''Barry McKenzie Holds His Own'' is the 1974 sequel to the 1972

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

The Adventures of Barry McKenzie ''The Adventures of Barry McKenzie'' is a 1972 Australian comedy film directed by Bruce Beresford and starring Barry Crocker, telling the story of an Australian 'yobbo' on his travels to the United Kingdom. Barry McKenzie was originally a chara ...

''. Returning from the original film is

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

in the title role, as well as

Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (born 17 February 1934) is an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film prod ...

in the role of Barry's aunt, Edna. Also returning in the director's chair is

Bruce Beresford Bruce Beresford (; born 16 August 1940) is an Australian film director who has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career, both locally and internationally in the United States. Beresford's notable films he has directed include ''Br ...

. The then

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the he ...

, along with his wife

Margaret Whitlam Margaret Elaine Whitlam, AO (née Dovey; 19 November 1919 – 17 March 2012) was an Australian social campaigner, author, and athlete. She was the wife of Gough Whitlam, the 21st Prime Minister of Australia from 1972 to 1975, and a representat ...

, made cameo appearances as themselves. Barry Humphries contends that ''Barry McKenzie'' was an inspiration for the later film ''

Crocodile Dundee ''Crocodile Dundee'' (stylized as ''"Crocodile" Dundee'' in the U.S.) is a 1986 action comedy film set in the Australian Outback and in New York City. It stars Paul Hogan as the weathered Mick Dundee, and American actress Linda Kozlowski as ...

''.

Plot

The film continues directly where ''

'' ended with Barry McKenzie (Barry Crocker) and his aunt Edna returning home to Australia from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. During the flight two henchmen of Count Plasma (

Donald Pleasence Donald Henry Pleasence (; 5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995) was an English actor. He began his career on stage in the West End before transitioning into a screen career, where he played numerous supporting and character roles including RAF ...

) (a

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

-type Minister of Culture from the People's Republic of

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

) mistake Edna for the Queen of the United Kingdom and kidnap her during their brief stopover in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, believing that she will draw tourists to their country. It is then up to Barry, his identical twin brother the Reverend Kevin McKenzie, his Parisian

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

Aussie friend "Col the Frog" (

Dick Bentley Charles Walter "Dick" Bentley (14 May 1907 – 27 August 1995) was an Australian-born comedian and actor of radio, stage and screen. He starred with Jimmy Edwards in '' Take It From Here'' for BBC Radio. He was a staple of and pioneer of radio, ...

) and his other expatriate mates in France and England to head a team of Australian agents to be parachuted into Transylvania and rescue Edna. Barry and Edna return home to Australia and are greeted by Gough Whitlam and his wife. Whitlam makes Edna a

dame ''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system and those of several oth ...

Cast

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

as Barry McKenzie/Kevin McKenzie *

as Senator Douglas Manton/Edna Everage/Meyer de Lamphrey/buck-toothed Englishman *

as Count Plasma *

as Col "The Frog" Lucas *

Ed Devereaux Edward Sidney Devereaux (27 August 192517 December 2003), better known professionally as Ed Devereaux, was an Australian actor, director, and scriptwriter who lived in the United Kingdom for many years. He was best known for playing the part of ...

as Sir Alec Ferguson *

Roy Kinnear Roy Mitchell Kinnear (8 January 1934 – 20 September 1988) was a British character actor. He was known for his roles in films such as The Beatles' ''Help!'' (1965), Clapper in '' How I Won the War'' (1967) and Planchet in ''The Three Musketeer ...

as Bishop of Paris *

Don Spencer Donald Richard Spencer (born 22 March 1941),is an Australian children's television presenter, singer-songwriter, and guitarist. He had a long-running role on ''Play School'' on both the Australian version (1968–99) and the United Kingdom ...

as quizmaster *

Frank Windsor Frank Windsor Higgins (12 July 1928 – 30 September 2020), known professionally as Frank Windsor, was an English actor, primarily known for his roles on television, especially policeman John Watt in ''Z-Cars'' and its spin-offs. Biography Win ...

as police sergeant *

Derek Guyler Deryck Bower Guyler (29 April 1914 – 7 October 1999) was an English actor, best remembered for his portrayal of officious, short-tempered middle-aged men in sitcoms such as ''Please Sir!'' and ''Sykes''. Early life Guyler was born in Wallas ...

as police constable *

Arthur English Arthur Leslie Norman English (9 May 1919 – 16 April 1995) was an English television, film and stage actor and comedian from the music hall tradition. Early life English was born at 22 Lysons Road in Aldershot,'Arthur English, ''Aldershot H ...

as cockney spiv *

Desmond Tester Sydney Desmond Tester (17 February 1919 – 31 December 2002) was an England, English film and television actor, Television presenter, host and executive. He was born in London, England, and started his career as child actor, among his most nota ...

as Marcel Escargot *

John Le Mesurier John Le Mesurier (, born John Elton Le Mesurier Halliley; 5 April 191215 November 1983) was an English actor. He is perhaps best remembered for his comedic role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the BBC television situation co ...

as Robert Crowther *

Tommy Trinder Thomas Edward Trinder CBE (24 March 1909 – 10 July 1989) was an English stage, screen and radio comedian whose catchphrase was "You lucky people!". Described by cultural historian Matthew Sweet as "a cocky, front-of-cloth variety turn", he was ...

as Arthur McKenzie *

Chantal Contouri Chantal Contouri (born 1950; sometimes credited as Chantal Cantouri, el, Σαντάλ Κοντούρη) is a Greek Australian television and film actress and former dancer, best known for her role in the 1970s soap opera ''Number 96'', as nurs ...

as Zizi *

Clive James Clive James (born Vivian Leopold James; 7 October 1939 – 24 November 2019) was an Australian critic, journalist, broadcaster, writer and lyricist who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1962 until his death in 2019.Bruce Beresford Bruce Beresford (; born 16 August 1940) is an Australian film director who has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career, both locally and internationally in the United States. Beresford's notable films he has directed include ''Br ...

wanted to make a film of ''

The Getting of Wisdom ''The Getting of Wisdom'' is a novel by Australian novelist Henry Handel Richardson. It was first published in 1910, and has almost always been in print ever since. Plot introduction Henry Handel Richardson was the pseudonym of Ethel Florence ...

'' but was unable to raise finance. The movie was entirely funded by

Reg Grundy Reginald Roy Grundy (4 August 1923 – 6 May 2016) was an Australian entrepreneur and media mogul, best known for his numerous television productions. He was the producer of various Australian game shows, such as '' Blankety Blanks'' (based on ...

.David Stratton, ''The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival'', Angus & Robertson, 1980 p46 Shooting began in February 1974. Most of the film was shot on location in England, Wales and Paris, with some studio scenes shot in London. Edna's home movie footage was shot at Palm Beach, Sydney, in December 1973. British unions constantly objected to Australian cast and crew working in Britain.

Box office

'' Barry McKenzie Holds His Own'' grossed $1,407,000 at the box office in Australia, which is equivalent to $9,497,250 in 2009 dollars.

References

External links

*
''Barry McKenzie Holds His Own'' at the National Film and Sound Archive

Barry McKenzie fanpage''Barry McKenzie Holds His Own''
at Oz Movies {{DEFAULTSORT:Barry Mckenzie Holds His Own 1974 comedy films Australian comedy films Films directed by Bruce Beresford Films scored by Peter Best (composer) 1974 films Films based on Australian comics Live-action films based on comics 1970s English-language films