End Play (Tim Burstall, 1976) prod. Tim Burstall for Hexagon Productions, wr. Tim Burstall, novel Russell Braddon, dp Robin Copping, design Bill Hutchinson, music Peter Best; George Mallaby, John Waters, Ken Goodlet, Delvene Delaney, Sheila Florance, Belinda Giblin, Kevin Miles, Charles Tingwell; investigative thriller; police investigate two brothers (Waters, Mallaby) about death of hitch-hiker; Melbourne and Sydney, colour, 35mm, 114 min.
In End Play (Tim Burstall, 1975), it is the two brothers (played by John Waters and George Mallaby) whose characters are also under investigation by the film, although the premise is an inquiry into the death of a hitch-hiker.
... Burstall expressed interest in the 'naked and exposed relationship' between the brothers, with their suave manners thinly concealing 'a kind of directness and fairness that ... is unlikely to be found in an English context'. The film emerged less as a straight whodunit than as a thriller observing the long and bizarre process of disposing of the corpse, and the tensions between the two suspects. It was above all an actors' piece, and it introduced two actors with strong television followings in their first major cinema roles: John Waters (from the Australian Broadcasting Commission series, Rush) as the introverted foil to George Mallaby (from Homicide and The Box) as the paraplegic. Pike & Cooper: 297.
Garry Gillard | New: 3 November, 2012 | Now: 4 April, 2020