Metro Australia — January 2018

http://www.metromagazine.com.au | © ATOM | Metro Magazine 195• 113

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1967). But Taylor’s Palmer in3GD /HBSTQD 2GNV ,@Mis also an
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his new motorised transport and sound equipment are submerged
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his rivals and look towards new opportunities. Meanwhile, Pym
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distributors who eked out a living and were in it for the long haul.
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‘warily’ and demonstrate ‘an Australian resistance to change and
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which ‘seems to inhere in their gently descriptive and evocative
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and the audience asks for a song instead. This scene invokes the
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moment when the movie being screened goes out of sync and
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But3GD /HBSTQD 2GNV ,@Mdeploys an extravagant sleight
of hand to manage this conceit and emphasise its affection for
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1@MFKD 1HUDQ, and its anachronistic appearance here, straight after
a scene that shows a poster promoting3GD )@YY 2HMFDQ(Alan
Crosland, 1927) pasted to the trunk of a tree, reveals a surpris
ing and uncharacteristic lack of care in terms of historical verac
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what was lost with the coming of sound and the failure of many
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and aesthetic change. The irony of this choice is further revealed
when one looks more closely at1@MFKD 1HUDQ’s production history.
Badger was a superannuated American director nearing the end of
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the 1970s revival, one that promotes cultural nationalism yet looks
towards overseas models and markets as key inspirations.

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the author ofA Companion to Robert Altman6HKDX 
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edited collection and monograph forthcoming exploring the connec-
tions between Australian and international cinemas. m

Select bibliography

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West Melbourne, 1977.

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'DYLG :KLWH o7KH)LOP0DNHUVp,DMR5NFTD, March–April 1977,

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Endnotes

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Australian Women’s Weekly  1RYHPEHU  $QG\ )RZOHU
o6XSHUVWDU 5RG 7HDPV 8S ZLWK +LV 2OG 0DWH -RKQpThe Daily Mirror,
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'LDPRQG 5RGpTV Times  'HFHPEHU 
(^2) David Stratton,The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival$QJXV
5REHUWVRQ 6\GQH\  S 
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of series such asThe Dismissal,Return to EdenandThe Dirtwater
Dynasty DV ZHOO DV D QXPEHU RI 79 PRYLHV +LV RQO\ VXEVHTXHQW WKH-
atrical feature,Father  LV D SRZHUIXO DFFRXQW RI WKHWUDXPDWLF
OHJDF\ RI 1D]L ZDU FULPHV VWDUULQJ 0D[ YRQ 6\GRZ
(^4) -RDQ /RQJ o6XIIHULQJ LQ 6LOHQFHpNation Review}-XQH
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.UDPHU  The Sundowners)UHG =LQQHPDQQ  %LOO\ %XGG
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LQJ UROH LQ WKH 79 FRPHG\ VHULHVMy Name’s McGooley, What’s Yours?.
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Million-dollar Movie 0DQGDULQ /RQGRQ  S 
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Australian Film, 1900–1977 UHY HGQ2[IRUG8QLYHUVLW\3UHVV
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