John D. Lamond Movies

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

A limp storyline refuses to go taut throughout this sci-fi adventure that patches together bits and pieces from its famous, multi-genre predecessors (the Indiana Jones series, The Deer Hunter, The Philadelphia Experiment, and others). The premise has John Hargreaves as Harris fly his plane through a time warp and land on Easter Island. Harris soon encounters the evil "Savage" (Max Phipps) who is looking for a magic stone -- left by spacemen -- that was used to erect the Aku-Aku giant heads and the enormous boulders of Stonehenge. "Savage" does not want to build a monument, the stone also gives its owner the power to destroy. Heroine Melanie Mitchell (Meredith Phillips) more or less stands around, as Harris and "Savage" duke it out. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This is a smarmy, leering sex-comedy from director John D. Lamond, who had done much better with 1978's erotic Felicity. Graeme Blundell, star of the similarly raunchy Alvin Purple, plays a nerd named Martin who sneezes whenever a woman turns him on, causing impotence. After an unsuccessful tryst with the boss's wife, Martin is sent to Tahiti on Banana Airlines. At this point, hilarity is supposed to ensue. It doesn't. Instead, what follows is the sort of drooling idiocy that would make even Benny Hill blush, as "randy" stewardesses "drop their knickers" while the offscreen narrator engages in supposedly saucy commentary of the "wink-wink, nudge-nudge" variety. There's body-painting, a stud pilot (Robin Stewart) who is sleeping with two stewardesses, and many dumb penis jokes. Lamond returned to the genre with A Slice of Life (1982), then made a failed mainstream film, Breakfast in Paris (1982), before wisely abstaining from directing for the next 10 years. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

This softcore sex romp borrows heavily from Emmanuelle but still has plenty to offer in other areas. Fans of the genre are likely to enjoy Felicity because it takes a lighthearted, romantic approach to erotica that makes it fun to watch even when it is marking time between sex scenes. Glory Annen makes an attractive yet natural-looking starlet, and her story takes the form of an engaging travelogue-style narrative that explores every opportunity to indulge in erotic goings-on. However, the best thing about Felicity is the thorough approach it takes in delivering the sexy goods; the filmmakers wisely set the action in Hong Kong to give the film an exotic flair, and director John Lamond gives the film a glossy look that does an effective job of expressing its overheated mood in visual terms. It's also the rare film in this genre in which the main character learns something about love while pursuing sex, an aspect that further enhances its appeal. In short, Felicity is one of the better examples of the sexploitation genre and an entertaining trip back to the heyday of the sexual revolution. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide

This silly mondo-style documentary is Australia's answer to Mondo Freudo, but as it was made a full decade later, this one seems even more hopelessly dated. Segments include burlesque striptease, body-painting, snake-eating, mud-wrestling, a gay wedding, and Satanism, but the treatment is entirely too tame to be interesting as either exploitation or documentary. Director John D. Lamond returned with a sexier attempt at the same genre, The ABCs of Love and Sex, Australian Style, two years later. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide