''They're a Weird Mob'' is a 1966 Australian

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

based on the 1957 novel of the same title by John O'Grady under the pen name "Nino Culotta", the name of the main character of the book. It was the penultimate collaboration of the British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.

Plot

Nino Culotta is an Italian

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

, newly arrived in Australia. He expected to work for his cousin as a sports writer for an Italian language magazine. However, on arrival in Sydney, Nino discovers that the cousin has abandoned the magazine, leaving a substantial debt to Kay Kelly. Nino declares that he will get a job and pay back the debt. Working as a labourer Nino becomes mates with his co-workers, despite some difficulties with

Australian slang Australian English is a major variety of the English language spoken throughout Australia. Most of the vocabulary of Australian English is shared with British English, though there are notable differences. The vocabulary of Australia is drawn fr ...

and

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

of the 1960s. Nino endeavours to understand the aspirational values and social rituals of everyday urban Australians, and assimilate. A romantic attraction builds between Nino and Kay despite her frosty exterior and her conservative Irish father's dislike of Italians. A tone of mild racism exists in the film between Anglo-Saxon/Anglo-Irish characters such as Kay Kelly's dad Harry (Chips Rafferty) and Nino. Harry says he does not like writers, brickies or dagos. Nino is all three. But this is undermined when Nino, sitting in the Kelly house notices a picture of the pope on the wall. Nino says "If I am a dago, then so is he". Realising the impossibility of referring to the pope by that derogatory term, Harry gives in.

Cast

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 originall ...

as Giovanni 'Nino' Culotta * Claire Dunne as Kay Kelly *

Chips Rafferty John William Pilbean Goffage MBE (26 March 190927 May 1971), known professionally as Chips Rafferty, was an Australian actor. Called "the living symbol of the typical Australian", Rafferty's career stretched from the late 1930s until he died i ...

as Harry Kelly * Alida Chelli as Giuliana *

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 Joe Kennedy * Slim DeGrey as Pat *

John Meillon John Meillon ( ; 1 May 1934 – 11 August 1989) was an Australian character actor known for dramatic as well as comedy roles. He portrayed Walter Reilly in the films '' Crocodile Dundee'' and '' Crocodile Dundee II''. He also voiced advertiseme ...

as Dennis * Charles Little as Jimmy *

Anne Haddy Patricia Anne Haddy (5 October 1930 – 6 June 1999), credited also as Anne Hardy, was an Australian actress, television presenter and voice artist, who worked in various facets of the industry including radio, stage and television. She was mar ...

as Barmaid * Jack Allen as Fat Man in Bar * Red Moore as Texture Man * Ray Hartley as Newsboy *

Tony Bonner Anthony Frederick Bonner (born 23 November 1943) is an Australian television, film, and stage actor and singer. Bonner became famous in the 1960s children's television series ''Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'', later moving on to lead roles in th ...

as Lifesaver * Alan Lander as Charlie * Keith Peterson as Drunk Man on Ferry * Muriel Steinbeck as Mrs Kelly * Gloria Dawn as Mrs Chapman *

Jeanie Drynan Jeanie Drynan is an Australian film and television actress well known for her roles in the television series '' Class of '74'', as Muriel's mother in the 1994 film ''Muriel's Wedding'' and as solicitor Angela Jeffries in the cult classic telev ...

as Betty * Gita Rivera as Maria * Judith Arthy as Dixie * Doreen Warburton as Edie *

Barry Creyton Barry Creyton (born 1939) is an Australian actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, composer and director, he has also worked in the United Kingdom and the United States. He became best known nationally alongside Carol Raye and Gordon Chater, ...

as Hotel Clerk *

Graham Kennedy Graham Cyril Kennedy Order of Australia, AO (15 February 1934 – 25 May 2005) was an Australian entertainer, comedian and variety performer, radio and television host as well as a personality and actor of theatre, television and film. He wa ...

as Himself (cameo) * Robert McDarra as Hotel Manager * Judi Farr as Hotel Telephonist (uncredited) * Noel Brophy as Irate Ferry Passenger *

Jacki Weaver Jacqueline Ruth Weaver (born 25 May 1947) is an Australian theatre, film, and television actress. Her accolades include five AACTA Awards (including the Longford Lyell Award) and a National Board of Review Award, in addition to nominations ...

as Girl on Beach *

Liza Goddard Louise Elizabeth Goddard (born 20 January 1950), professionally known as Liza Goddard, is an English television and stage actress, best known for her work in the 1970s and 1980s. Early life Goddard was born in Smethwick, Staffordshire.Before ...

as Girl on Ferry (uncredited) * Ken James as Bellboy at King's Cross Hotel (uncredited) * John Hargreaves as Youth at Train Station (uncredited) * Ron Shand as Man at Racetrack (uncredited) * Gordon Glenwright *

Tom Oliver Tom Oliver (born 12 June 1938) is a British naturalised Australian retired actor. Oliver is best known locally and internationally for his long-running role in TV soap opera ''Neighbours'' as Lou Carpenter, a role he played for 25 years bec ...

as Barbecue Chef's Friend Cast notes * John O'Grady, the author of the novel, makes a

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

as the grey-bearded drinker in the pub in the opening sequence of the film. * Alida Chelli was the girlfriend of Walter Chiari, but almost did not get the part because she was thought to be too glamorous and might have upstaged Claire Dunne.

Development

''They're a Weird Mob'' was optioned in 1959 by

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, 12th-greatest male ...

with him to direct but not appear, but he could not come up with a workable screenplay.

Michael Powell Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company Powell and Pressburger, The Archers, they together wrote, produced ...

first read the novel in London in 1960 and wanted to turn it into a film but Peck had the rights. Powell obtained them three years later and brought in his long-time collaborator

Emeric Pressburger Emeric Pressburger (born Imre József Pressburger; 5 December 19025 February 1988) was a Hungarian-British screenwriter, film director, and producer. He is best known for his series of film collaborations with Michael Powell, in a collaborat ...

, who wrote the screenplay under the pseudonym "Richard Imrie."

Finance

The film was one of a series of movies financed together by Rank and the NFFC. £166,925 of the budget came from the NFFC and Rank, the rest from the production company Williamson-Powell International Films.Petrie p 10

Casting

had previously visited Australia during the filming of ''On the Beach'' (1959), which starred his then-girlfriend

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' att ...

. Claire Dunne was working as a weather girl when cast in the female lead. It was one of Muriel Steinbeck's last acting roles.

Shooting

The film started filming in October 1965 and was shot at a number of locations in the area of Sydney: *

Bondi Beach Bondi Beach () is a popular beach and the name of the surrounding suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Bondi Beach is located east of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of ...

Circular Quay Circular Quay is a harbour, former working port and now international passenger shipping terminal, public piazza and tourism precinct, heritage area, and transport node located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on the northern edge of the ...

(where the ferry comes ashore) * Clark Island (the beach party) * Hunter Street and Elizabeth Street in the central business district *

Martin Place Martin Place is a pedestrian mall in the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. Martin Place has been described as the "civic heart" of Sydney.

(where

asks Nino for directions) *

Manly Beach Manly Beach is a beach situated among the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia. From north to south, the three main sections are Queenscliff, North Steyne and South Steyne. Etymology The beach was named by Captain Arthur Phillip for the i ...

Neutral Bay Neutral Bay is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Neutral Bay is around 1.5 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council. Neutral Bay takes ...

(final scene shot at 9 Wallaringa Ave, Neutral Bay) * Qantas House (where Nino buys a copy of ''The Herald'') * "The House That Nino Built" is located at 128 Greenacre Road in Greenacre, a suburb of Sydney. The actors dug trenches, poured concrete, laid bricks and so on, and it was then finished professionally and sold to raise funds for The Royal Life Saving Society. The stars' footprints were set in concrete slabs in the pathway. * Punchbowl railway station, where Nino is picked up by Joe prior to his first day at work has changed over the years. In a previous configuration it was possible to park a vehicle virtually at the bottom of the northern steps. * Balgowlah Heights The place where Nino & Kay want to build their home is referred to in the "making of " documentary as Grotto Point. Balgowlah Heights is on Dobroyd Head on the north side of the entrance to

Middle Harbour Middle Harbour (or ''Warrin ga''), a semi-mature tide dominated drowned valley estuary, is the northern arm of Port Jackson, an inlet of the Tasman Sea located north of Sydney central business district on the coast of New South Wales, Australi ...

. The film has been credited with the revival of the moribund

Australian film industry The cinema of Australia began 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 international recogni ...

, which led to the Australian "New Wave" films of the 1970s.

Box office

''They're a Weird Mob'' grossed $2,417,000 at the box office in Australia,''Film Victoria – Australian Films at the Australian Box Office''
/ref> . However it performed poorly outside Australia. The NFFC reported its overseas earnings on the film as £207,821. John McCallum said:

We never anticipated that the 'Mob' would do well outside Australia, and it didn't. In fact, it did below-average 'business in England, and apart from a few sales on the Continent it hasn't been sold anywhere else. Italy was a disappointment, particularly as we had Walter Chiari as the star. The trouble there was we couldn't translate Kings bloody Cross into Italian, or rather, when we did, there was no joke. Chiari tried hard, and we got other translators, but it just lost all meaning. We had intended to develop a TV series out of the film, but we realised that there was no future in it for export.

In 1968 John McCallum wrote that of the $2 million the film had then earned, only $400,000 had been returned to the film-makers.Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, p238 He later reflected, "It's our own fault; we were green and we signed a very bad distribution contract. We had an investment from Rank, who also distributed the film, and they bit very hard on the distribution. They took 35 percent, and that's far too high. Twenty-five's a fair thing. That extra ten percent was the killer. It's as simple as that." However, during the making of the film John McCallum worked with Lee Robinson. The two men formed Fauna Productions and had a great success in television starting with ''Skippy''.

''The Story of the Making of 'They're a Weird Mob''

A behind-the-scenes documentary was shot called ''The Story of the Making of 'They're a Weird Mob''. It aired on in Sydney on 12 August 1966 and in Melbourne on 22 August 1966 and went for one hour.

DVD

The film has been released on Region 4 DVD by Roadshow. The DVD includes a TV special, "The Story of Making the Film ''They're a Weird Mob''" as well as a picture gallery, theatrical trailer and optional subtitles. The film has been released on Region 2 DVD by Opening in the ''Les films de ma vie'' series. The DVD has fixed French subtitles for the original English soundtrack.

References

Notes

External links

* *
Reviews and articles
at th
Powell & Pressburger Pages

They're a Weird Mob at the National Film and Sound Archive

''They're a Weird Mob''
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 c ...

''They're a Weird Mob''
at Oz Movies
Peter Krausz, "They're a Weird Mob", ''ACMI''
{{DEFAULTSORT:They're A Weird Mob (Film) 1966 films 1960s Australian films 1960s English-language films Australian comedy films Films set in Sydney Films based on Australian novels Films directed by Michael Powell Films by Powell and Pressburger Films shot in Sydney Films scored by Mikis Theodorakis Films about immigration 1966 comedy films English-language comedy films