''Goodbye Paradise'' is a 1983 Australian film directed by

Carl Schultz Carl Schultz (born 1939) is a Hungarian-Australian film director. Early life and works He left his native Budapest during the uprising of 1956 with his brother Otto Schultz. They fled to England, and after arriving in London they moved to Man ...

. The plot centres on

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

in the early 1980s, when a disgraced former cop, Michael Stacey (

Ray Barrett Raymond Charles Barrett (2 May 19278 September 2009) was an Australian actor. During the 1960s, he was a leading actor on British television, where he was best known for his appearances in ''The Troubleshooters'' (1965–1971). From the 1970s, ...

) writes a book exposing police corruption, does an investigation resulting in two murders, exposes a religious cult and watches the army begin a military coup.

Cast

as Michael Stacy *

Paul Chubb Paul Dunford (14 January 1949 – 9 June 2002), professionally billed as Paul Chubb, was an Australian film, television and stage actor and scriptwriter primarily in genres of comedy and drama. Early life He was born in Arncliffe, a suburb of S ...

as Curly *

Guy Doleman Guy Doleman (22 November 1923 – 30 January 1996) was a New Zealand born actor, active in Australia, Britain and the United States. Early life Doleman was born in Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand, later moving to Australia. Career During the 1 ...

as Quiney *

Kate Fitzpatrick Kerry Kathleen Fitzpatrick (born 1 October 1947) known as Kate Fitzpatrick, is an Australian television, film, and theatre actress. Early years Kate grew up in the Adelaide suburb of Dover Gardens, and it was in Adelaide that her love for cl ...

as Mrs. McCreadie * Lex Marinos as Con *

Robyn Nevin Robyn Anne Nevin (25 September 1942) is an Australian actress, director, and stage producer, recognised with the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards and the JC Williamson Award at the Helpmann Awards for her outstanding contributions to Austra ...

as Kate *Don Pascoe as Senator McCredie *Janet Scrivener as Kathy

Production

The idea of doing a Raymond Chandler-type story set on the Gold Coast came from Denny Lawrence. His original idea was to have an ex police officer working as a private investigator who investigated a quasi-religious commune run by a charlatan that ended with the deaths of many of the communes' followers. Then the Jonestown Massacre happened and Lawrence backed away from this idea.Christine Cremen, "Denny Lawrence", ''Cinema Papers'', May–June 1983 p 113-115 He then pitched the idea to Bob Ellis, who liked it and the two of them agreed to work together.David Stratton interview Bob Ellis at SBS Movie Show
Retrieved 28 March 2015 They always envisioned Ray Barrett in the lead role as the private eye Stacey and the three of them got some money from the NSW Film Corporation to go up to Surfers Paradise for a week to research and write the script. Many of Ray Barrett's characteristics found their way into the character of Stacey. Barrett:

Bob is a great observer, and when I finally read the script, I thought "You bugger; you've observed Barrett!" But I didn't mind. I was flattered because Stacey is a living person. He is a failure, really, but a loveable failure; a kind man at heart. Yet everything's slipped by him and he hasn't achieved the things he's wanted to. The character relates to a lot of people, including myself. Bob's put the finger on it. He's brilliant.Mark Stiles, "Ray Barrett", ''Cinema Papers'', October 1982 p439

According to Lawrence, he was more interested in a genre piece whereas Ellis tried to incorporate his personal politics, but the collaboration was a successful one and the two men would work again many times in the following years. The NSW Film Commission wanted

Michael Thornhill Michael Thornhill (29 March 1941 – 22 January 2022) was a film producer, screenwriter, and director. Career Thornhill had a background in freelance journalism and publishing including working as a film critic. He was a member of the WEA Fil ...

to direct but he wanted several changes to the script and Ellis and Lawrence insisted that

direct. The movie was shot in the winter of 1981 in and around Surfers Paradise over eight weeks. The character of Quiney was meant to be played by

Anthony Quayle Sir John Anthony Quayle (7 September 1913 – 20 October 1989) was a British actor and theatre director. He was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role as Thomas Wolsey in the film '' Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969 ...

but

was cast instead.

Awards

The film was nominated for 4 AFI Awards, won in the Best Actor in the Lead Role (Ray Barrett) and Best Screenplay, Original or Adapted (

Bob Ellis Robert James Ellis (10 May 1942 – 3 April 2016) was an Australian writer, journalist, filmmaker, and political commentator. He was a student at the University of Sydney at the same time as other notable Australians including Clive James, Germa ...

, Denny Lawrence) categories. John Seale won the Cinematographer of the Year award of the Australian Cinematographers Society.

Sequel

Bob Ellis and Denny Lawrence wrote a sequel for the film called ''Goodbye Adelaide''. The plot involved Stacy finishing the book he is writing in the first movie and visiting the

Adelaide Festival The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

to promote it, where he is caught up in an attempted defection by a Russian poet. In January 1985 ''The Age'' reported the film would be made that year with a budget of $3 million. However, the movie was never made.David Stratton, ''The Avocado Plantation'', Pan Macmillan 1990 pp. 234-236

References

External links

*
''Goodbye Paradise''
at

Australian Screen Online The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national c ...

''Goodbye Paradise''
at Oz Movies {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodbye Paradise 1983 films 1983 drama films Australian drama films Films directed by Carl Schultz Films produced by Jane Scott Films scored by Peter Best (composer) Films set in Queensland Films shot in Queensland 1980s English-language films