning, Natalie McCurry, (more)
- 1985
Empty Beach brings Australian novelist Peter Corris' detective hero Cliff Hardy to the big screen. F/X star Bryan Brown plays Hardy, who this time around is hired to confirm or disprove the reported death of a millionaire. Hardy confers with journalist Brian Henneberry (Clifford Tate), who has some potentially explosive evidence -- and who, inevitably, is murdered before he can talk. The trail of evidence runs hot and cold, thanks to a gaggle of suspects and hangers-on who aren't revealing everything that they know. Co-starring in Empty Beach is Anna Maria Monticelli, aka Anna Jemison. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bryan Brown, Anna Maria Monticelli, (more)
- 1983
In this standard auto-racing-mixed-with-murder tale from Down Under, a gang steals and then strips cars to sell the parts for profit but meets their match when they literally run into Steve, a young racecar driver, and some tow-truck operators. From that point onward, mangled metal appears on the scene regularly, as Steve pursues his career as well as the people who caused his own father's disappearance. Steve has some help from his father's partner Tom (Max Cullen), and his two pit-stop mechanics (Bruce Spence and David Argue), but his love interest Ruth (Gia Carides) is only a token woman in a nearly all-male world. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Laurie, Gia Carides, (more)
This grim, violent Australian production is an artless mishmash incorporating elements of The Road Warrior, 1984 , and The Most Dangerous Game. The story is set in a dystopian future society where all "deviants" (i.e. anyone whose ideas don't jive with those of the government) are interred in nightmarish re-education camps where they are tortured, beaten, raped and put to death -- mostly on the whim of the psychotic commandant (Michael Craig). Periodically, a handful of particularly defiant inmates will be released unarmed to be hunted down (for the entertainment of the elite) in a free-for-all "Turkey Shoot" (the film's original Australian title). Among the latest batch of potential targets are strong-willed Steve Railsback and Olivia Hussey, who are confronted in the wilderness by the commandant and his goofy mutant cronies -- all of whom carry rocket-launchers, exploding arrows, and flamethrowers. This entire exercise is basically a prolonged excuse for a plethora of cheap, splattery makeup effects, made far more unpleasant by the blatant sadism of the proceedings. Unsuspecting viewers exposed to this film may wish to follow with My Brilliant Career to restore their faith in Australian cinema. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Railsback, Olivia Hussey, (more)
Based on a novel by Colin Theile, the Australian Blue Fin stars Hardy Kruger as a taciturn tuna boat captain. Kruger's son, played by Greg Rowe, can't do anything to please his demanding dad. Hoping to prove his worth, Rowe puts his life-and sometimes other lives-on the line. A big box-office hit in Australia, Blue Fin failed to make a dent in the US. Perhaps it would have fared better had it been released after the internationally popular Aussie film Man From Snowy River. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hardy Kruger, Greg Rowe, (more)
- 1954
While ethnic humor was pretty much avoided by Hollywood in the politically touchy 1950s, Great Britain continued to turn out comedies relying upon accents and gentle stereotypes for laughs. Make Me an Offer stars Peter Finch as a stylish antique dealer who covets a precious vase. Among the many people with whom Finch comes in contact is a Jewish antique specialist (Meier Tzelnicker) who offers the star (and the viewers) several amusing glimpses at the ins and outs of his trade. Based on a novel by Wolf Mankowitz, Make Me an Offer wasn't given much theatrical play in the US, though it showed up with some regularity on TV. In the 1960s, the film became a precious commodity in the rush by local television stations to load up on color product--even second-rate Eastmancolor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adrienne Corri, Rosalie Crutchley, (more)
