1977 Australian TV series or program
| Gone to Ground | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Bruce A. Wishart |
| Directed by | Kevin James Dobson |
| Starring | Charles Tingwell Eric Oldfield |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producer | Robert Bruning |
| Cinematography | Russell Boyd |
| Editor | Rod Hay |
| Running time | 74 mins |
| Production company | Gemini Productions |
| Budget | $90,000 |
| Original release | |
| Network | Seven Network |
| Release | 1977 (1977) |
Gone to Ground is a 1977 Australian TV movie about a man pursued by a killer.
It was one of a series of TV movies Bruning made for Channel 7. Although he sold them to Paramount for worldwide distribution, he found making them was not profitable, so sold his company to Reg Grundy.
Plot
Jimmy Flemming, the owner of a surfing supply store has been receiving death threats. After he is beaten up by surfers he "goes to ground" with his wife Angela and the house of an old friend. However they are followed there by a mysterious motorcyclist.
Harry Ferguson is married to Grace but is sleeping with his secretary Kathleen.
Cast
- Eric Oldfield as Jimmy Flemming
- Bud Tingwell as Harry Ferguson
- Elaine Lee as Grace Ferguson
- Robyn Gibbes as Angela Flemming
- Marion Johns as Ma Bishop
- Dennis Grosvenor as Bart
- Judy Lynne as Kathleen
- Allan Penney as Peters
- Marcus Haleas as Anderson
- John Orcsik
Production
The film was shot in Sydney, including some night scenes at Luna Park.
Reception
The Sydney Morning Herald said that "Eric Oldfield conies off exceptionally well" and the script has "more twists than a corkscrew" but the direction "involves a conglomeration of quick scene changes, flashbacks and slow motion that does nothing more than confuse. So swiftly do the scenes change that dialogue often overlaps into the next frame. It takes about 40 minutes to get some idea of what the film is about."
Another review in the same paper said the script "reduces a taut thriller to a limp farce" where the dialogue was "ineffably silly."
References
- ^ "First Look for a Thrill". Sydney Morning Herald. 8 August 1976. p. 89.
- Ed. Scott Murray, Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995, Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p69
- Beilby, Peter; Murray, Scott (September–October 1979). "Robert Bruning". Cinema Papers. pp. 517–519.
- Shelley, Gary (21 May 1979). "More twists than a corkscrew". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 18.
- Groves, Don (20 May 1979). "Ground script goes to slush". Sydney Morning Herald.
External links
- Gone to Ground at Peter Malone site
- Gone to Ground at IMDb
- Gone to Ground at the British Film Institute
- Gone to Ground at Letterboxd
- Gone to Ground at Screen Australia
- Gone to Ground at AustLit
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