John Meillon Movies
Veteran Australian character actor John Meillon is best remembered for playing Paul Hogan's partner in Crocodile Dundee (1988) and its sequel, but his film career began in 1959 when he played a sailor in Stanley Kubrick's On the Beach. Meillon made his acting debut at age 11 on the radio and the year after first performed on-stage. He spent the early '60s in Britain where he appeared in such films as The Longest Day (1962), but returned to Australia mid-decade. He gained national fame when he starred in the popular television series My Name's McGooley, What's Yours? Meillon spent the rest of his career working in television and feature films. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Although there'd been "doomsday dramas" before it, Stanley Kramer's On the Beach was considered the first "important" entry in this genre when originally released in 1959. Based on the novel by Nevil Shute, the film is set in the future (1964) when virtually all life on earth has been exterminated by the radioactive residue of a nuclear holocaust. Only Australia has been spared, but it's only a matter of time before everyone Down Under also succumbs to radiation poisoning. With only a short time left on earth, the Australian population reacts in different ways: some go on a nonstop binge of revelry, while others eagerly consume the suicide pills being issued by the government. When the possibility arises that rains have washed the atmosphere clean in the Northern hemisphere, a submarine commander (Gregory Peck) and his men head to San Diego, where faint radio signals have been emanating. The movie's all-star cast includes: Peck as the stalwart sub captain, Ava Gardner as his emotionally disturbed lover, Fred Astaire as a guilt-wracked nuclear scientist, and Anthony Perkins and Donna Anderson as the "just starting out in life" married couple. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, (more)
Director Fred Zinnemann was riding a crest in the '50s with movies like High Noon, From Here to Eternity, Oklahoma, and his success continues in this western-style drama set in Australia in the 1920s. Ida Carmody (Deborah Kerr) is married to Paddy (Robert Mitchum), a sheep drover whose nomadic existence makes him blissfully content. Neither Ida nor their son Sean share his love for roaming, in fact, Ida convinces her husband to take on a job as a sheep-shearer so they can finally have enough to get a mortgage on a farm. At first Paddy agrees but obviously does not know his own mind because in no time at all, he rebels -- though that is not the end of it. Peter Ustinov is also featured as Vanneker, a bachelor who comes to stay with the family, and Glynis Johns plays a hotelkeeper out to change Vanneker's non-marital status. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum, (more)
- 1961
Able-bodied seaman Albert Tufnell (John Meillon) plans to marry Shirley Hornett (Vera Day), and the ceremony is about to take place -- when a telegram arrives from an officer aboard his ship, advising that marriage is impossible for Tufnell at that moment. Shirley's battle-ax of a mother (Marjorie Rhodes) doesn't know the facts behind the telegram but assumes the worst, and won't even discuss what to do about the wedding, even as she tries to live down the humiliation of a ceremony stopped midway through. Albert and his best friend, Carnoustie Bligh (Graham Stark), try to sort it all out, but even the arrival of an officer from their ship (Dennis Price) with an explanation only makes matters more complicated. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- 1961
In this mystery, a Scotland Yard agent must break up a ring of jewel thieves. He goes undercover and successfully infiltrates the gang, but trouble begins when he finds himself falling for one of the late gang members' widows, and she learns his real identity. She threatens to expose him until he decides to quit the Yard and become a real criminal. Fortunately, Fate intervenes, and he accidentally leads the gang to the waiting police. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Sylvester, Mai Zetterling, (more)
- 1961
The title is derived from the lyrics of a popular wartime ballad Bless 'Em All. This is, indeed, a war picture, set in Malaya. The British troops encamped therein believe they've gotten a break when they capture a Japanese scout (Kenji Takaki)--but it's all part of an enemy trap. The rest of the film concentrates on a battle of wills rather than bullets, though a few spurts of action keep the war-film aficionados happy. Played against the larger tapestry of the world conflict are the fluctuating tensions among the British soldiers themselves. Adapted from a play by Willis Hall, The Long and the Short and the Tall was released as both The Long the Short and the Tall (big whoop) and Jungle Fighters in the United States. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Laurence Harvey, (more)
- 1961
Filmed in England, this final episode of One Step Beyond is set in 1883--August 25, 1883, to be exact. While sitting at his desk in Boston, newspaperman Henry Soames thinks that he hears four explosions. Suddenly going into a trance, Soames turns out a story about the volcano island of Krakatoa--one day before its famous eruption, and 15,000 miles from where the event will take place. If one can believe the rest of this story, one will accept the neat twist at the climax. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
In this British crime drama, the sister of a suicide victim begins to question the real reason for her sibling's death after she learns that 7,000 pounds were removed from her bank account just prior to her death. She asks her sister's banker, but he claims to know nothing. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1962
A British officer must save the Barbary apes on Gibralter at all costs in this WW II farce. He does this, because it is believed that if the apes leave the rock, Britain will fall. The trouble begins when the only male ape dies. To save the rest, the officer and his side-kick sneak in to Zurich and steal an ape from a German circus. This results in a promotion for the officer, and now he and his partner are assigned to protect the ravens in the Tower of London. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1962
In this suspenseful WW II thriller, the hard-bitten commander of a British battleship stationed in Alexandria Harbor early in the war must force two captured Italian frogmen to tell him whether or not they planted time-bombs upon the ship's hull. The captives are uncooperative and the captain has them wait with the crew for the ship to explode. The minutes tick by and the increasingly nervous British sailors begin questioning their leader's judgment. Eventually, one of the hostages cracks and tells them that there is one mine, but he refuses to divulge its location or the time of detonation. The captain evacuates the ship and leaves the prisoners behind. He remains aboard and surreptitiously eavesdrops upon them. When he learns the mine's location, he attempts to have the bomb removed. Unfortunately he is too late and the ship is badly damaged. Desiring to fool the Italian reconnaissance planes he knows will come, the captain puts most of his crew on deck to make the Italian fliers think their mission failed. Meanwhile other crewmen frantically try to repair the ruined hull below deck. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Ettore Manni, (more)
The Longest Day is a mammoth, all-star re-creation of the D-Day invasion, personally orchestrated by Darryl F. Zanuck. Whenever possible, the original locations were utilized, and an all-star international cast impersonates the people involved, from high-ranking officials to ordinary GIs. Each actor speaks in his or her native language with subtitles translating for the benefit of the audience (alternate "takes" were made of each scene with the foreign actors speaking English, but these were seen only during the first network telecast of the film in 1972). The stars are listed alphabetically, with the exception of John Wayne, who as Lt. Colonel Vandervoort gets separate billing. Others in the huge cast include Eddie Albert, Jean-Louis Barrault, Richard Burton, Red Buttons, Sean Connery, Henry Fonda, Gert Frobe, Curt Jurgens, Peter Lawford, Robert Mitchum, Kenneth More, Edmond O'Brien, Robert Ryan, Jean Servais, Rod Steiger and Robert Wagner. Paul Anka, who wrote the film's title song, shows up as an Army private. Scenes include the Allies parachuting into Ste. Mere Englise, where the paratroopers were mowed down by German bullets; a real-life sequence wherein the German and Allied troops unwittingly march side by side in the dark of night; and a spectacular three-minute overhead shot of the troops fighting and dying in the streets of Quistreham. The last major black-and-white road-show attraction, The Longest Day made millions, enough to recoup some of the cost of 20th Century Fox's concurrently produced Cleopatra. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, (more)
Herman Melville's short novel Billy Budd is adapted for the screen, distinguished by Robert Krasker's expressive black-and-white cinematography and Peter Ustinov's crisp direction. Terence Stamp is Billy Budd, a seaman forced to serve in the British Navy during the war between England and France in 1797. Billy looks upon all men as inherently good and, although his crewmates are initially skeptical about this sailor who appears too good to be true, he proves his mettle by his skills as a sailor and gains the respect of the crew -- all except for the ship's reviled master-at-arms John Claggert (Robert Ryan), who attempts to poison Billy's reputation by accusing him of instigating a mutiny. When the ship's captain, Edward Vere (Peter Ustinov), questions Billy about the charges, Billy reacts by striking Claggert, who falls over and dies from a blow on the head. A court-martial is called and Vere has to determine whether Billy should be hanged or acquitted. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Ryan, Peter Ustinov, (more)
- 1963
Following the same storyline as the more successful Asphalt Jungle but set in Cairo, this crime caper about a jewel heist is directed by Wolf Rilla. The focus of attention is Tutankhamen's jewels on display in the Cairo National Museum -- quite a topical topic since the treasures from King Tut's tomb were making the rounds of U.S. exhibition sites around the time this film was released. The lecherous Major Pickering (George Sanders) has been cooling his heels in a German prison, waiting to get out so he can go to Cairo and set the wheels of his big King Tut heist into motion. The jewels are on display, and he is certain he can get his hands on them. To that end he recruits Willy Roberts, Nicodemos, Al Hassan, and Kamel Kuchuk -- stereotypical characters whose talents are supposed to contribute to the success of the robbery. The Major soon discovers that even if a robbery is successful, getting hot property out of a country can be quite another ball game. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Sanders, Richard Johnson, (more)
- 1963
Based upon a novel by Shelley Smith, The Running Man opens at the memorial service for Rex Black (Laurence Harvey), the owner of a small air transport company who is believed to have drowned in a recent glider accident. It soon turns out, however, that Black is very much alive; he faked his death as a means of getting back at the insurance company who denied an earlier claim because he was one day late in making his payment. He has enlisted the cooperation of his wife Stella (Lee Remick) in this scheme. While she waits for the insurance company to approve the claim, he disguises himself, assumes a new identity (that of Charles Erskine, a shoe salesman) and goes to wait for Stella in Spain. Once there, he meets drunken Australian millionaire Jim Jerome in a bar; when Jerome inadvertently leaves his passport at the bar, Rex confiscates it and hatches a new plan to collect on Jerome's insurance as well. In the meantime, Stella has met with insurance representative Stephen Maddox (Alan Bates), who eventually approves her claim. She journeys to Spain, but finds Rex a changed man, and isn't comfortable with either his new personality or his latest scheme. To make matters worse, Maddox shows up. Is it a coincidence or is he suspicious? The rest of the film hinges on the answer to this question, as well as what Maddox's plans are in either case. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurence Harvey, Lee Remick, (more)
Richard Attenborough stars as a stalwart sergeant-major, stationed in British colony in Africa. When the colony declares its independence, Attenborough is assigned to keep the peace during the governmental transition. Trouble begins when an insurgent African officer (Errol John) attempts to overthrow the new, British-approved rulers. As the political situation becomes more and complex, Attenborough finds that his deeply entrenched values and beliefs are no longer valid. Based on a novel by Robert Holles, Guns at Batasi is what used to be called a "thinking man's adventure film." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Attenborough, Jack Hawkins, (more)
Cliff Robertson and George Chakiris star in this dumbed-down version of The Guns of Navarone. During World War II, the story concerns a Scandinavian underground leader, Erik Bergman (George Chakiris), who reports to British authorities the location of a German V2 fuel plant. As is the case in most World War II action films, the plant is in an impregnable location -- beneath an overhanging cliff at the end of a highly defended fjord. The only way the British can hope to destroy the plant is by collapsing the cliff on top of it. In order to do that, light Mosquito aircraft must be utilized. This is the job assigned to Wing Commander Roy Grant's (Cliff Robertson) 633 Squadron. In order to assist Grant in his air attack, Bergman attempts a simultaneous ground attack, but the ground attack fails, and Bergman is captured by the Germans. When he is tortured in their efforts to uncover the RAF plans, Bergman may not be able to withhold the top-secret information. Howard Koch and James Clavell adapted their screenplay from Frederick E. Smith's novel, reportedly based on a true story. Though Koch and Clavell are each known for their excellent writing, Squadron 633 is notable mostly for its adept cinematography from the co-operative effort of John Wilcox and Edward Scaife. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cliff Robertson, George Chakiris, (more)
- 1965
The British Dead Man's Chest comes to us from Merton Park Productions, the folks responsible for the long-running "Edgar Wallace" B-series. The story bears a striking resemblance to Fritz Lang's 1956 thriller Beyond Reasonable Doubt. To prove the fallability of circumstantial evidence, reporter John Thaw fakes the murder of a colleague. He then plants all the clues to point to himself. So just guess who really dies, leaving Thaw in the lurch? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Based on a popular Australian novel, this comedy was produced Down Under in 1966. Nino Culotta Walter Chiari is an Italian journalist who is lured by his brother into coming to Australia to work for his paper there. But when Nino arrives in Sidney, he finds out that there is no paper; his brother has taken off with the investors' cash. Left in the lurch was his brother's business partner, Kay Kelly (Clare Dunne). Nino vows to pay off his brother's debt and gets a job as a bricklayer to do so. He also tries to woo Kay, but he is repeatedly rebuffed, with humorous results. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Chiari, Clare Dunne, (more)
The contrast between modern, urban civilization and life in the natural world lies at the heart of Nicolas Roeg's visually dazzling drama Walkabout. In broad outline, the plot might resemble a standard fish-out-of-water tale: two city children become stranded in the Australian outback, and struggle to find their way back to civilization with the help of a friendly aborigine boy. But Roeg and screenwriter Edward Bond are concerned with far more than the average wilderness drama, as a shocking act of violence near the story's beginning makes clear. This is particularly true in regards to the relationship between the white children and the aborigine boy, who ultimately develops a troubled romantic attraction towards the older sister. Obviously intended as a statement on the exploitation of the natural world and native cultures by European civilization, the film nevertheless maintains an evocative vagueness that usually -- but not always -- favors poetry over didacticism. Most importantly, the film's justifiably acclaimed cinematography is likely to sway even those who find fault with the film's narrative and message. The shift between the sterile city images and the truly stunning, beautifully composed Australian landscapes provide the film's single best argument, making the film a vivid and convincing experience. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jenny Agutter, Lucien John, (more)
- 1971
Outback was based on Kenneth Cook's novel Wake in Fright. Gary Bond plays a naive young Australian teacher who is tragically unprepared for his new position in the outback. The community he has been sent to is populated almost exclusively by amoral, primitive toughs, more interested in slaughtering kangaroos and sexual carousing than in such niceties as education or propriety. The methodical shattering of Bond's dearly held values plunge the young teacher deeper into degeneracy. Outback was so graphic in its original Australian version that 15 minutes had to be cut before American distributor Group W would consider touching it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
British "Goon Show" stalwart Harry Secombe is afforded top billing in the Australian comedy Sunstruck. Secombe plays a teacher who heads Down Under after an unsuccessful romance. Yearning for the good old days when he was a choral director in his British home town, Secombe organizes his Aussie students into a children's choir. Along the way, Secombe finds lasting happiness with down-to-earth local woman Maggie Fitzgibbon. Nothing special here, but it's pleasant to see the bombastic Harry Secombe in a gentler characterization. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
- PG
Gregory Peck produced this coming-of-age adventure, richly photographed by Sven Nykvist. Based on a true story, the film documents the five-year journey of Robin Lee Graham (Joseph Bottoms), a 16-year-old boy who sets out in a 23-foot sloop, determined to be the youngest person to sail around the world. As he travels around the globe, he undergoes a string of new experiences while growing from a child to an adult. Along the way, he falls in love with an inspiring woman, Patti Ratteree (Deborah Raffin), who follows him throughout his journeys, meeting him at ports of call in Fiji, Australia, South Africa, Panama, and the Galapagos Islands. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joseph Bottoms, Deborah Raffin, (more)
- 1974
- R
This first effort from acclaimed writer/director Peter Weir is set in the secluded rural town of Paris, Australia, where the chief source of income is provided by the orchestration of automobile accidents -- which frequently claim the lives of passing tourists, though those who survive are usually subjected to bizarre brain experiments by a loony local surgeon. One such unfortunate survivor is young Arthur, who remains in Paris after his recovery to work in the hospital, unaware (at first) of the circumstances which brought him there. Although there are many amusingly weird moments, this black comedy is a bit too deadpan for its own good and may be too talky and meandering for horror fans. A condensed version was released in the U.S. under the title The Cars That Eat People. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Terry Camilleri, John Meillon, (more)
This Aussie/Western variation on the Psycho formula is set in the tiny Outback town of Gippsland in the 1890s, where travelers visiting a remote inn are being bumped off by a mysterious interloper. After a perfectly dreary hour or so, wily lawman Alex Cord solves the mystery that somehow managed to befuddle the rest of the cast -- it seems crackpot innkeeper Dame Judith Anderson and her husband have never quite recovered from the trauma of seeing their children killed by escaped convicts who once invaded their home, and they have been busily hacking up their guests ever since. The setting provides for some pleasant location photography and gives the film a unique look and feel, but the story is completely bogged down by dull pacing and lackluster performances -- except for Anderson, who is always a treat to watch, even when she's given little to work with. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1975
- PG
In this lively sports drama, Jeff Rayburn has no direction in his life since he competed in the Olympic games as a swimmer. The American had been simply bumming around Australia until he teamed up with biker Dave Ferguson and began sidecar racing. When not involved in racing, the two tussle for the love of the wealthy heiress Lynn Carson. While Ferguson is a nice fellow, he is notorious for taking risks that endanger the lives of his partners. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Murphy, Wendy Hughes, (more)
