TV review - "Michael Willesee's Australians: Ep 12 Errol Flynn" (1988) **

 Flynn's life has never been successfully dramatised. This is the attempt of writer John Lonie and director Michael Carson.

Who is the blonde young thing in 1950 Jamaica when we meet Errol (played by Terry Donovan) about to flash back? Is it meant to be Beverly Aadland? But she didn't come along until 1958.

It seems to be full of historical errors. Like he went to New Guinea several times, some on his own boat; there's no mention of his writing; the New Guinea adventures are compressed. Was this how he got cast in Bounty - by pretending to be someone else.

 Interesting cast - Chris Stollery plays young Errol, Nell Schofield from Puberty Blues is his fiancee Scott, Timothy Conigrave whose life was immortalised in Holding the Man is Flynn's friend Cooper-Smith, Janette Cronin is a friend of Scott, Rhys McConnochie is Scotty's dad.

The plot concerns Flynn's engagement to Scotty, him taking off to New Guinea and having adventures, then coming home and being cast in In the Wake of the Bounty.

You never get the sense that Flynn likes Scotty so it's hard to care about their relationship. What's the point of Flynn and his mate Cooper-Smith? He's just there for exposition, really. 

They avoid a lot of drama. We don't meet Flynn's parents (surely that would be more interesting). Or Hans Erben.  They do have Flynn arrested in New Guinea. That's something.

I enjoyed the New Guinea sequences, and liked seeing depictions of Charles and Elsa Chauvel (unbilled) and the recreation of In the Wake of the Bounty. Production values are very high.

Movie review - "The Riddle of the Stinson" (1988) ***1/2

 Very strong TV movie with an excellent script from Tony Morphett that bewilderingly got poor crits at the time. It's hard to dramatise these stories because there's a lot of dolphining along, as William Goldman put it - Jack Thompson trudging through the rainforest. How he keeps things interesting until then is a notable demonstration of skill. Morphett really brings to life the characters with lovely little moments: pilot Mark Lee asking out aviatrix Sue Lyon and being teased by co pilot Dennis Miller, the salesman spruiking books, the American theatre designer Len Kaserman, the shady Norman Kaye, the uptight Huw Williams, the young Richard Roxborough who just catches the flight.

I like little touches such as them asking what the cricket score was, the banter among the bushies. There is a wonderful harmonica score and some lovely acting. Terrific locations. Jackie Mackenzie makes an early appearance. Esben Storm is fun as a journo who accompanies the rescue expedition.

TV review - "Michael Willesee's Australians - No. 6 - Lola Montez" (1988) **1/2

 Not the Australian musical but it covers the same period - Lola's expedition to Australia. She's played by a perfectly cast Linda Cropper. Nicholas Eadie is her young American manger, Danny Adcock the editor she horsewhipped, Peter Whitford and Pat Thompson the couple who hire her.

Ian Gilmour directed, Tony Morphett wrote. Morphett is a very good writer but this isn't one of his best (although changes may have been made without his involvement). It's very bitsy. Scene-scene-scene. I think that's a little unavoidable with these plays maybe. It felt like it should be, well, a stage musical with Lola doing full numbers.

Maybe this needed to focus more on the Eadie-Cropper relationship - how they met, fell in love/lust/whatever, leading up to her death.

TV review - "Michael Willesee's Australians #5 - Lottie Lyell" (1988) ***

Ben Lewin directed and Ann Brooksbank wrote this one which looks at the famous combo of Lottie Lyell (Odile Le Clezio) and Raymond Longford (Robert Coleby). Michelle Fawdon, long time collaborator of Brooksbank's husband Bob Ellis, plays Mrs Longford, who won't give him a divorce. Judi Farr is Lottie's mum and Danny Adcock is Arthur Higgins. Bob Ellis is CJ Dennis. Jeff Truman is Arthur Tauchert. Peter Adams is someone called Mr Dutton.

Le Clezio looks quite like Lyell. Robert Coleby isn't quite like I imagined Longford, who can be glimpsed in some old Australian films, but he does have charisma and polish - you believe Lyell would be attracted to him and that he was an actor.

The story starts in 1918 but they show screenings of The Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole which was made a few years earlier... but I'm just so chuffed they did it, it doesn't matter. The guts of the plot concerns the production of The Sentimental Bloke. The making of that doesn't seem that interesting. I thought there were some troubles with the police about filming... that's not in here. It ends with the successful premiere of the film, not her death. Maybe that wasn't the right way to go. A lot of the dialogue and scenes are exposition-y in that biopic way.

Still, I love, love that this was made. Production values are high.

How would I have done it? Hmmm... maybe tried to condense the whole relationship. At 44 minutes that would've been tricky. But it could be done.

Maybe... 1) meeting 2) theatre and fall for each other 3) films 4) Longford turns director 5) Lotte stunts 6) Banning of Woman Suffers 7) Sentimental Bloke 8) form own company 9) Lotte director 10) Death

Movie review - "The Little Feller" (1982) **

 Ron McLean and Colin Eggleston combined to make this and Air Hawk for the Queensland Film Corporation - both produced, McLean wrote, Eggleston directed. It's better than Air Hawk not that that was hard. This feels very cheap and isn't particular well made but isn't without interest.

This has Steve Bisley in the lead as a man married to Lorna Lesley whose best friend Sally Conaberre becomes obsessed with Bisley. The three leads aren't bad.

It has some novelty being set in Brisbane - I assume it was filmed there, with glimpses of the river (a plot point has Lesley and Bisley living by the water at St Lucia and they think their kid has gone missing in the Brisbane River) - with touches like for instance a radio news broadcast talking about Minister Hinze and referring to Indooroopilly and Upper Mt Gravatt.

The story is a soapy standard - psycho obsessed with man, tries to wreck marriage. It's not terribly well plotted and Lesley is forced to act as a dill. It would've been better had say Bisley had sex with Conabere. But it has emotional power - I mean that's why these stories are soapy standards. The scenes where Lesley and Bisley think their son has drowned are moving.

The little feller, the kid (played by Steven McLean... presumably a relation of Ron), is required by story to hang off a balcony at the end and the kid looks genuinely terrified. It's stressful to watch.

The support cast includes Allen Bickford (as a cop) who was in a lot of TV plays of the 1960s.

Movie review - "Flirting" (1991) ****

 This suffered a little at the time in comparison with The Year My Voice Broke but has developed its own reputation and cult following. It's more positive, less harrowing, more warm... though boarding school is clearly still horrible.

John Duigan's sense of observation is as strong as ever. This is full of recognisable scenes and moments: the dopey idiot with braces (Kiri Paramore is perfect as a true Australian type), the chubby kid with boobs talking about girl breasts, the dopey school captain hero who is dull as dishwater talking about his grazier father being "a man for all seasons", the banter, the depiction of racism, the sadism of Marshall Napier, the amiable ignorance of Jeff Truman, the bullying "Backa" Burke, the awkward chat between Newton's and Taylor's parents.

Nicole Kidman is a little too old for her part not helped by the wig (and her dimension basically means she wants it). It's fun to see Naomi Watts and Kym Wilson as her mates though neither has much to do or play. Bartholomew Roberts is great as Noah Taylor's pompous friend, another familiar type.

Thandie Newton and Noah Taylor are superb in their roles - it does make a difference knowing that Newton and Duigan had an affair.

But it's a lovely romantic film full of excellent moments.

Movie review - "The Year My Voice Broke" (1987) ****

 While Kennedy Miller TV was super collaborative, the features division was more auteur driven. This came from John Duigan, who had just made Vietnam.

Some of this is just so spot on, achingly so - the pack of kids throwing Leone Carmen into the water, Ben Mendhelson almost drowning Carmen, the boorish bullies (including a young Rob Carleton) who read out Taylor's poetry and thump him at school, Harold Hopkins giving a speech to the football team as they eat oranges at half time, the blokes always at the pub heckling away.

Few films captured unrequited love as well - helped immeasurably by the casting. Noah Taylor is insecure, small, rat faced (sorry but it is), tiny... it's clear why he's besotted with Leone Carmen, blonde and gorgeous, and why she's keen on Ben Mendelsohn, the swaggering cocky guy with the ridiculous laugh. All three are very Australian, familiar types.

Some of it is of its time - Taylor looking at Carmen's panties for instance. The one clunky scene was when Taylor walked past his parnts room and heard them arguing about Carmen's mother.

I remember not liking this when I saw it as a teenager. Then I saw it again in my late twenties and thought it was the best movie ever. Years later it impresses but I don't have the same emotional reaction. I recognise this is all personal.