Midnite Spares

Last updated

Midnite Spares
Midnitesparesvhscover.jpg
VHS cover
Directed byQuentin Masters
Screenplay byTerry Larsen
Story byJohn Fitzpatrick
Produced byTom Burstall
Starring Gia Carides
James Laurie
John Clayton
Max Cullen
Graeme Blundell
Tony Barry
Bruce Spence
David Argue
Jonathan Coleman
CinematographyGeoff Burton
Edited by Andrew Prowse
Music by Cameron Allan
Production
company
Distributed byRoadshow Films
Release date
1983
Running time
87 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
BudgetA$2.6 million [1]
Box officeA$417,000 (Australia) [2]

Midnite Spares is a 1983 Australian action film starring Gia Carides, James Laurie, Max Cullen, Graeme Blundell, Bruce Spence, David Argue and Jonathan Coleman.

Contents

Plot

Steve Hall (James Laurie) is a young sprintcar driver from Toowoomba who has returned home to Sydney to team up with his dad Ted and his business partner Tomas (Max Cullen) in their towing and panel beating business "T&T Towing", as well as to team up with his dad who is also a Sprintcar driver at the local speedway. He arrives to find his dad has mysteriously disappeared and Tomas is being pressured to be part of an illegal "chop shop" ring.

After continuing to resist joining the ring, Tomas is set up and painfully discovers (having his arm broken by a tyre iron) the group of car thieves involved in "midnite spares" (the stealing and chopping of cars to send interstate) were responsible for Ted's untimely death. The thieves are headed by bent Police Detective Howard (Tony Barry) and dodgy businessmen Vincent (John Clayton) and Sidebottom (Graeme Blundell). Steve and Tomas' tow truck drivers Wimpy (Bruce Spence), Rabbit (David Argue), and their friends pursue the criminals and attempt to capture them, following Tomas' advice to Steve "Don't get angry son, get even."

Steve also meets and falls in love with Ruth Mintos (Gia Carides) and the pair have to convince her old fashioned mother Maria (Tessa Mallos) as well as her Uncle Harry (Terry Camilleri) that they want to be together and get married. Steve also tries to prove his prowess at the wheel of a sprintcar at Sydney's Parramatta City Raceway against Sydney and Australia's leading drivers including Garry Rush, George Tatnell, Rob Worthington (who also doubled as Steve when racing), Terry Becker, Bob Blacklaw and Steve Brazier.

Cast

Production

During shooting, camera operator David Brostoff was killed in an accident at the Parramatta City Raceway. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Powerhouse Museum</span> Technology museum in Sydney, Australia

The Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS) in Sydney, and owned by the Government of New South Wales. The Powerhouse is a collection of museums with its main centre in Ultimo, New South Wales, the others being the historic Sydney Observatory at Observatory Hill, and the newer Museums Discovery Centre at Castle Hill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Suburbs Magpies</span> Australian rugby league club, based in Sydney, NSW

The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia. The club, as a sole entity, departed the top-flight competition in 1999 after forming a 50–50 joint venture with Balmain Tigers to form the Wests Tigers. The club currently fields sides in the NSW State Cup, Ron Massey Cup (Opens), S.G. Ball Cup and Harold Matthews Cup competitions.

<i>The Cars That Ate Paris</i> 1974 film by Peter Weir

The Cars That Ate Paris is a 1974 Australian horror comedy film, produced by twin brothers Hal and Jim McElroy and directed by Peter Weir. It was his first feature film, and was also based on an original story he had written. Shot mostly in the rural town of Sofala, New South Wales, the film is set in the fictional town of Paris in which most of the inhabitants appear to be directly, or indirectly, involved in profiting from the results of car accidents. The film is considered part of the Australian New Wave genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Coleman (presenter)</span> Australian broadcaster (1956–2021)

Jonathan "Jono" Harry Coleman, was an English-born television presenter, radio announcer, writer, comedian, and advertorial spokesperson. He was known for his career in his native country and Australia.

<i>G.P.</i> Australian television series

G.P. is an Australian television series produced by Roadshow, Coote & Carroll for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the series was broadcast for 8 seasons between 1989 and 1996.

The following lists events that happened during 1986 in Australia.

Dimboola is a 1979 Australian independent film directed by John Duigan about a country wedding reception. It is based on the 1969 play of the same name by Jack Hibberd and was principally filmed on location in Dimboola, Victoria.

The 1987 NSWRL season was the 80th season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Thirteen clubs competed for the New South Wales Rugby League premiership's J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup during the season, which culminated in the grand final between the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Canberra Raiders who were the first club ever from outside Sydney to appear in a premiership decider. This season, NSWRL teams also competed for the 1987 National Panasonic Cup.

The 21st Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 28 October 2007 at the Acer Arena at the Sydney Olympic Park complex. Rove McManus was the host of the event. The nominees for all categories were announced on 19 September, while the winners of the Artisan Awards were announced on that same day.

In late 2007, the Australian Rugby League and National Rugby League commissioned 130 experts to select the 100 best rugby league players in the game's 100-year history in Australia. From this list, a limited panel of experts picked a "Team of the Century" – a team of 17 players considered to be the best Australian players of all time. This team was announced in Sydney on 17 April 2008, see Australian Rugby League's Team of the Century.

Underbelly: Razor, the fourth series of the Australian Nine Network crime drama anthology series Underbelly, originally aired from 21 August 2011 to 6 November 2011. It is a thirteen-part series detailing real events that occurred in Sydney between 1927 and 1936. The series depicts the "razor gangs" who controlled the city's underworld during the era and the violent war between the two "vice queen" powers, Tilly Devine and Kate Leigh. It is also the last season in the Underbelly franchise that contains 13 episodes. In contrast to the previous Underbelly instalments, which were based on books by John Silvester and Andrew Rule, Razor is based on the Ned Kelly Award-winning book of the same name, written by Larry Writer.

Peter Cummins is an Australian retired character actor of stage and screen and chorister who was especially prominent in the 1970s and appeared in some of the most famous Australian films of the period.

<i>Janet King</i> (TV series) Australian TV series

Janet King is an Australian television drama program which began airing on ABC1 from 27 February 2014. It was created as a spin-off from the 2011 legal drama Crownies. It follows the story of Senior Crown Prosecutor Janet King, tracking her journey in Series 1 in the Department of Public Prosecutions to a Royal Commission into Serious Firearm Crime in Series 2 to the National Crime Commission in Series 3.

Sydney Speedway was a dirt track racing venue on the site of the Granville Showgrounds in Sydney.

The 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours in New Zealand, celebrating the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, were appointments made by the Queen in her right as Queen of New Zealand, on the advice of the New Zealand government, to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. They were announced on 7 June 2010.

References

  1. Adrian Martin, "Midnite Spares", Australian Film 1978-1992, Oxford Uni Press, 1992 p132
  2. "Australian Films at the Australian Box Office", Film Victoria Archived 9 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine accessed 24 October 2012
  3. David Stratton, The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry, Pan MacMillan, 1990 p275-276