''Alvin Rides Again'' is a 1974

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n sex-comedy film sequel to ''

Alvin Purple ''Alvin Purple'' is a 1973 Australian sex comedy film starring Graeme Blundell in the title role; the screenplay was written by Alan Hopgood and directed by Tim Burstall, through his production company Hexagon Productions and Village Roadshow ...

''. It was directed by

David Bilcock David Bilcock (6 December 1937 – 4 July 2009) was an Australian producer and editor who was an important player in the re-emergence of the Australian film industry in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a close collaborator with Robin Coppin ...

and

Robin Copping Robin Copping (1934 - 2022) was an Australian cinematographer and producer. He was part of the revival of the Australian film industry in the 1960s and '70, forming notable partnerships with David Bilcock and Tim Burstall and helping form Hexa ...

, who were regular collaborators with

Tim Burstall Timothy Burstall AM (20 April 1927 – 19 April 2004) was an English Australian film director, writer and producer, best known for hit Australian movie ''Alvin Purple'' (1973) and its sequel ''Alvin Rides Again''. Burstall's films featured ea ...

.David Stratton, ''The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival'', Angus & Robertson, 1980 p30 It was rated M unlike its predecessor which was rated R. ''Alvin Rides Again'' still features a lot of full frontal nudity.

Plot

Alvin Purple is unable to hold down a job because of his appeal to women. He and his friend Spike help a team of women cricketers win a match by playing in drag, and decide to spend their share of the prize money in a casino. Alvin discovers he is identical in appearance to gangster Balls McGee. When Balls is killed, Alvin is forced to take his place.

Cast

Graeme Blundell Graeme Blundell (born 7 August 1945) is an Australian actor, director, producer, writer, playwright, lyricist and biographer Early life Blundell was born on 7 April 1945 in Melbourne; he grew up in the suburb of Clifton Hill. He was educated a ...

as Alvin Purple/Balls McGee *

Alan Finney Alan Finney (born 31 October 1933) is a former footballer who played for Sheffield Wednesday and Doncaster Rovers, featuring in over 500 games during his time at Hillsborough and the consistency of his performances made a popular member of the ...

as Spike Dooley *

Gus Mercurio Augustino Eugenio Mercurio (10 August 19287 December 2010) better known as Gus Mercurio, was an American-born Australian character actor who appeared in radio, television, and film. Early life Mercurio, the eldest child of Vincent A. Mercurio ...

as Jake *

Noel Ferrier Noel Ferrier AM (20 December 193016 October 1997) was an Australian television personality, comedian, stage and film actor, raconteur and theatrical producer. He was a regular panelist in Graham Kennedy's popular game show '' Blankety Blanks ( ...

as The Hatchet *

Abigail Abigail () was an Israelite woman in the Hebrew Bible married to Nabal; she married the future King David after Nabal's death ( 1 Samuel ). Abigail was David's second wife, after Saul and Ahinoam's daughter, Michal, whom Saul later married ...

as Mae *

Jon Finlayson Jon "Finno" Finlayson (23 March 193812 September 2012) was an Australian actor and writer. He was known for his roles in the films '' Lonely Hearts'' (1982) and ''The Magic Show'' (1983). He was also well-known from his numerous television ro ...

as The Magician *

Kris McQuade Kris McQuade (born 1952) is an Australian actress who has had many film, television and theatre roles. Career Her film credits include ''The Love Letters from Teralba Road'', '' Kostas'', '' Fighting Back'', '' Lonely Hearts'', ''Goodbye Paradi ...

as Mandy *

Chantal Contouri Chantal Contouri (born 1950; sometimes credited as Chantal Cantouri, el, Σαντάλ Κοντούρη) is a Greek Australian television and film actress and former dancer, best known for her role in the 1970s soap opera ''Number 96'', as nurs ...

as Boobs la Touche * Jeff Ashby as Loopy Snieder * Frank Wilson as House Detective * Ross Bova as The Dwarf * Briony Behets as Girl in Taxi * Arna-Maria Winchester as Nancy *

Frank Thring Francis William Thring (11 May 1926 – 29 December 1994) was an Australian character actor in radio, stage, television and film; as well as a theatre director. His early career started in London in theatre productions, before he starred in Ho ...

as Fingers *

Clare Balmford Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

as Employment Clerk *

Dina Mann Dina Mann (born 1951), also credited as Diana Mann, is an Australian actress and casting director recognised for several television soap opera and film roles starting from 1970 until 1985, after which she worked as a casting director until 2 ...

as Woman Cricketer +cat *

Candy Raymond Candida Raymond (born 1950) is an Australian actress of film and television during the 1970s and early 1980s. She attended St Ives High School in Sydney. Professional career As a teenager she played small guest roles in Australian televisio ...

as Girl in Office *

Esme Melville Esme Melville (born Esme Grace Mount-Melville, 23 July 1918 – 14 September 2006) was an Australian theatre, television and film actress. At the Tropfest awards for 2003 she won Best Actor – Female for her role of Granma in the short film, '' ...

as Cleaning Lady *

Reg Gorman Reg Gorman (2 August 1932 – 5 August 2021) was an Australian television and film actor, and comedian, he was known best for his role in TV serial ''The Sullivans'', as Jack Fletcher. and children's series ''Fergus McPhail'' as Harry Patters ...

as Bookmaker *

Terry Gill Terry Gill (25 October 1939 – 25 February 2015) was an English Australian actor, theatre owner, producer, director and writer. A character actor, he carved a niche in Australian television playing police officers. He appeared in over 26 Austral ...

as Male Barracker *

John Michael Howson John-Michael Howson (born 8 August 1936) is an Australian writer, reporter, entertainer and Melbourne radio commentator. His involvement in the Australian entertainment scene as a writer, producer and performer spans more than 50 years. Early ...

as Bell Boy *

Maurie Fields Maurice Fields (born Maurice Sheil, 4 August 1926 – 18 December 1995) was an Australian vaudeville performer, actor and stand-up comedian. Career Fields became a well-known face on television first thanks to his comic sketches on live progra ...

as Garage Proprietor

Production

Tim Burstall said neither he, Alan Hopgood nor Graeme Blundell was particularly interested in making a sequel to ''Alvin Purple'' but the film was so successful, Hexagon Productions wanted a follow-up. Blundell wanted to avoid being typecast so a story was created which gave him a chance to play a double role. Burstall, who claims he wrote most of the script with Al Finney, says that:

When it came to the crunch, Blundell failed to differentiate between paying Balls and playing Alvin pretending to be Balls. In my view, the film fails for precisely that reason, i.e. Alvin is lost.Scott Murray, 'Tim Burstall', ''Cinema Papers'' Sept-Oct 1979 p495

Release

''Alvin Rides Again'' was the recipient of some more controversy when it was released, but was only rated M. It did not perform as well as its predecessor, but still grossed $600,000 by the end of 1977 and ended up taking $1,880,000 at the box office in Australia, which is equivalent to $12,690,000 in 2009 dollars. John D. Lamond, who worked on the film's release, thought the filmmakers made a mistake making it 'less sexy, because they didn’t want to lose any potential audience...so the second one wasn’t rated R and it flopped, fell on its arse after the first month'.Interview with John Lamond, ''Mondo Stumpo'', early 2002
Retrieved 14 October 2012

Home media

''Alvin Rides Again'' was released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in April 2011. The DVD is compatible with region codes 2 and 4 and includes special features such as the theatrical trailer, picture gallery and interviews with Tim Burstall, Alan Hopgood and Robin Copping.

References

External links

*
Alvin Purple Rides Again at the National Film and Sound Archive''Alvin Rides Again''
at Oz Movies {{Alvin Purple 1974 films Australian sex comedy films Australian sequel films 1970s English-language films Films set in Australia 1970s sex comedy films 1974 comedy films