Don Barker Movies

In this lighthearted Australian comedy-thriller, an Aborigine becomes a detective after his beloved VW Kombi van is stolen. Harry Dare, after a troubled youth during which his father mysteriously disappeared, is seen as a young married man watching as the wrecked old van is hauled from Adelaide Harbor. He acquires it and becomes so obsessed with restoring it that his wife leaves him. When it is finally finished, he drives it to work where it is promptly stolen. So begins his quest to find it. Harry is assisted by Jim, his estranged son. Together they end up getting entangled with a drug ring and with the people who were with Harry's father the night he so mysteriously disappeared. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In Sweet Talker, an amiable, charming ex-convict (Bryan Brown) arrives in a small Australian costal city with the intent of duping the populace into investing money in a phony excavation of a sunken ship, which is allegedly filled with gold. Unexpectedly, he falls in love with a young widow (Karen Allen) and becomes a father-figure to her young son. His new romance complicates his planned scam, and he can't decide whether to carry his plan through or stay with the woman. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

This is a political thriller about a woman who plans to become the first female prime minister of Australia, no matter what she has to do to get there. Diane's (Diane Craig) chief rival for the top spot is Barry Robbins (Gary Day) the (married) government minister with whom she is having an affair. Meanwhile, her best friend is a newspaperwoman who works for a paper owned by a ruthless media magnate (with the initials "R. M."). While Diane plots her course to the Prime Ministership, she also has plans to ruin the career of the media magnate. This, she thinks, would be proper revenge for causing the death of her father. Oddly, all these shenanigans take place in a city every Australian will recognize as Adelaide rather than in Canberra, which is that country's capital. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In modern-day (1985) Sydney, Australia, teen-aged Abigail discovers that she can communicate with at least one apparently dead person, who lived in that town back in 1873. As their communications continue, Abigail suddenly finds herself transported back in time. In this light drama, based on a novel by Ruth Park, she discovers a great deal more about herself than she would have done had she remained a discontented teen in modern times, and she contributes to the lives of those around her in meaningful ways. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Many cinematic versions of this story which first appeared in 1889 (authored by Rolf Boldrewood) have been produced, the first was an Australian film dating back to 1907, and this mid-'80s interpretation is also an Australian release. The focus is on Captain Starlight (Sam Neill) and his gang of outlaws who terrorize the countryside in the late 19th century. Dick and Jim Marsten (Steven Vidler and Christopher Cummins) leave home to join Captain Starlight's gang of brigands, following fast on their father's own footsteps. Opposing the Marstens and the rest of the gang is the determined Sir Frederick Morringer (Robert Grubb). Love interests, arguments, and episodic adventures fill the time until the inevitable final showdown with the law. Originally intended as a series on television, the sequences have been cut to fit into a continuous, 2 1/2-hour movie -- unfortunately deleting background on the main protagonists and their lovers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

All the Rivers Run is a four-part miniseries set in the Australia of the early 1900s. Sigrid Thornton stars as Philadelphia Gordon, an English artist who undertakes a tragic move to Australia with her family. During their voyage to the new continent, a shipwreck occurs, killing all but Philadelphia and one of the ship's crewmen. She is then shuttled off to live with her aunt and uncle on their farm, and uses her inheritance to fund a paddleship business with the crewman from the vessel who saved her life. Philadelphia's life is forever altered when she meets handsome frontier paddleboat skipper Brenton Edwards (the Australian actor John Waters -- not to be confused with the iconoclastic American director of the same name). Our heroine marries Edwards, but the union begets trouble when their paddlesteamer catches fire, destroying the craft altogether and forcing Brenton to take another job. Later, an accident that renders Brenton lame forces Philadelphia to work hard and support the couple; she then decides to rebuild the vessel while doubling up her efforts as a painter. Scripted by George Miller (the director of Man from Snowy River), All the Rivers Run was released in the U.S. over the HBO Cable service; it first aired January 15 through 18, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Australia was a powerhouse in world swimming competitions long before the U.S.'s Mark Spitz was a gleam in his father's eye. Foremost among these sports heroes was high-spirited Dawn Fraser, who won four gold medals at three Olympics (1956, '60 and '64). This clear-sighted biographical drama explores Fraser's life before, during and just after her competitive years. Fraser was forever getting herself into trouble, and she consistently rebelled against authority. Among the many dramatic events which marked her career, she was banned from Australian swimming for 10 years after stealing a flag during the Tokyo ('64) Olympics. The movie underscores her strong family ties and her attachment to Balmain, the working-class suburb of Sydney she grew up in, which makes her later career as a Member of Parliament for the area easier to understand. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi