Deathcheaters (1976)

After revisiting Stunt Rock, I was inspired to rewatch director Brian Trenchard-Smith and actor-stuntman Grant Page’s previous collaboration, Deathcheaters (1976). Page and John Hargreaves portray Rodney and Steve, two Vietnam War veterans who befriend each other in combat and on discharge become stuntmen in the entertainment industry. Recognizing their very particular set of skills, they are approached by intelligence bureaucrat Mr. Culpepper (an elegantly and humorously aloof Noel Ferrier) to infiltrate and obtain secret documents from an island fortress.

Stunt Rock was a hangout movie punctuated by stunts and suspect musical numbers. Although more of a traditional actioner, Deathcheaters has some of the same hangout vibe, and I found myself charmed by the dinkiness and humour of its oddly drawn espionage world and the onscreen bromance—decades before it became popular parlance—between Page and Hargreaves. My admiration for Hargreaves is well-documented, and though this isn’t among his very best performances, it’s significantly better than his other overture towards action stardom, Sky Pirates, and leans into the same traits as some of his best work, i.e. the inner-city larrikin, fairly charming, kind of smarmy (see also Hoodwink, Don’s Party, Long Weekend). Hargreaves also throws himself gamely into some of the action scenes, though due to an injury Page does much of the heavy lifting stunt-wise, especially in the finale. Margaret Gerard, who played Page’s romantic interest in Stunt Rock (and married Trenchard-Smith offscreen), is Hargreaves' partner here and is mannered but charming, faring well enough within the film’s creaky gender tropes.

I was taken aback to learn that Deathcheaters was filmed as a TV pilot, only to pivot to theatrical release. On further reflection, it makes sense: the abovementioned hangout vibe evokes the comfort food cop and caper television of the 1970s and 80s, as does the witty repartee between leads and recurring gags involving Rodney’s dog Bismarck; a cast of broadly sketched supporting players are introduced over the film, ready for prime time; and Rodney and Steve’s hardline no-killing policy makes for gentler viewing than other Trenchard-Smith films, especially the nihilistic Turkey Shoot. The big finale also betrays its television roots, invested with less weight and import than films of similar ink. But for a project executed for television pilot-dom, the scale of Deathcheaters is mostly impressive and feels cinematic. Its action scenes are cleanly shot by John Seale in his debut, with the film's impressive stunt driving sequences predating Mad Max by three years and Seale’s own work on Mad Max: Fury Road by 39 years.

Ben

Beyond Innocence (1989)

Published 2017 on Down Under Flix Director: Scott Murray Stars: Katia Caballero, Keith Smith Scott Murray is one of the premier commentators on Australian cinema. He’s best known as editor and contributor to Cinema Papers and Senses of Cinema , as well as for editing, authoring, and contributing to various volumes on Australian film, including one particularly indispensable resource for my work on Down Under Flix, Australian Film 1978–1994 . In the 1980s, Murray directed the film Beyond Innocence , also known as Devil in the Flesh . It was both his theatrical feature debut and swansong, though he’d later helm a music documentary, Massenet: His Life and Music .

The Way, My Way (2024)

As someone on a perpetual two-to-three-year pop culture delay, it’s very rare I see a new film in theatrical release, let alone its first day of theatrical release, let alone a new Australian film on its first day of theatrical release. However, I had this opportunity for Bill Bennett's The Way, My Way (2024) . Bennett's film is also, by coincidence, the second film I’ve seen in as many months about someone making a pilgrimage along the famed Camino trail, the other being Emilio Estevez’s The Way . Both films, intriguingly, foreground their filmmakers in the screen story and provide onscreen surrogates for them: in The Way , Estevez appears briefly as a deceased doctor whose father—the film’s protagonist, played by Estevez’s real-life father Martin Sheen—embarks on the Camino trail to scatter his son’s ashes; in The Way, My Way , adapted from director Bennett’s autobiographical travel writing, Chris Haywood is cast as the filmmaker and follows in his director’s footsteps. ...

John Hargreaves double feature: Hoodwink (1981) and Sky Pirates (1986)

Published 2017 on Down Under Flix Discounting the film Blackfellas , in which he plays a minor role as a racist policeman, I’m surprised it’s taken this long to cover any John Hargreaves films on Down Under Flix. A six time AFI Award nominee (including for Hoodwink ) and triple winner, Hargreaves is one of the best leading men to emerge from the Australian New Wave, and I have particular regard for his work in Don’s Party, Long Weekend , and The Odd Angry Shot . Hargreaves was a natural performer: gifted and charismatic, but not unnecessarily flashy; handsome, but not movie star handsome, and slightly crumpled like a creased jacket. He was a quintessential Australian everyman ala Jack Thompson and Bryan Brown, though he’s less familiar to young filmgoers today, partly due to his untimely passing in 1996 at age 50. This article looks at one of Hargreaves’ best films… and one of his other films…

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