''Squeeze a Flower'' is a 1970 Australian

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Marc Daniels Marc Daniels (January 27, 1912 – April 23, 1989), born Danny Marcus, was an American television director. He directed on programs such as I Love Lucy, Gunsmoke, Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, Hogan's Heroes, and more. Life and career Da ...

and starring

Walter Chiari Walter Annicchiarico (8 March 1924 – 20 December 1991), known as Walter Chiari , was an Italian stage and screen actor, mostly in comedy roles. Biography Walter Annicchiarico was born in Verona, Italy on 8 March 1924 to a family originally ...

Plot

Brother George is the only monk at the Italian Monastery who knows the secret recipe of the popular liqueur that is the sole source of income for the monastery. When he feels their sole distributor, a local wine merchant, is not giving the monastery a fair price, he leaves and moves to Australia. There he works at a vineyard picking grapes and starts making the liqueur in his spare time. George then comes to the attention of the winery owner Alfredo Brazzi and the two agree to a partnership to make the liqueur. Alfredo is unaware George is a monk and that he sends 50 percent of the money back to his Italian monastery. Alfredo and his son-in-law Tim constantly try to steal the secret recipe. They recruit June for their skulduggery, but she falls in love with George, also unaware of his religious calling. Finally, the Italian wine merchant travels to Sydney, willing to make a deal with Brother George. The merchant ends up paying double the price he had previously rejected.

Cast

– Brother George *

Jack Albertson Harold Albertson (June 16, 1907 – November 25, 1981), known professionally as Jack Albertson, was an American actor, comedian, dancer and singer who also performed in variety. Albertson was a Tony, Oscar, and Emmy winning actor. For his perfo ...

– Alfredo Brazzi *

Rowena Wallace Rowena Wallace (born 23 August 1947) is an English-born Australian stage and screen actress, most especially in the genre of television soap opera. She is best known for her Gold Logie-winning role as conniving Patricia "Pat the Rat" Hamilton/M ...

– June Phillips * Dave Allen – Tim O'Mahoney * Kirrily Nolan – Maria O'Mahoney *

Alec Kellaway Alec Kellaway (1894–1973) was a South African–born actor best known for his work in Australian theatre and film, notably playing a number of character roles for director Ken G. Hall. He was the brother of Cecil Kellaway. He also worked as a pr ...

– The Abbot *Michael Laurence – Brother James *Alan Tobin – Brother Peter *Charles McCallum – Brother Sebastian *Harry Lawrence – Vequis *

Roger Ward Roger Ward (born 1936) is an Australian actor who has had a considerable career in film and television, noted for "tough guy" roles in which he often did his own stunts. Biography Ward was born in Adelaide, South Australia in 1936. His care ...

– Bosun *Harry Britton – Photographer *Alex Mozart – Truck Driver *

Sandy Harbutt Sandy Harbutt (1941 – 21 November 2020) was an Australian actor, writer and director, best known for the bikie film, ''Stone'' (1974). Although it was very successful at the box office, it was the only feature he ever directed. He was once mar ...

– Grape Picker *Amanda Irving – Grape Picker *Jeff Ashby – Bert Andrews *Penny Sugg – Stewardess *Sue Lloyd – Receptionist *

Barry Crocker Barry Hugh Crocker (born 4 November 1935
Official Barry Crocker website) is an Australian character actor, televisio ...

– Waiter *Lea Denfield – Flower Seller *Pat Sullivan – Laboratory Assistant *

Bobby Limb Robert "Bobby" Limb AO, OBE (10 November 1924 – 11 September 1999) was an Australian-born entertainment pioneer, comedian, band leader and musician and legend of radio, television and theatre of the 1960s and 1970s, he also founded the film a ...

- Bobby Lambert *

Dawn Lake Dawn Alice Lake (20 January 1927 – 1 January 2006) was an Australian television comedian, singer, entertainer, and actor whose career spanned more than 50 years. She was particularly associated in show business with her husband Bobby Limb. ...

- Dawn Lambert

Production

The film was meant to be the first in a proposed series of ten films made jointly by NLT Productions and Group W.

NLT Productions NLT Productions was an Australian production company formed in 1961 which made a number of films and TV series. It was founded in 1961 by entertainer Bobby Limb, talent manager Jack Neary (OAM, OBE) (born; John Edwin Neary; 19 January 1916 – 6 Ap ...

was a television production company in Sydney and was supported by Motion Picture Investments, a company associated with various Australian businessmen including Sir Reginald Ansett. Group W was a division of the American

Westinghouse Broadcasting The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, was the broadcasting division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It owned several radio and television stations across the United States and distributed television shows for syndicat ...

Company. Leading cast and crew were imported: the director, writer and producer were all American and the lead actors were from overseas: Italian Walter Chiari, American Jack Albertson and Irish David Allen. It was Allen's first major film role. Filming began in mid February 1969 and only took a month. Shooting took place in the studio of Ajax Films in Sydney and on location in St Patrick's College, Manly, and Mount Pleasant vineyard in the Hunter Valley. Walter Chiari had previously made ''

They're a Weird Mob ''They're a Weird Mob'' is a popular 1957 Australian comic novel written by John O'Grady under the pseudonym "Nino Culotta", the name of the main character of the book. The book was the first published novel by O'Grady, with an initial print run ...

'' (1966) in Australia. He married his girlfriend during the shoot.

Release

The film's premiere in Sydney was attended by Australian Prime Minister

John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician who served as the nineteenth Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1968 to 1971. He led the Liberal Party during that time, having previously been a l ...

but the movie was not well received, commercially or critically.

References

External links

*
''Squeeze a Flower''
at National Film and Sound Archive
''Squeeze a Flower''
at Oz Movies {{DEFAULTSORT:Squeeze A Flower Australian comedy films 1970 films Films directed by Marc Daniels 1970s English-language films