354:, Peter Watkins realism. I was drawn to the subject in the newspapers and then went off to investigate and research it. I felt that it would suit that style... A basic theme... is that of someone trying to break out, someone feeling trapped within themselves, trapped within the system. That probably drew me to it. Then when I went to research it, I found a broader tapestry.
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Ebsen Storm and producer Haydn Keenan had made a number of successful short films and wanted to move into features. The script was developed by Storm in association with interviews he conducted in 1972 with Robert
Somerville, a man who had been forcibly detained in a Queensland hospital in the late
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Bill McDonald is a middle aged alcoholic who is sentenced to six weeks in prison for a minor offence. He volunteers for psychiatric treatment and is committed to a hospital for the criminally insane supposedly only for the duration of his prison sentence. However under section 27A of
Queensland's
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The main influence on the style of the film was that we knew we wouldn't be able to raise a lot of money... If we wanted to make a feature film, we'd have to make it cheap. There was a style at that time, sort of pseudo-documentary, with a lot of hand-held camera work -
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Robert McDarra, who played the lead, was himself an alcoholic. Bill Hunter was cast in his first feature film role. $ 23,000 of the budget was raised from a syndicate of 18 businessmen, with $ 13,000 coming from a grant from the
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Bill clashes with a nurse, Cornish, and is detained in the hospital because of his attitude. He attempts three times to escape. Eventually he is released after a journalist publicises his case.
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and achieved a limited release. It never recovered its costs, however it screened at a number of festivals and was critically acclaimed.
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The film was shot on 16mm starting 28 February 1973 at
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Mental Health Act he can be held there until hospital authorities declare him eligible for release.
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The film won the AFI Award for Best Film. Robert McDarra won the AFI Award for his performance.
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294:Kevin Healey as old acquaintance
279:Karl Florsheim as German patient
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309:Robert Ewing as public servant
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1179:Films directed by Esben Storm
506:at Smart Street Films website
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1174:1970s English-language films
240:Graham Corry as Peter Newman
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683:Jack and Jill: A Postscript
454:Murray, Scott, ed. (1994).
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804:Careful, He Might Hear You
639:The Legend of Damien Parer
429:Retrieved 21 November 2012
374:The film premiered at the
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276:Peter Gailey as co-escapee
199:it won in the Best Actor (
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549:AACTA Award for Best Film
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425:3 November 2013 at the
267:Gary McFeeter as Samuel
264:Haydn Keenan as Jeffrey
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1169:Australian drama films
748:The Devil's Playground
653:Concerto for Orchestra
645:Stronger Since The War
564:Conquest of the Rivers
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300:Beth Brookes as singer
273:Jim Doherty as suicide
261:Michael Norton as Mark
940:Looking for Alibrandi
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187:is a 1974 Australian
132:5 June 1974
691:Three to Go: Michael
669:The Change at Groote
617:The Land That Waited
376:Sydney Film Festival
315:as Frederick Parsons
255:Brian Doyle as Lynch
252:Kris Olsen as Gloria
203:) and Best Fiction (
21:27A (disambiguation)
19:For other uses, see
772:My Brilliant Career
729:Sunday Too Far Away
661:Cardin in Australia
598:Not awarded (1961)
291:Zac Martin as Ernie
249:James Kemp as Slats
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967:Rabbit-Proof Fence
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592:Three in a Million
110:Street Smart Films
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625:The Dancing Class
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270:Tom Farley as Vic
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578:Edge of The Deep
570:Hard to Windward
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191:directed by
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148:Running time
125:Release date
86:Richard Moir
58:Haydn Keenan
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852:Evil Angels
235:Bill Hunter
193:Esben Storm
54:Produced by
49:Esben Storm
40:Esben Storm
36:Directed by
1164:1974 films
1158:Categories
1141:Talk to Me
999:Ten Canoes
983:Somersault
900:Angel Baby
385:References
320:Production
246:as Richard
237:as Cornish
197:AFI Awards
189:drama film
136:1974-06-05
103:Production
46:Written by
1117:Babyteeth
932:Two Hands
884:The Piano
788:Gallipoli
764:Newsfront
756:Storm Boy
740:1976–2000
732:(1974/75)
699:Homesdale
556:1958–1975
352:Ken Loach
336:Cullodden
195:. At the
176:A$ 36,000
160:Australia
82:Edited by
16:1974 film
860:Flirting
423:Archived
347:Poor Cow
286:Bob Maza
165:Language
92:Music by
64:Starring
1039:Red Dog
959:Lantana
828:Malcolm
370:Release
231:as Bill
168:English
157:Country
152:86 min.
134: (
105:company
1144:(2023)
1136:(2022)
1128:(2021)
1125:Nitram
1120:(2020)
1112:(2019)
1104:(2018)
1096:(2017)
1088:(2016)
1080:(2015)
1072:(2014)
1058:(2013)
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418:Signis
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908:Shine
868:Proof
820:Bliss
707:Stork
1093:Lion
486:IMDb
460:ISBN
344:and
223:Cast
211:Plot
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184:27A
31:27A
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