Metro Australia — January 2018

(WallPaper) #1
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
in the local lake, Palmer is all too quick to sell off his interests to
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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2GNV ,@M, Pym and Freddie return to their past triumphs – an
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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
the audience becomes restless is reminiscent of familiar situations
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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 complex interplay that exists between Australian and interna
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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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/\OH 3HQQ3GD /HBSTQD 2GNV ,@MHG0DUWLQ/RQJ7KRPDV1HOVRQ
West Melbourne, 1977.
$QGUHZ 3LNH 5RVV &RRSHU TRSQ@KH@M %HKL m, rev. edn,
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6WHSKHQ 9DJJ1NC 3@XKNQ M TRRHD HM 'NKKXVNNC, BearManor
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'DYLG :KLWH o7KH)LOP0DNHUVp,DMR5NFTD, March–April 1977,
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Endnotes

(^1) 6HH IRU H[DPSOH 6XVLH (LVHQKXWK o5HXQLRQ RI WKH 7KUHH :LOG 0HQp
Australian Women’s Weekly  1RYHPEHU  $QG\ )RZOHU
o6XSHUVWDU 5RG 7HDPV 8S ZLWK +LV 2OG 0DWH -RKQpThe Daily Mirror,
 6HSWHPEHU  DQG 'RQ URYHV o7KH 0DQ\ )DFHVRI5RXJK
'LDPRQG 5RGpTV Times  'HFHPEHU 
(^2) David Stratton,The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival$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
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(^4) -RDQ /RQJ o6XIIHULQJ LQ 6LOHQFHpNation Review}-XQH
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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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