''Stork'' is a 1971 Australian comedy film directed by Tim Burstall. ''Stork'' is based on the play ''

The Coming of Stork ''The Coming of Stork'' was the first play written by David Williamson. The cast for the original production included Alan Finney, Bruce Spence and Peter Cummins. It was adapted into a feature film A feature film or feature-length film i ...

'' by

David Williamson David Keith Williamson AO (born 24 February 1942) is an Australian dramatist and playwright. He has also written screenplays and teleplays. Early life David Williamson was born in Melbourne, Victoria, on 24 February 1942, and was brought ...

Bruce Spence Bruce Spence (born 17 September 1945) is a New Zealand–Australian actor. Spence has amassed over 100 film and television credits and has also acted in theatre. Biography Spence won an AFI Award for Best Actor for his role in the 1971 comedy ...

and

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 ...

make their feature film debuts in ''Stork'', being honoured at the 1972

Australian Film Institute Awards The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industry, ...

, where they shared the acting prize. ''Stork'' won the prize for best narrative feature and Tim Burstall won for best direction. Stork was one of the first

ocker The term "ocker" is used both as a noun and adjective for an Australian who speaks and acts in a rough and uncultivated manner, using Strine, a broad Australian accent. Definition Richard Neville defined ockerism as being "about conviviality: ...

comedies. ''Stork'' was the first commercial success of the

Australian cinema The cinema of Australia had its beginnings with the 1906 production of ''The Story of the Kelly Gang'', arguably the world's first feature film. Since then, Australian crews have produced many films, a number of which have received internati ...

revival called the

Australian New Wave The Australian New Wave (also known as the Australian Film Revival, Australian Film Renaissance, or New Australian Cinema) was an era of resurgence in worldwide popularity of Australian cinema, particularly in the United States. It began in the ea ...

Plot

Stork is a 6-foot 7 hypochondriac who dreams of revolution and works at

General Motors Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last three ...

. He is sacked from his job after doing a strip tease at work and goes to live in a share house in Carlton with his friend Westy and two trendy young men, Tony and Clyde, who share the same girlfriend, Anna. Stork loses his virginity to Anna and falls in love with her. Anna falls pregnant and Clyde decides to marry her. Stork interrupts the wedding.

Cast

as Graham 'Stork' Wallace *

as Anna * Graeme Blundell as Westy *Sean McEuan as Tony *

Helmut Bakaitis Helmut Bakaitis is a German-born Australian director, actor and screenwriter and playwright. He is best known for his role in ''The Matrix Reloaded'' and ''The Matrix Revolutions'' as the character the Architect (The Matrix), Architect. Early ...

as Clyde * Madeleine Orr as Stork's mother *Peter Green as clergyman *

Peter Cummins Peter Cummins (born 2 June 1931 in Melbourne) is an Australian retired character actor of stage and screen and chorister who was especially prominent in the 1970s and appeared in some of the most famous Australian films of the period. He was pa ...

as sculptor *Michael Duffield as judge *Alan Finney as tailor *Robin Copping as explorer *David Bilock Jnr as explorer *Larry Stevens as farmer *Nanette Good as farmer's wife *Kerry Dwyer as nun *Brendan Cassidy as gallery manager *Lynne Flanagan as matron * George Whaley as businessman *Jan Friedl as woman's libber *Dennis Miller as uni lecturer *

Terry Norris Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence or Terrier (masculine). People Male * Terry Albritton (1955–2005), Ame ...

as Anna's father *

Max Gillies Maxwell Irvine Gillies AM (born 16 November 1941) is an Australian actor and a founding member of the 1970s experimental theatre company, the Australian Performing Group. Early life and education Gillies studied art teaching at Frankston Tea ...

as Uncle Jack *

The Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band The Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band, also known as Soapbox Circus or Matchbox, were an Australian jug band formed in 1969. It centred on Mic Conway ("Captain Matchbox") on lead vocals, washboard and ukulele; and his brother, Jim Conway, on harmon ...

Production

The play ''The Coming of Stork'' had premiered in 1970 at La Mama Theatre, run by Betty Burstall. Her husband Tim Burstall saw the play and hired Williamson to adapt it, commenting that:

It had a kind of gaiety and brio. It was good-natured and it celebrated our own lives in a very straightforward way. It wasn't the precious or arty. It was Australian comedy of a pretty straightforward sort, but also of a pretty well-observed and accurate sort.Interview with Tim Burstall, 30 March 1998
Retrieved 14 October 2012

Most of the budget was raised privately; Burstall had obtained $7,000 from the Experimental Film and Television Fund to make a film called ''Filth'' which project manager

Fred Schepisi Frederic Alan Schepisi ( ; Kael, Pauline (1984). '' Taking It All In''. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. p. 55. born 26 December 1939) is an Australian film director, producer and screenwriter. His credits include '' The Chant of Jimmie ...

allowed him to transfer over to ''Stork''; $5,000 came from Bilcock and Copping, a company of Burstall's, with $21,000 from the sale of Burstall's

Arthur Boyd Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd (24 July 1920 – 24 April 1999) was a leading Australian painter of the middle to late 20th century. Boyd's work ranges from impressionist renderings of Australian landscape to starkly expressionist figuration, ...

paintings. Everyone was paid $200 a week. The film was shot in Melbourne in March and April 1971 on 16mm stock and a crew of twelve.David Stratton, ''The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival'', Angus & Robertson, 1980 p25 Williamson later said he felt Burstall directed Spence "a little bigger than I would have liked" and clashed in a few places with the director but on the whole the collaboration was a good one.

Release

Tim Burstall and his associates initially released the film themselves at St Kilda Palais, where it ran for a six-week season, earning $50,000 and returning $20,000 to the producers. They expanded the number of cinemas it played in, moving into Sydney. Hoyts and Greater Union refused to distribute but the film was picked up by Roadshow, who played it throughout Australia, using 35 mm prints blown up from the original.Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998 p262 The film was popular at the box office, taking $224,000 in film hire and returning $150,000 to the producers. It proved that low-budget films could be made and released profitably in Australia. This success led to Burstall and Roadshow establishing the production company

Hexagon Productions Hexagon Productions was an Australian film production company established in 1972 by Roadshow Distributors with Tim Burstall and Associates and the company Bilcock and Copping. All parties had successfully collaborated on '' Stork'' (1971) and want ...

Awards

The film won the following awards: *1972 Australian Film Institute Awards: ** AFI Award for Best Direction (

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 ...

) **Grand Prix Award to

**Hoyts Prize for Best Performance for Best Actor (

) **Hoyts Prize for Best Performance for Best Actress (

) *$5,000 prize from Australian Film Development Corporation for best narrative feature

Home media

''Stork'' was released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in September 2011. The DVD is compatible with region codes 2 and 4 and includes special features such as interviews with Tim Burstall, Alan Finney, Bruce Spence, David Williamson, Betty Burstall, Jacki Weaver and Rob Copping, a short film title ''Three Old Friends'' and the making of ''Three Old Friends''.

References

External links

* *''Stork'' at th
Australian screen''Stork''
at Oz Movies {{Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film 1970–1989 1971 films 1971 comedy films Australian comedy films Films based on works by David Williamson Films set in Melbourne 1970s English-language films Films directed by Tim Burstall