''Petersen'' is a 1974 Australian drama film directed by

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 ...

. ''Petersen'' was a box office success and received wide distribution in the UK and US under the title ''Jock Petersen''. ''Petersen'' is first and foremost a sobering critique of Australian life in the early 1970s. ''Petersen'' is considered one of the better social dramas from the early years of the Australian film revival.

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

praised the film on its release, particularly Burstall's direction and Jack Thompson's lead performance. Jack Thompson won the Hoyts Prize for Best Performance at the 1975 AFI Awards for his performance in ''Petersen''.

Plot

Tony Petersen is an electrical tradesman and former football star who is studying arts at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, and majoring in English. Despite being married to adoring wife Susie, he is having an affair with his lecturer, Trish Kent, and has a fling with student Moira as part of a protest. The professor is also seeing one of his students after class. Petersen and the professor's wife talk about having a baby. Trish's husband Charles fails Petersen in his exams and Trish leaves for Oxford. Petersen rapes Trish and returns to his old life.

Cast

Jack Thompson Jack Thompson may refer to: Sports *Jack Thompson (footballer, born 1892) (1892–1969), English footballer who played for Sheffield United and Bristol City *Jack Thompson (1920s footballer), English footballer who played for Aston Villa and Bright ...

as Tony Petersen *

Jacki Weaver Jacqueline Ruth Weaver (born 25 May 1947) is an Australian theatre, film and television actress. Weaver emerged in the 1970s as a symbol of the Australian New Wave through her work in Ozploitation films such as '' Stork'' (1971), ''Alvin Purp ...

as Susie Petersen *

Wendy Hughes Wendy Hughes (29 July 19528 March 2014) was an Australian actress known for her work in theatre, film and television. Her career spanned more than forty years and established her reputation as one of Australia's finest and most prolific actors. ...

as Dr. Patricia 'Trish' Kent *

Belinda Giblin Sue Belinda Giblin (born 2 March 1950) professionally billed as Belinda Giblin, is an Australian actress. Prominent in theatre and television soap operas, and several feature films. Giblin's small screen roles include '' The Box'' as Kay Webst ...

as Moira *

Arthur Dignam Arthur Dignam (9 September 1939 – 9 May 2020) was an Australian stage and screen actor. Biography Dignam was born on Lord Howe Island. He attended Newington College in Sydney as a boarder in 1955 and 1956 and then the University of Sydney. ...

as Prof. Charles Kent * Charles "Bud" Tingwell as Reverend Petersen *

Helen Morse Helen Morse (born 24 January 1947) is an English-born Australian actress who has appeared in films, on television and on stage. She won the AFI (AACTA) Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the 1976 film '' Caddie'', and starred in the 19 ...

as Jane *

John Ewart Jon Ewart (06th May 1996) is a British television and film actor. Ewart attended the prestigious National Youth Theatre, Identity School of Acting and has appeared in many successful Television shows. Biography Career Ewart, who was born in M ...

as Peter *David Phillips as Heinz *

Christine Amor Christine Debra Amor (born 1952) is an Australian actress of stage, television and film. Career Amor was born in Brisbane, Queensland. She graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). She has acted extensively in television gu ...

as Annie *

Sheila Florance Sheila Mary Florance (24 July 1916 – 12 October 1991) was an Australian theatre, television and film actress. She was best known for her performance as elderly, alcoholic convict Lizzie Birdsworth in the television series ''Prisoner''. F ...

as Tony's Mother *Sandy Macgregor as Marg *Joey Hohenfels as Debbie *Amanda Hunt as Carol * George Mallaby as executive *Anne Pendlebury as Peggy *Dina Mann as Robyin

Production

Burstall wanted to make the story as the first film from Hexagon Productions and commissioned David Williamson to write a screenplay, the original title of which was ''Sittin' and Tony Petersen''. However Williamson was working on many projects at the time so Hexagon made two ''

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 ...

'' films instead. Burstall claimed that Graham Burke of Heaxgon did not want to make ''Petersen'', so Burstall tried to get funding from the

Australian Film Development Corporation The Australian Film Development Corporation was an organisation created and funded by the Australian Government in the 1970s, intended to allow filmmakers in the Australian film industry to create movies for everyone to see. In 1975 it was repla ...

, but when they rejected the film Hexagon came on board.Scott Murray, 'Tim Burstall', ''Cinema Papers'' Sept-Oct 1979 pp. 495–496 The film also used the working title ''Campus''. Jack Thompson was paid $1,000 a week. It was Wendy Hughes first film and she later said "I didn't know whether I was Arthur or Martha half the time".Richard Brennan, "Wendy Hughes", ''Cinema Papers'', October 1982 p. 431

Reception

Critical reception to the film was harsh however ''Petersen'' grossed $1,363,000 at the box office in Australia, which is equivalent to $9,200,250 in 2009 dollars. Burstall says it made a profit of $70,000 from its Australian release alone. The film was also released in the US and UK and made a star of Jack Thompson.

Home media

''Petersen'' was released for the first time on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in October 2016.

References

External links

* *''Petersen'' at th
Australian screen''Petersen''
at Oz Movies {{Tim Burstall 1974 films Australian drama films Films shot in Melbourne Films directed by Tim Burstall Films set in Melbourne Embassy Pictures films 1974 drama films 1970s English-language films