''You Can't See 'round Corners'' is a 1969 Australian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by David Cahill and starring

Ken Shorter Ken Shorter (born -1947), also credited as Kenneth Shorter. is an Australian actor best known for playing the title role in the biker film ''Stone'' (1974), and ''You Can't See 'round Corners'' (1969).> Television appearances include '' Skippy ...

and

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 ...

. The film is a theatrical version of the 1967 TV show ''

You Can't See 'Round Corners ''You Can't See 'round Corners'' is a 1969 Australian drama film directed by David Cahill and starring Ken Shorter and Rowena Wallace. The film is a theatrical version of the 1967 TV show '' You Can't See 'Round Corners''. Both were based on t ...

''. Both were based on the 1947 novel by

Jon Cleary Jon Stephen Cleary (22 November 191719 July 2010) was an Australian writer and novelist. He wrote numerous books, including '' The Sundowners'' (1951), a portrait of a rural family in the 1920s as they move from one job to the next, and '' The ...

updated to the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

Synopsis

Small-time bookie Frankie McCoy from Newtown, Sydney, is drafted during the Vietnam War. He loves his girlfriend Margie but is frustrated because she won't sleep with him before they are married. He goes through basic training at

Kapooka Kapooka is a suburb in the south-west of Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia. Kapooka is home to the Department of Defence's Blamey Barracks from where the Army Recruit Training Centre conducts its operations. It is located on the Olympic ...

, near

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's la ...

but eventually deserts. Margie breaks up with him once she finds this out. Frankie goes back to working as a bookie but suffers a series of losses. In order to cover these he robs an office, not realising the money he has stolen consists of marked bills. He visits a Kings Cross night club, meeting a girl, Myra, who he sleeps with and gives some of the stolen money. Both the military and regular police start to close in on Frankie, and he discovers that the bills were marked. He goes back to Myra to retrieve the money. They get in an argument and he winds up accidentally killing her. He contacts Margie but is chased after by some of the men he owes money to and winds up running in front of a moving car and being killed.

Cast

as Frankie McCoy *

Lyndall Barbour Lyndall Harvey Barbour (19 May 1916 – 10 October 1986) was an Australian actress, primarily of radio, although she also added stage and television work (both series and made-for-television movies) to her repertoire. Born in Egypt to Australian p ...

as Mrs. McCoy *

as Margie Harris * Judith Fisher as Peg Clancy *

Carmen Duncan Carmen Joan Duncan (7 July 1942 – 3 February 2019) was an Australian-born stage and screen actress and activist, with a career locally and internationally in the United States that spanned over 50 years. She was nominated for the AFI Award ...

as Myra Neilson *

Slim DeGrey Clifford Frank de Grey (20 May 1918 – 16 March 2007), better known as Slim De Grey, was an English-Australian actor, compere, musician, lyricist, composer and comedian. He served in the Australian Army during World War II, seeing action in th ...

as Mick Patterson *

Max Cullen Max Cullen (born 29 April 1940) is an Australian stage and screen actor. He has appeared in many Australian films and television series but is best known for his role in the film ''Spider and Rose'' and the television series ''The Flying Doctors ...

as Peeper * Kevin Leslie as Ken * Goff Vockler as Barney *

Lou Vernon Lou Vernon (26 June 1888, Brisbane – 22 December 1971, Sydney) was an Australian actor of stage, radio and screen and producer. He started his career in musical comedy, and was particularly noted for his versatility and ability as a character a ...

as Nugget * John Armstrong as Jack Kelly * Peter Aanensen as Sgt Quinn *

Max Phipps Maxwell John Phipps (18 November 1939 – 6 August 2000) was an Australian actor, known for a number of roles in theatre, films and television during the 1960s until the end of the 1990s. Life and career Phipps was born in Dubbo and grew up in ...

as Keith Grayson *

Vincent Gil Vincent Gil (1939 – 21 August 2022), also credited as Vince Gil, was an Australian film and television actor best known for his portrayal of the character ''Nightrider'' in the 1979 film ''Mad Max'', and ''Stone''. Gil had also starred in m ...

as Lennie Ryan *

Henri Szeps Henri Szeps OAM, (born 2 October 1943) alternatively Henry Szeps, is an Australian character actor of theatre and television. He has also featured in films and worked in voice roles, and has worked in productions in the United Kingdom. Early ...

as Peter * Marion Johns as Mrs Harris * John Barnes as Mr Harris *

Garry McDonald Garry George McDonald AO (born 30 October 1948) is an Australian actor, satirist and comedian. In a career spanning five decades he has had many theatre, television and film roles, and has been listed as a National Living Treasure. He is bes ...

* The Atlantics

Production

The film was shot in mid 1967, financed by the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

. It used the same cast, crew and sets as the TV series. Very little of it was shot on location. It was a co-production between ATN 7 and Universal. The film features appearances by a young

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 ...

and

with hair.

Reception

The film was the 19th most popular movie at the Australian box office in 1969."The World's Top Twenty Films." Sunday Times ondon, England27 Sept. 1970: 27. The Sunday Times Digital Archive. accessed 5 April 2014

References

External links

*
''You Can't See 'Round Corners''
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 co ...

''You Can't See 'Round Corners'' (film)
at

National Film and Sound Archive 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 co ...

''You Can't See Round Corners''
at Oz Movies Australian drama films 1969 films Films based on works by Jon Cleary Films directed by David Cahill 1960s Australian films 1960s English-language films {{1960s-Australia-film-stub