Call Me Mr. Brown

Last updated

Call Me Mr. Brown
Directed by Scott Hicks
Produced byTerry Jennings
Starring Chris Haywood
Vincent Ball
John Frawley
Production
company
Kino Film Co.
Release date
1986
Running time
85 mins
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

Call Me Mr. Brown is a 1986 Australian movie based on the 1971 Qantas bomb hoax, [1] [2] written and directed by South Australian director Scott Hicks. [3] [4]

Contents

In the 1971 incident, Peter Macari extorted $500,000 from Australian airline Qantas, threatening to blow up flight 755 from Sydney to Hong Kong on 26 May 1971. [5]

Qantas actively tried to stop the film being made [6] and despite failing to do so, Network 10, which had invested A$250,000 in the film, refused to air it. The film was eventually released on video in 1990. [7]

Cast

Related Research Articles

Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier and the largest airline in Australia and the largest by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in the country and Oceania. It is the second-oldest continuously operating airline, having been founded in November 1920. Qantas is an acronym of the airline's original name, Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services, as it originally served Queensland and the Northern Territory, and is popularly nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo". It is considered the only airline in the world to fly to all seven continents, with it being the only airline operating regular sightseeing flights to Antarctica along with flights to Africa, Europe, Asia, North America and South America. Qantas is a founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance.

<i>Shine</i> (film) 1996 Australian film

Shine is a 1996 Australian biographical psychological drama film based on the life of David Helfgott, a pianist who suffered a mental breakdown and spent years in institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Airport</span> International airport serving Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport is an international airport in Sydney, Australia, located 8 km (5 mi) south of the Sydney central business district, in the suburb of Mascot. The airport is owned by Sydney Airport Holdings. It is the primary airport serving Sydney and is a primary hub for Qantas, as well as a secondary hub for Virgin Australia and Jetstar, and a focus city for Air New Zealand. Situated next to Botany Bay, the airport has three runways. Sydney Kingsford Int'l Airport covers 907 hectares of land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Cosgrove</span> 26th Governor-General of Australia

General Sir Peter John Cosgrove, is an Australian retired senior Army officer who served as the 26th governor-general of Australia, in office from 2014 to 2019.

The following lists events that happened during 2003 in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kangaroo Route</span> Flights between Britain and Australia over the Eastern Hemisphere

The Kangaroo Route is a term coined by Qantas, referring to the commercial passenger air routes flown between Australia and the United Kingdom via the Eastern Hemisphere.

QantasLink is a regional airline brand of Australian airline Qantas and is an affiliate member of the Oneworld airline alliance. As of 2023, QantasLink provides over 2,000 flights each week to over 50 metropolitan and regional destinations across Australia, as well as short-haul international services to New Zealand, the Solomon Islands and East Timor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Hicks (director)</span> Australian film director, producer and screenwriter

Robert Scott Hicks, known as Scott, is an Australian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known as the director of Shine, the biopic of pianist David Helfgott. Hicks was nominated for two Academy Awards. Other movies he has directed include the film adaptations of Stephen King's Hearts in Atlantis and Nicholas Sparks' The Lucky One.

The following lists events that happened during 1934 in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Harris (poet)</span> Australian writer

Maxwell Henley Harris AO, generally known as Max Harris, was an Australian poet, critic, columnist, commentator, publisher, and bookseller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">May 1971</span> Month of 1971

The following events occurred in May 1971:

Mister Brown or Mr Brown can refer to:

<i>Appointment in London</i> 1953 film by Philip Leacock

Appointment in London is a 1953 British war film set during the Second World War and starring Dirk Bogarde. The film was directed by Philip Leacock and based on a story by John Wooldridge, who as an RAF bomber pilot flew 108 operational sorties over Europe. Wooldridge, who after the war established himself as a successful film composer before his untimely death in a car accident, also wrote the film score and participated in writing the screenplay for 'Appointment in London'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Longden</span> English actor (1900–1971)

John Longden was a British film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1926 and 1964, including six films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trans Australia Airlines Flight 408</span> Attempted hijacking in 1960

The Trans-Australian Airlines hijacking was Australia's first aircraft hijacking. It occurred on 19 July 1960 over Brisbane in a Trans Australia Airlines (TAA) Lockheed Electra.

Qantas is Australia's largest airline. Qantas was founded in Winton, Queensland, on 16 November 1920 as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited by Paul McGinness, Sir Hudson Fysh and Sir Fergus McMaster, the latter of whom was chairman. Arthur Baird was employed as a chief aircraft engineer. McGinness left QANTAS for other interests, and Hudson Fysh remained with the company as General Manager & Managing Director. He retired as Sir Hudson Fysh KBE DFC, Chairman of QANTAS in 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Smith (entrepreneur)</span> Australian aviator and entrepreneur

Richard Harold Smith FRSA is an Australian entrepreneur, aviator and philanthropist. He holds a number of aviation world records and is the founder of Dick Smith Electronics, Australian Geographic and Dick Smith Foods. He was selected as 1986 Australian of the Year. In 2010, he founded the media production company Smith&Nasht with the intention of producing films about global issues. In 2015, he was awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia. He is a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.

Philippa "Pip" Karmel is an Australian filmmaker. As a film editor, she has worked exclusively with director Scott Hicks in a notable collaboration from 1988 through 2007; their work together includes the 1996 film Shine. She has directed and written several films, including Me Myself I (2000), which was released internationally.

<i>The Doomsday Flight</i> 1966 American TV series or program

The Doomsday Flight is a 1966 American thriller television film written by Rod Serling and directed by William Graham. The cast includes Jack Lord, Edmond O'Brien, Van Johnson, Katherine Crawford, John Saxon, Richard Carlson and Ed Asner. It aired on NBC on December 13, 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1971 Qantas bomb hoax</span> Extortion and robbery on a Qantas plane

The 1971 Qantas bomb hoax was an extortion and robbery committed by Peter Macari and Raymond Poynting on 26 May 1971, where Macari, under the alias of "Mr. Brown", extorted $500,000 from Qantas by informing officials that he had hidden a bomb onboard Qantas Flight 755 from Sydney to Hong Kong, and that the device would explode if the plane were to descend below 20,000 feet. In exchange for the safety of the 128 passengers and crew on board Flight 755, Macari demanded a ransom of $500,000. While authorities negotiated with Macari, Flight 755 was forced to circle Sydney; however after over six hours in the air and with fuel supplies dwindling, Qantas was forced to concede. At around 5:45 p.m., in Chifley Square, just outside Qantas company headquarters, Captain RJ Ritchie, a Qantas general manager, handed Macari the ransom money through the window of a Volkswagen Kombi. Sometime after 6:00 pm, Qantas received a final call from Macari stating that there was no bomb onboard Flight 755. The plane was able to land safely at Sydney Airport around 6:45 p.m.

References

  1. Ed. Scott Murray, Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995, Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p22
  2. 'Mr Brown' and riddle of the man who just vanished By Richard Macey Sydney Morning Herald 25 May 2002 accessed 22 June 2013
  3. "Papers of Scott Hicks : Summary record ["Info" tab]". State Library of South Australia . Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  4. Scott Hicks at IMDb
  5. "The true story of the 1971 Qantas bomb hoax - one of Australia's most audacious heists". www.abc.net.au. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  6. "Qantas in protest about hijack film". Canberra Times . 1 November 1985. p. 11. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  7. Teeseling, Ingeborg van (21 May 2018). "The bomb on the Qantas flight, and what happened next". The Big Smoke. Retrieved 27 August 2021.