Running from the Guns

Running from the Guns
Theatrical film poster
Directed by	John Dixon
Written by	John Dixon
Produced by	Geoff Burrowes
Starring	Jon Blake Mark Hembrow Nikki Coghill Terence Donovan Peter Whitford
Cinematography	Keith Wagstaff
Edited by	Ray Daley
Music by	Bruce Rowland
Production company	Burrowes Film Group
Distributed by	Hoyts
Release date	1987 (1987)
Country	Australia
Language	English
Budget	A$6.6 million [1] [2] [3]
Box office	AU $72,356 (Australia) [4] [5]

Running from the Guns (originally known as Free Enterprise) is a 1987 Australian crime thriller film directed by John Dixon and starring Jon Blake, Mark Hembrow, Nikki Coghill, Terence Donovan, and Peter Whitford. It is a buddy action film set in Melbourne. ^{[6] [7]}

Premise

Two friends, Dave and Peter, accidentally pick up the wrong truck at the docks, which contains contraband wanted by some criminals.

Cast

• Jon Blake as Davie
• Mark Hembrow as Peter
• Terence Donovan as Bangles
• Nikki Coghill as Jill
• Peter Whitford as Terry
• Patrick Ward as Mulcahy
• Warwick Sims as Simon Martin
• Bill Kerr as Gilman
• Toni Lamond as Davie's Mum
• Simon Westaway as Motorcycle Cop

Production

Filming took place in late 1985. ^[2]

Reception

The film received poor reviews. ^[8] The Age wrote Dixon "attempts in his new film an amoral, cynical and satirical style of action caper-comedy but never comes within co-ee of achieving it." ^[9]

Filmink later wrote "there’s no reason films like this couldn’t have worked in Australia, this just wasn’t done that well." ^[10]

References

1. Scott Murray, "Running from the Guns", Australian Film 1978–1992, Oxford Uni Press, 1993 p228
2. "Features Drama at former vice-regal residence Hello, hello: the real men drop in". The Canberra Times . Vol. 60, no. 18, 346. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 23 December 1985. p. 21. Retrieved 7 October 2019– via National Library of Australia.
3. "The saga of the man from Merrijig". The Age. 12 April 1986. p. Extra 7.
4. "Australian Films at the Australian Box Office", Film Victoria. Retrieved 24 October 2012
5. "Features Drama at former vice-regal residence Hello, hello: the real men drop in". The Canberra Times . 23 December 1985. p. 21. Retrieved 24 December 2015– via National Library of Australia.
6. David Stratton, The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry, Pan MacMillan, 1990 p251
7. Vagg, Stephen (30 December 2019). "10 Aussie '80s Films That Attempted to Jazz Up Things with an Inappropriate Rock Soundtrack". Filmink.
8. "CINEMA Writer must accept responsibility before claiming any credit". The Canberra Times . Vol. 62, no. 19, 008. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 20 October 1987. p. 16. Retrieved 7 October 2019– via National Library of Australia.
9. Jillett, Neil (18 September 1987). "Film". The Age. p. 14.
10. Vagg, Stephen (29 February 2020). "Top Ten 10BA Knock Offs". Filmink. Retrieved 29 December 2024.

External links

• Running from the Guns at IMDb
• Running from the Guns at Oz Movies
• Running from the Guns at Screen Australia