The BIG Steal
Critical Review and Bibliography
By Heather Wringe
PRINCIPAL CAST AND CREDITS
Director: Nadia Tass
Producer/Writer: David Parker
Additional Scripting: Max Dann
Director of Photography: David Parker
Editor: Peter Carrodus
Original Music by: Philip Judd
Sound Supervisor: Dean Gawen
First Assistant Director: Tony Mahood
Associate Producer: Bryce Menzies
Production Design: Paddy Reardon
Co-Producer: Timothy White
Starring: Ben Medelsohn as Danny Clark
Claudia Karvan as Joanna Johnson
Steve Bisley as Gordon Farkas
Marshall Napier
Damon Herriman
Angelo DâAngelo
Tim Robertson
Maggie King
Roy Edmunds
Reg Gorman
Mark Hennessy
Frankie J. Holden
Robert Meldrum
Robert Morgan
Sheryl Munks
Mike Nikol
Ken Radley
Lisa Rodgers
Andrew Spence
Mark Warren
Eve von Bibra
Year: 1990
Genre: Comedy
Classification: PG
Duration: 99 minutes
Production Company: Cascade Films
Released by: Hoyts
International Sales: Overseas Film Group Inc.
BOX OFFICE FIGURES, PRODUCTION AND RELEASE DATES
The Big Steal was produced by Cascade Films, Nadia Tass and David Parkerâs (husband and wife) production company.
The world premiere of The Big Steal was held at Hoyts in Melbourne on 18 September 1990 and was released in Australia on 20 September 1990. It was first shown in the UK on terrestrial TV on 19 January 1996.
Director Nadia Tass and Producer/Writer/Cinematographer David Parker provided almost 30% of the filmâs $2.3 million budget. The Film Finance Corporation agreed to provide 75% of funding with two private investors making up the rest, however once shooting had started, one investor pulled out and the FFC suspended funding until Tass and Parker could supply the shortfall themselves ö they mortgaged their house. Despite all night shoots for four weeks and the use of five jaguars, the film still managed to come in on budget.
Box Office Figures: $2.4 million (gross Australian box office earnings in 1990), which ranked second highest for that year.
In itâs first week the film made $127 939 and by the end of October 1990 had made $1 398 220.
INTERVIEWS, REVIEWS AND ONLINE PRESENCE
I was a little disappointed at the amount of information on The Big Steal on the internet. While there were plenty of links to Claudia Karvan, Ben Mendelsohn, and Nadia Tass, most were related to other films they have worked on, with only brief mentions of The Big Steal. I think that the lack of information on this classic Australian film is most likely due to its age (pre-internet: 1990) and perhaps the fact that it is an Australian film (although there appeared to be a lot better coverage of more recent Australian movies). I used search engines such as google, alta vista, all the web, and yahoo, searching for key words big/steal/1990/cascade/films etc. and also looked up the websites listed on the H231 site. I emailed Cascade films but did not receive a reply.
Helpful information on the internet can be found at the following web addresses:
http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/vew.asp?article_ID=1856
- The making of The Big Steal including comments from Nadia Tass
http://www.cascadefilms.com.au
- Outlines on the careers of Nadia Tass and David Parker
- Email: info@cascadefilms.com.au
http://us.imdb.com
- Filmographies for Nadia Tass, David Parker, Ben Mendelsohn, Claudia Karvan and Steve Bisley
http://www.afc.gov.au/resources/searched/checklists/findresp.lasso
- Brief information on the film including year it was made, genre, cast and credits etc. as well as a very short plot outline.
http://www.kylenano.demon.ao.uk/bigsteal.htm#release
http://allmovie.com
Brief film information and information on Nadia Tass, David Parker etc.
Printed Publications:
Encore, 27 September ö 10 October edition
- Interview with Nadia Tass.
The West Australian, 20 September 1990
- Review
The 1990 Cinema Papers were not available and although I searched through many other journals in the library, I couldnât find other articles, reviews or interviews. This is surprising considering the box office success and awards the film won at the time of release. Books I looked up also failed to mention the film, including Tom OâReganâs Australian National Cinema. I did however find the screenplay, by David Parker with a forward by David Williamson, in the Murdoch Library.
CRITICAL REVIEW & PLOT SYNOPSIS
Danny Clark is a teenager with two immediate goals: to buy himself a Jaguar and to go out with the beautiful Joanna Johnson. Unfortunately for Danny, neither of these seems within his reach. Danny is disappointed when his parents give him their old car, a Nissan Cedric, for his 18th birthday, however his dreams of romance appear closer to reality when Joanna agrees to go on a date with him. But thereâs a small problem: Danny has told her that he owns a Jaguar.
The trouble starts here, when Danny makes a deal with dodgy second-hand car dealer Gordon Farkas and trades in Cedric for a Jaguar (so that Joanna doesnât think that he lied about owning such a car). His parents are devastated that he sold their precious Cedric. Friday night rolls round and the date goes quite well (after Joannaâs Dad pressures Danny not to ãtry touching her breastsä) That is, until the car breaks down on the way home. Danny discovers that he has been fooled by Farkas, who has swapped the engine with that of his own Jaguar.
Danny and his mates, Mark and Van, embark on a plan to get even with Gordon Farkas, which involves exchanging engines with Farkasâ car while he is getting progressively more inebriated at a mud wrestling show. Farkas is too drunk to notice anything strange about the car when he returns to it and ends up getting arrested for drink driving (he can barely stand up, let alone walk in a straight line).
Meanwhile, Danny is outside the Johnsonsâ house at 5am calling out to Joanna through a loud speaker. Mr Johnson is far from impressed and Joanna tells Danny to return on the weekend when her parents will be away.
On the weekend, Danny and Joannaâs romance seems to be progressing nicely when Joanna gets a phone call from her parents and she realises that they are in fact standing out the front of the house. Gordon realises who is behind the engine swapping at about the same time that Joannaâs parents show up at their house and find Danny naked but for a rug with their daughter. What follows is a wild chase between Farkas, Mr Johnson, Danny, Joanna and Dannyâs mates. They follow each other from car yard to Dannyâs house to the Johnsonsâ and all over town. Mr Johnson (who also happens to have a Jaguar) finds his car has been stolen (by Farkas) while he is attempting to convince Dannyâs parents that Danny ãshould be locked upä.
The comedy, confusion and madness continue, with several entertaining scenes and the film ends happily with Danny and Joanna getting married, Dannyâs parents reclaiming their Cedric, and Farkas in prison.
The Big Steal follows in the tradition of Malcolm (Tassâ feature debut, 1986) and is a classic Australian film which succeeds in its aim of entertaining. It is a little slow in starting, but once the real action begins, it doesnât stop. The film works as a comedy because of the characters more than the actual storyline. Steve Bisleyâs Gordon Farkas is convincing (he says he based the character on someone in the film industry, ãbut I think I would have a writ slapped on me if I said who·ä) [urbancinefile.com] and the roles of the supporting cast are excellent. Dannyâs parents (played by Marshall Napier and Maggie King) are central to the comedy of the film, with their quirky mannerisms and dialogue.
While The Big Steal is now nearly twelve years old, itâs themes, characters and storyline have transcended through time and it is still considered a quality, classic Australian film.
OTHER WORKS OF THE FILMMAKERS
The Big Steal was Nadia Tassâ third feature film as director and producer. Her two previous films, Malcolm (1986) and Ricky & Pete (1988) she also worked on with her husband, David Parker (Producer, writer, cinematographer). Since The Big Steal, Tass has directed several features including Pure Luck (1991), which she directed in the United States, Mr Reliable (1996) which she directed in the U.K., and the highly successful Amy (1998), which won many international awards. Tassâ most recent film is Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story (2001, for Television). She has also worked in the theatre and directed (for the Melbourne Theatre Company) plays such as Summer of the Aliens, Cosi and Miss Bosnia.
David Parker has contributed to many Australian films prior to and following The Big Steal. He has explored different roles in film production, including cinematographer, producer, writer, director and miscellaneous crew. He was worked as Cinematographer, Producer and Writer on Malcolm (1986), Rikky and Pete (1988), and Amy (1998), and directed Hercules Returns (1993) and Diana & Me (1997).
The three main actors in The Big Steal have all continued to work extensively within the Australian film and television industry. Ben Mendelsohn has performed in films such as Cosi (1996), Idiot Box (1996), True Love & Chaos (1997), Amy (1998), Vertical Limit (2000), Mullet (2001), and many television mini series including Queen Kat, Carmel and Saint Jude (1998).He has also made notable TV guest appearances in G.P.(1988), Polic Rescue (1990), Good Guys, Bad Guys (1997), and Love is a four letter word (2001). He has made a very commendable contribution to Australian film and television and continues to hold a central role in the industry.
Claudia Karvan has also done a lot of work since The Big Steal, most notably The Heartbreak Kid (1993), The Nostradamus Kid (1993), Dating The Enemy (1996), Strange Planet (1999), and Risk (2000). Her most prominent role currently is as Dr Alex Christensen in The Secret Life of Us (2001/2002, Channel Ten).
Steve Bisley had appeared in Australian cinema before The Big Steal, including roles is Summer City (1977), Newsfront (1978), Mad Max (1979) and The Last of the Knucklemen (1979). Since then, most of his work has been in television, for example, Police Rescue (1990), Frontline (1994) and Water Rats (1996).
Complete filmographies for all of these people can be found at
http://us.imdb.com
AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL CINEMA
There is little that is intrinsically Australian about the storyline or setting of The Big Steal. The film is set in Melbourne, an urban Australian landscape. This is not central to the storyline however, and the film could really be set in almost any Western city. The genre of comedy is one that transcends national and cultural boundaries and in The Big Steal, it does not rely on Australian knowledges or sense of humour. What does make The Big Steal distinctly Australian, however, is the Îquirkinessâ and the Îordinarinessâ that can be seen in the characters. The actions and dialogue of Dannyâs parents (Mr and Mrs Clark) are certainly Îquirkyâ and contribute importantly to the humour of the film. For example, their continuous games of scrabble (with words such as Îpenis envyâ), and their oft asked ãDaniel the lion tamer, or Daniel our son?ä, as well as other odd habits could be described as Îunexpected characteristic flourishesâ, which Gillard suggests are elements of Îquirkinessâ (Gillard, pp1). The review in The West Australian (20 September 1990) even states that in the film ã·Tass and Parker·have a lot of quirky fun.ä
Tom OâRegan discusses the idea of ugliness and ordinariness in Australian cinema. ãMany Australian stories focus on people who would normally be cast into supporting roles·the ordinary, the daggy (unstylish), the ugly·ä (OâRegan, p245). Ben Mendelsohn is not considered conventionally good looking and is used in The Big Steal to portray an Îordinaryâ working class teenager. Whereas more dominant models of filmmaking tend to cast more Îbeautifulâ people in lead roles, this is often not the case in Australian cinema.
The theme of the story has an element of ÎAustraliannessâ within it in that the underdog wins in the end. That is, the working class boy, Danny, eventually gets his revenge on Farkas and wins the middle class girl. This tends to be a fairly common theme in Australian cinema.
In Australian cinema in the 1980s there was a movement towards more Hollywood styles of filmmaking and an increase in the number of genre movies made. With Hollywood as the dominant international cinema, international and domestic audiences identify with its codes and conventions, and often Australian cinema must adopt these in order to compete with the dominant product. Tom OâRegan suggests that because we donât have the domestic production capabilities of Hollywood, while emulating its style to a certain extent, our national cinema should also have some distinctly Australian qualities: ã·the influence of the Hollywood majors on Australian filmmaking is clear. It needs to be similar to, yet different from the high budget Hollywood product·ä (OâRegan, 1996, pp96.) The Big Steal succeeds in doing this, as it follows already used Hollywood teenage movie formulas.
The Big Steal was Australian financed and has mostly Australian cast and crew, and although it is not specifically Australian in storyline, it still has elements that could be considered quite distinctly part of our national cinema.
While many people may disregard Australian films when going to the cinema, or berate them simply because they are Australian (including many Australians), the progress in our national cinema over the past three decades has improved the industryâs domestic and international reputation and standing. The massive successes of recent films such as Lantana (2001) and Moulin Rouge (2001) are testament to this and it is films like The Big Steal that have helped pave the way.
CRITICAL UPTAKE
The Big Steal was received well by audiences and film critics alike on its release in 1990, as indicated by the box office figures. It was nominated for nine AFI awards, of which it won three:
Best Film, Best performance by an Actress in a leading role, Best performance by an Actor in a leading role, Best performance by an Actress in a supporting role, Best performance by an Actor in a supporting role, Best original Screenplay, Best musical score, Best achievement in production design, Best achievement in sound design. It won Best original screenplay (David Parker), Best musical score (Phil Judd), Best supporting Actor (Steve Bisley)
The Big Steal sold to most major territories at the Cannes Film Festival and sold strongly on the international market. The reviews I found in The West Australian and on the internet had few negative comments to make about the film, and praised Tass and Parker in particular for their skills in creating comedy and casting convincing actors.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gillard, G. Quirkiness in Australian Cinema, (Murdoch University, Australian Cinema Reader, 2002)
George, Sandy, ed. Encore, Sept 27 ö Oct 10, 1990 (Refern, NSW)
OâRegan, T. Australian National Cinema (London: Routledge, 1996)
Van Niekerk, M. ÎBig Enough to Steal a Heartâ, The West Australian (Perth, 20 September, 1990)
http://www.urbancinefile.com.au
http://www.cascadefilms.com.au
http://us.imdb.com
http://www.afc.gov.au
wwwmcc.Murdoch.edu.au/online/h231