''Niel Lynne'' (also known as ''Best Enemies'') is a 1985

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

film about a young man during the 1960s.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p111

Plot

Niel Lynne (Paul Williams) is a romantic influenced by his rebellious cousin Eric. Niel falls in love with his cousin Patricia (

Judy Morris Judith Ann Morris (born 17 February 1947) is an Australian character actress, as well as a film director and screenwriter, well known for the variety of roles she played in 58 different television shows and films, starting her career as a child ...

), who has spent time in Paris. Patricia then goes to Canberra. Neil joins Eric in Melbourne, where Eric is dating the beautiful Fennimore (

Sigrid Thornton Sigrid Madeline Thornton (born 12 February 1959) is an Australian film and television actress. Her television work includes '' Prisoner'' (1979–80), '' All the Rivers Run'' (1983), '' SeaChange'' (1998–2019) and '' Wentworth'' (2016–2018 ...

). After working as an editor for a student newspaper, Niel then volunteers to fight in Vietnam and Patricia joins the Viet Cong. They are finally reunited and get married.

Cast

* Paul Williams as Niel *

as Patricia *

Terry McDermott Terence McDermott (born 8 December 1951) is an English former football midfielder who was a member of the Liverpool team of the 1970s and early 1980s, in which he won three European Cups and five First Division titles. He was capped 25 times ...

as Rob Lynne *

David Argue David J. Argue (born 1959) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his role as Snowy in '' Gallipoli'' as well as the lead role in the 1993 film ''Hercules Returns'' and Dicko in the 1983 film ''Razorback''. Filmography Films Televisio ...

as Reg *

as Fennimore * George Mallaby as Mike O'Brien *

Nina Landis Nina Landis is an Australian stage and screen actress, who trained in Australia and New York. Her feature film credits include the title role (Rikky) in ''Rikky and Pete'', '' Komodo'', '' Four of a Kind'', '' Handle with Care'', and '' Blackj ...

as Helen *

Nicki Paull Nicola Paull (born 1962 Queensland, Australia), is an Australian actress and a registered counsellor. Though predominantly known for her work on television, she has also appeared in films and on stage, as well as performing as a voice-over arti ...

as Melissa *

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 Old Woman *

Harold Baigent Harold Verdun Baigent (16 November 1916 – 9 March 1996), known as 'Baige', was a New Zealand theatre director, actor and arts manager. He trained as an actor in the USA at Yale University Drama School, and acted in Broadway theatre, Broadway ...

as Guard * Brandon Burke

Production

David Baker tried to get up the film for eight years. The script was inspired by 'Siren Voices',

Henry Handel Richardson Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson (3 January 187020 March 1946), known by her pen name Henry Handel Richardson, was an Australian author. Life Born in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, into a prosperous family that later fell on hard ti ...

's 1896 translation of a story by Danish writer, J.P. Jacobs, ''Niels Lyhne''. It was originally set in the 1930s but Baker updated it to the Vietnam War.Brian Courtis, 'An unusual direction for an unusual film', ''The Age'', 4 September 1984 p 14
Retrieved 14 October 2012 The film was funded by a pre-sale to Channel Seven and to the Australian Film Commission's Special Production Fund. It was shot over seven weeks in and around Melbourne. The film finished under budget and the management company making the film were allowed to be reimbursed up to 10% of the $1.9 million budget if the production ran under - ''Niel Lynne'' ran under budget to almost exactly that amount and the money was paid out as bonuses. David Baker cut eleven minutes from the film including a subplot involving Nicki Paull as Lynne's teenage bride who is killed in a car accident.

Release

Despite the strength of its cast, the film was never released to cinemas and went straight to television. Later released in America on video under the title "Best Enemies"

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Niel Lynne''
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

''Niel Lynne''
at

BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

''Niel Lynne''
at National Film and Sound Archive Australian drama films Films scored by Chris Neal (songwriter) 1980s English-language films Films directed by David Baker 1980s Australian films