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Gallipoli (Peter Weir, 1981) prod. Patricia Lovell & Robert Stigwood for Associated A & R Films, wr. David Williamson, dp Russell Boyd, designer: Wendy Weir, ed. Bill Anderson; Mel Gibson, Mark Lee, Bill Hunter, Robert Grubb, Bill Kerr, David Argue, Harold Hopkins, Tim McKenzie; review by Brian McFarlane in Murray 1995: 74; see also his review in Cinema Papers, 33, July-August 1981: 322-329; Gallipoli scenes filmed at Port Lincoln, SA; many AFI awards; Eastman colour, 35mm, 105 min.
Snow: The Movie (Robert Gibson, 1982) David Argue, Geoff Kelso, Ian McFadyen; to do with skiing and wet T-shirt competition; shot at Falls Creek
BMX Bandits (Brian Trenchard-Smith, 1983) aka Shortwave, colour, 35 mm, 90 min., prod. Tom Broadbridge, Paul Davies for Nilsen Premiere, wr. Patrick Edgeworth, dp John Seale, production design Ross Major, ed. Allan Lake, music: Colin Stead and Frank Strangio; David Argue (Whitey), John Ley (Moustache), Nicole Kidman (Judy), Angelo D'Angelo (PJ), James Lugton (Goose); children
Going Down (Haydn Keenan, 1983) prod. Haydn Keenan for X-Productions, ed. Julie Barry, Moira MacLaine-Cross, Melissa Woods, dp Malcolm Richards, music Lloyd Carrick, design Melody Cooper, ed. Paul Healey; David Argue, Julie Barry, Mercia Deane Johns, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Moira Maclaine Cross, Tracy Mann, Richard Moir, Vera Plevnik, Esben Storm, Claudia Karvan (small part); comedy-drama, three flat-mates; Eastman colour, 35mm, 90 min.
Midnite Spares (Quentin Masters, 1983) prod. Tom Burstall for Wednesday Investments, wr. Terry Larsen, dp Geoff Burton, music Cameron Allen, design George Liddle, ed. Andrew Prowse; Max Cullen, Bruce Spence, David Argue, John Clayton, Tony Barry, Terry Camilleri, introducing Gia Carides, Jonathan Coleman, James Laurie (Steve), Graeme Blundell; 'B' grade crime movie: the stolen car industry; anti-Viet racism; Eastman colour, 35mm, 97 min.
Return of Captain Invincible, The (Philippe Mora, 1983) aka Legend in Leotards; prod. Andrew Gaty for Seven Keys, wr. Andrew Gaty, Steven de Souza, dp Mike Molloy. design David Copping, ed. John Scott; Alan Arkin, Christopher Lee, Kate Fitzpatrick, Bill Hunter, Michael Pate, David Argue, John Bluthal, Chelsea Brown, Max Cullen, Arthur Dignam, Noel Ferrier, Hayes Gordon, Chris Haywood, Graham Kennedy, Gus Mercurio, Max Phipps, Alfred Sandor; comedy; Eastman colour, 35mm, 92 min.
Melvin Son of Alvin (John Eastway, 1984) aka Girl-Toy; prod. James McElroy (& Hal), for Memorelle, wr. Morris Gleitzman, dp John Eastway, music Colin Stead, design Jon Dowding, ed. John Hollands; Gerry Sont, Lenita Psillakis, Jon Finlayson, Tina Bursill, Colin McEwan, Abigail, David Argue, Arianthe Galani, Graeme Blundell; comedy; Kodak colour, 35mm, 90 min.
Razorback (Russell Mulcahy, 1984) prod. Jim & Hal McElroy, wr. Everett De Roche, novel Peter Brennan, dp Dean Semler, music Iva Davies; Gregory Harrison, Arkie Whiteley, Bill Kerr, Chris Haywood, David Argue, Judy Morris; horror parody
Stanley: Every Home Should Have One (Esben Storm, 1984) prod. Andrew Gaty for Seven Keys; wr. Esben Storm, from story by Andrew Gaty, Esben Storm, dp Russell Boyd, design Owen Paterson, ed. Bill Anderson; Peter Bensley, Nell Campbell, Graham Kennedy, David Argue, Jonathan Coleman, Michael Craig, Max Cullen, Lorna Lesley; Eastman colour, 35mm, 93 min.
Coca-Cola Kid, The (Dusan Makaveyev, 1985) wr. Frank Moorhouse, based on two of his short stories; Eric Roberts, Greta Scacchi, Bill Kerr, Chris Haywood, Max Gillies, Kris McQuade, Tony Barry, Paul Chubb, David Slingsby, Tim Finn; Oedipal struggle of son against father, among many other things
Niel Lynne (David Baker, 1985) aka Best Enemies; prod. Tom Burstall; Sigrid Thornton, Paul Williams, Judy Morris, Brandon Burke, David Argue, Alan Cinis; drama/thriller; story of two boyhood friends tracing their fates and loves from the turbulent era of the late 1960s to the 1970s; 105 min.
Backlash (Bill Bennett, 1986) prod. Bill Bennett for Mermaid Beach Productions, wr. Bill Bennett, with dialogue by the cast, dp Tony Wilson, music Michael Atkinson, Michael Spicer, ed. Denise Hunter; David Argue, Gia Carides, Lydia Miller, Brian Syron; drama, thriller; Eastman colour, 35 mm, 89 min.
Coming of Age (Brian Jones, 1986) aka Coming-of-Age; Angela Menzies-Wills, David Evans, Mark Neal, Margaret Dupre, Deanna Somers, Allan Easther, David Argue; comedy
Pandemonium (Haydn Keenan, 1987) aka Haydn Keenan's Pandemonium; David Argue, Amanda Dole, Arna-Maria Winchester, Mercia Deane-Johns, Esben Storm, Rainee Skinner, Kerry Mack, Lex Marinos; 88 min.; "least boring Australian film ever made" - Geoff Gardner, Murray 1995; woman arrives at Bondi saying she has been raised by dingoes
Blood Oath (Stephen Wallace, 1990) aka Prisoners of the Sun (USA); Bryan Brown, George Takei, ... John Polson, Russell Crowe, David Argue, Jason Donovan; war-crimes trials in Ambon
Shrimp on the Barbie, The (Michael Gottlieb, Alan Smithee, 1990) aka The Boyfriend from Hell: title used in UK because Mattel owns the word "Barbie"; Cheech Marin; comedy; NZ/USA; 86 min.
Hurricane Smith (Colin Budds, 1991) aka Dead on Delivery; Carl Weathers, Jurgen Prochnow, Cassandra Delaney
Breathing Under Water (Susan Murphy Dermody, 1992) Anne Louise Lambert, Kristoffer Greaves, Maeve Dermody, David Argue; review by Adrian Martin in Murray 1995: 333; art film
Crimetime (Marc Gracie, 1993) aka Crime Time; prod. Frank Howson, Boulevard Films; Marcus Graham, Bruce Venable, Lucy Bell, David Argue, Steven Grives; police, crime; not released; 96 min.
Hercules Returns (David Parker, 1993) aka First Take Meets Hercules, The Last Temptation of Hercules; David Argue, Michael Carman, Mary Coustas, Bruce Spence; voices: Des Mangan, Sally Patience, Matthew King; Italian film used is Hercules, Samson, Maciste and Ursus Are Invincible
No Escape (theatrical title) (Martin Campbell, 1994) aka Escape from Absolom, The Penal Colony (working title and title of the book); set in prisons of the future; shot in Queensland; Ray Liotta, Lance Henrik
Angel Baby (Michael Rymer, 1995) wr. Michael Rymer; John Lynch, Jacqueline McKenzie, Colin Friels, Deborra-Lee Furness, Daniel Daperis, Robyn Nevin, David Argue, Geoff Brooks, Humphrey Bower, Jane Menelaus; schizophrenics don't take their medication (when she gets pregnant), go 'mad', suicide; 100 min.
Lilian's Story (Jerzy Domaradzki, 1996) prod. Marian Macgowan, novel Kate Grenville 1984, based on Bea Miles; Ruth Cracknell, Barry Otto, Toni Collette, John Flaus; we see Lilian's father having sex with her; review by Peter Malone in Cinema Papers, no. 110, June 1996; (cf. NZ film The Heart of the Stag, where there is less or no trauma; cf. also another film with Cracknell, The Singer and the Dancer); Collette won Best Supporting Actress AFIs 1996
Road Train (Dean Francis, 2010) aka Road Kill; horror; Xavier Samuel, Sophie Lowe, Bob Morley, Georgina Haig, David Argue
Astro Loco (Aaron McLoughlin, tba) wr. Aaron McLoughlin, prod. Craig Kocinski; David Argue; scifi spoof; not released
Kent Hill:
David Argue is a brilliant, unpredictable talent. At his greatest when left to his own devices and instincts, he has graced Australian screens, theatres and stand-up comedy venues for the better part of 5.8 decades.
Gaining his equity card as an infant, he soon found his way to the National Institute of Dramatic Arts whose graduates included Mel Gibson, Judy Davis , Colin Friels, Steve Bisley just to name a few. He has worked with our finest behind the camera as well, under the direction of Peter Weir (The Truman Show, Dead Poets Society), Brian Trenchard-Smith (The Man from Hong Kong, Turkey Shoot) and Russell Mulcahy (Highlander, The Shadow).
He has enjoyed a career of richly diverse roles. Playing everything from outback lunatics to bumbling criminals to budding cinema proprietors. Sharing the screen with the cream of both Australian and international talent from a then unknown Nicole Kidman to being the cellmate of Ray Liotta.
David has watched the industry thrive, shrink and change as well as having the distinction of seeing himself decapitated. (If anyone out there reads this and knows the whereabouts of David's fake head from the film Blood Oath – he would like it back).
Now at the end of his career, David sat down with me, in one of the most fun and certainly funniest conversation I've yet had, and talked about his life of many parts, about his hours of strutting and fretting upon the stage, as well as his hopes for a BMX Bandits 2.
Ladies and Gentlemen I give you the irrepressible, the incomparable, the irresistible David Argue. ... by Kent Hill.
Don Groves, IF, 2 June 2015
David Argue has rediscovered his passion for acting after playing an Australian astronaut in Astro Loco, the debut feature from writer-director Aaron McLoughlin.
The actor who made his name in the 1980s classics Gallipoli, BMX Bandits, and Razorback, shot the sci-fi comedy at RMIT University's studios in Melbourne after taking a self-imposed break.
Explaining the hiatus, he tells IF, 'On a couple of projects I felt I was not treated the right way, or the film was shafted.'
Astro Loco follows four misfit astronauts who discover during their mission they have been given one-way tickets and they're not going home.
'When Aaron sent me the treatment I thought, ‘That's right out there,' a bit like Red Dwarf,' Argue says. 'My character Lucien is quite angry, he's not the full astronaut.'
The actor thoroughly enjoyed the shoot, observing, 'It was an awakening, my reconnection with the film business.'
McLoughlin is a lecturer in animation and interactive media at RMIT's school of media and communication. RMIT animation and visual effects students are working on the film in post as an integrated work project.
'I'm a huge fan of David's,' McLoughlin says. 'I thought it would be good to cast someone who was part of an era of Australian cinema that people fondly remember. I wrote the dialogue for him and he tweaked it in his own way.'
Producer Craig Kocinski says, 'David is an amazing actor. I'd never worked with anyone remotely like him. He is totally immersed in making the character authentic.'
The producers are not aiming for a theatrical release in Australia but they have a letter-of-intent from Australia's Syfy Channel and hope it will be picked up by other Syfy channels internationally; they also intend to release the film on digital platforms.
Argue is the only Aussie astronaut: the others are American, Russian and Chinese, in a deliberate attempt to enhance the international appeal.
He studied at NIDA for two years but deferred his last year to work on the Ten network drama The Restless Years.
He was doing stand-up comedy when he applied for a role in Gallipoli. He won the part of the young digger Snowy after an improvised audition for director Peter Weir.
The shoot was 'real Hollywood,' he recalls. 'The scenes of landing on the beach were mind blowing."
He played the villain in Brian Trenchard-Smith's BMX Bandits opposite the teenaged Nicole Kidman, and a kangaroo shooter in Russell Mulcahy's Razorback.
In Haydn Keenan's Going Down he had the dual roles of Trixie, a drag queen who OD's, and Greg, a hapless and star-crossed lover who spends the entire film on roller skates.
Among his other credits are Bill Bennett's Backlash, Stephen Wallace's Blood Oath, Michael Rymer's Angel Baby and Keenan's Pandemonium.
As at 2022, Astro Loco has not been released.
Garry Gillard | New: 4 June, 2015 | Now: 12 September, 2022