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Fatty Finn (film)
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Wikipedia article
'Fatty Finn' is a 1980 Australian film, directed by Maurice Murphy and starring Ben Oxenbould with Rebecca Rigg. It is based on the 1930s cartoon-strip character, 'Fatty Finn', created by Syd Nicholls and is loosely based on the 1927 silent film, 'The Kid Stakes'.
Plot
Set in inner-city Woolloomooloo in Sydney, New South Wales in 1930, the neighbourhood nice guys are led by Fatty (real name Hubert Finn), an ambitious 10-year-old with an eye for making a quid. From shady frog jumping contests to a fixed goat race, Fatty uses his enterprise to raise enough money to buy a crystal set (radio without a separate power supply) that's worth seventeen shillings & sixpence (17/6), more than his Dad is able to save up in a year. Bruiser Murphy the bully and his gang try to stop him. Fatty uses his brains against his enemies' brawn to eventually triumph.
Cast
* Ben Oxenbould as Hubert 'Fatty' Finn
* Rebecca Rigg as Tilly
* Jeremy Larsson as Headlights
* Martin Lewis as Skeet
* Hugo Grieve as Seasy
* Sandy Leask as Lolly Legs
* Greg Kelly as Bruiser Murphy
* Christopher Norton as Snootle
* Bert Newton as John Finn
* Noni Hazlehurst as Myrtle Finn
* Gerard Kennedy as Tiger Murphy
* Su Cruickshank as Mrs Murphy
* Lorraine Bayly as Maggie McGrath
* Bill Young as Officer Claffey
* Ross Higgins as Radio Announcer
* Peter Rowley as Chauffeur
Production
Screenwriter Bob Ellis says it was his idea to make the film. He complained about interference from the film's producers, John Sexton and Yoram Gross, claiming Sexton in particular wanted a lot of changes, but changed his mind after David Puttnam praised Ellis' original draft. He later said of the film that "all the performances are dreadful, the conspicuous exception being Bert Newton's."Richard Brennan, 'Bob Ellis, 'Cinema Papers', Oct-Nov 1980 p 386
Of the $350,000 budget, $120,000 came from the AFC.
The movie was set in Woolloomooloo but the area had changed a lot since then so was shot in and around Glebe. Filming took place in January and February 1980.David Stratton, 'The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry', Pan MacMillan, 1990 p343
Reception
Box office
'Fatty Finn' grossed $1,064,000 at the box office in Australia, which is equivalent to $3,777,200in 2009 dollars.
Awards
The film was nominated for seven Australian Film Institute Awards in 1981 winning in the categories of 'Best Achievement in Costume Design' and 'Best Original Music Score'.See also
* Cinema of Australia
References
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