The Great Bookie Robbery

Last updated

The Great Bookie Robbery
Written byPhilip Cornford
Directed byMarcus Cole
Mark Joffe
Starring John Bach
Catherine Wilkin
Gary Day
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes3
Production
ProducerIan Bradley
CinematographyEllery Ryan
Running time6 hours
Original release
Network Nine Network
Release15 September (1986-09-15) 
17 September 1986 (1986-09-17)

The Great Bookie Robbery is a 1986 Australian mini series about a 1976 crime known as the Great Bookie Robbery. [1] It aired over three consecutive nights from the 15th to 17 September.

Contents

Plot

Cast

Reception

The series got modest ratings figures but won its timeslot over the three nights, peaking at 22, 21 and 20 respectively. [2] The series won best mini-series and best direction at the 1987 AFI Awards. [3]

Anthony Dennis of The Sydney Morning Herald wrote a mixed review stating "It is smartlymade with spotless acting, the mandatory gratuitous violence (done with a degree of style), and a thoughtful use of the mundane urban locations. However, it does lack the intrigue involved in the planning of the crime. There's a feeling that reading press clippings from the day is more compelling than watching the series." [4] Richard Coleman also of The Sydney Morning Herald gave it a positive review concluding "We've seen some excellent cop shows this year in Widows and Edge of Darkness. The Great Bookie Robbery was in the same class." [5]

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Thompson (actor)</span> Australian actor (born 1940)

Jack Thompson, AM is an Australian award-winning actor, who is a major figure of Australian cinema, particularly Australian New Wave.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruno Lawrence</span>

David Charles Lawrence known as Bruno Lawrence was an English-born musician and actor, who was active in the industry in New Zealand and Australia.

<i>Crime Story</i> (American TV series) American crime drama television series

Crime Story is an American crime drama television series, created by Chuck Adamson and Gustave Reininger and produced by Michael Mann, that aired on NBC, where it ran for two seasons from September 18, 1986, to May 10, 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AACTA Awards</span> Cinema and Television awards

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industry, both locally and internationally, including the producers, directors, actors, writers, and cinematographers. It is the most prestigious awards ceremony for the Australian film and television industry. They are generally considered to be the Australian counterpart of the Academy Awards for the United States and the BAFTA Awards for the United Kingdom.

Angie Milliken is an Australian actress.

The Great Bookie robbery was a crime committed in Melbourne, Australia, on 21 April 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catherine McClements</span> Australian actress

Catherine McClements is an Australian stage, film and television actress and television presenter. She is known for her TV roles in Water Rats and Tangle, for which she won Logie Awards, and has performed in stage productions for theatre companies such as Belvoir St Theatre, the Melbourne Theatre Company, the Sydney Theatre Company and the State Theatre Company of South Australia.

Rafferty's Rules is an Australian television drama series which ran from 1987 to 1991 on the Seven Network.

Candida Raymond is an Australian actress of film and television during the 1970s and early 1980s.

Embassy is an Australian television series originally broadcast by ABC Television from 1990 to 1992. Three series were produced with a total of 39 episodes. The program is set in the Australian embassy of a fictional South-East Asian country called Ragaan, located half-way up the Malay Peninsula, somewhere between Thailand and Malaysia. It features stories about Australian ambassadors and their staff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susie Porter</span> Australian actress

Susie Porter is an Australian television, film and theatre actress. She made her debut in the 1996 film Idiot Box, before rising to prominence in films including Paradise Road (1997), Welcome to Woop Woop (1997), Two Hands (1999), Better Than Sex (2000), The Monkey's Mask (2000), Mullet (2001), Teesh and Trude (2002), and The Caterpillar Wish (2006). Porter is also highly recognised for her roles in television series, most notably, as Patricia Wright in East West 101, Eve Pritchard in East of Everything, as Kay Parker in Sisters of War, and as Marie Winter in the prison drama, Wentworth.

Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities, the second series of the Nine Network crime drama series Underbelly, originally aired from 9 February 2009 to 4 May 2009. It is a thirteen-part series loosely based on real events that stemmed from the marijuana trade centred on the New South Wales town of Griffith. The timeline of the series is the years between 1976 and 1987. Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities primarily depicts the Mr. Asia drug syndicate and its influence on crime in Australia. Among the characters presented are real-life criminals Robert Trimbole, Terry Clark, George Freeman, Christopher Dale Flannery, Alphonse Gangitano and the Kane Brothers. The mini-series is a prequel to the 2008 production Underbelly, which was about the Melbourne gangland killings and forms part of the Underbelly series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Edwards (producer)</span> Australian television drama producer

Robert John Edwards is an Australian television drama producer.

Mark Joffe is an Australian film and television director. He has directed feature films, telemovies, and drama series.

Peter Whitford is an Australian former radio, theatre, television and film character actor known for numerous roles particularly as wealthy businessmen and members of the aristocracy.

Robbery is a 1985 Australian television film directed by Michael Thornhill inspired by the Great Bookie Robbery.

John Beresford Power was an Australian film and television director, who began his career as a journalist.

Simon Chilvers is an English-born, Australia-based television actor.

Rhys McConnochie is a New Zealand-born actor, director and educator based in Australia.

My Husband, My Killer is a 2001 Australian TV film about the Murder of Megan Kalajzich. It is based on the book of the same name by Sandra Harvey and Lindsay Simpson. It stars Colin Friels as Detective Inkster and Martin Sacks as Andrew Kalajzich.

References

  1. Morris, Joan (5 April 1986), "Bright light for a perfect crime", The Canberra Times
  2. Watson, Bronwyn (26 September 1986), "The bookies' loss is Channel 9's gain", The Sydney Morning Herald
  3. Byrnes, Paul (10 October 1987), "Teenage love sweeps AFI Awards", The Sydney Morning Herald
  4. Dennis, Anthony (15 September 1986), "The sweetest of foul deeds - The great bookie robbery", The Sydney Morning Herald
  5. Coleman, Richard (20 September 1986), "Real cops and robbers speak in monosyllables, eschew car chases.", The Sydney Morning Herald