The Killing of Angel Street | |
---|---|
Directed by | Donald Crombie |
Written by | Michael Craig Cecil Holmes Evan Jones |
Produced by | Anthony Buckley |
Starring | Liz Alexander John Hargreaves |
Cinematography | Peter James |
Edited by | Tim Wellburn |
Music by | Brian May |
Release date | 1 October 1981 |
Running time | 96 minutes |
Country | Australia |
Language | English |
Budget | AU $1.3 million [1] [2] |
The Killing of Angel Street is a 1981 Australian thriller film loosely based on the Builders Labourers Federation (BLF) green bans against development in inner Sydney city waterside suburbs. It briefly touches on the real-life disappearance of Juanita Nielsen, an activist against mass development in Sydney in the late 1970s.
The film was directed by Donald Crombie and shot in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. In the commentary on the DVD, the location is incorrectly stated as Edward Street in Balmain (East). In fact, the location was Weston Street, at the end of Paul Street.
The mysterious disappearance of Juanita Nielson also inspired Phillip Noyce, who directed the 1982 film Heatwave .
The film stars Elizabeth Alexander as Jessica Simmonds, who returns home from London to discover the street she grew up in being torn down by developers for high rise developments. Her father (Alexander Archdale), a vocal opponent of the developers, is killed in a suspicious fire and Jessica takes up the cause of the local residents. She joins forces with Jeff Elliot (John Hargreaves), a union leader. As they probe further into the background of the development they unearth sinister connections between the development group and organised crime.
Antony Buckley and Donald Crombie became interested in the story while making The Irishman. The first script was written by actor Michael Craig and was called The Juanita Factor being based directly on Juanita Nielsen. Cecil Holmes then worked on further drafts. However, there was concern the script would not be able to be filmed because of legal issues. It was decided to fictionalise the script and change the character's names. [1]
It was originally intended to cast an overseas star because of the large budget. At one stage Julie Christie was cast but UAA, who were going to finance the film, did not come up with enough money. Helen Morse was then approached; she tentatively agreed but wanted more work done on the script. Evan Jones was brought out to work on a new draft, but despite this Morse eventually declined. Buckley decided not to use UAA to raise money and did it himself. [1]
When Julie Christie was going to play the lead, Bill Hunter was cast opposite her. However, eventually the lead role went to Elizabeth Alexander and Crombie felt she and Hunter did not play well together. So Hunter was replaced by John Hargreaves. [3]
Donald Crombie says making the film was fraught with tension:
We researched it pretty thoroughly and we got fairly close to the beast, I think. We were peculiarly warned off by none other a person than John Dowd, who's a judge now, I believe. He rang Tony Buckley and said that this film was a bit close to the bone and - talking about me - he said, "He's got young children and he should be thinking a bit about what he's doing." It didn't put us off, but you did look under the car for about two days afterwards because you thought, hang on a minute, what's all this about... And the nexus between government and big business and crime. They're very comfortable together. [3]
The film was entered into the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival, where it won an Honourable Mention. [4]
Juanita Joan Nielsen was an Australian newspaper publisher, journalist and activist, and heiress of the Mark Foy family. She was notable for her advocacy against the urban development on heritage Victoria Street, Kings Cross, Sydney, and her support for the Builders Labourers' Federation's Green Bans. Nielsen disappeared in Kings Cross in July 1975. The people responsible for her disappearance have never been identified, and her remains have never been found.
Caddie is an Australian film biopic directed by Donald Crombie and produced by Anthony Buckley. Released on 1 April 1976, it is representative of the Australian film renaissance which occurred during that decade. Set mainly in Sydney during the 1920s and 1930s, including the Great Depression, it portrays the life of a young middle class woman struggling to raise two children after her marriage breaks up. Based on Caddie, the Story of a Barmaid, a partly fictitious autobiography of Catherine Beatrice "Caddie" Edmonds, it made Helen Morse a local star and earned Jacki Weaver and Melissa Jaffer each an Australian Film Institute Award.
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Heatwave is a 1982 Australian film directed by Phillip Noyce based on the murder of Juanita Nielsen. It was the second of two films inspired by the story that came out at that time, the first being The Killing of Angel Street (1981).
Donald Charles Crombie is an Australian film and television director and screenwriter.
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Alexander Mervyn Archdale was a British actor, manager and theatre producer. He had a very long career in both the theatre and in film, stretching from the 1930s to the 1980s. He spent the latter part of his life and career in Australia.
Jonah is an Australian television drama series which aired for 20 episodes starting from 15 October 1962 on the Seven Network. Produced during an era when commercial television in Australia produced few dramatic series, Jonah was a period drama, and was inspired by the success of ABC's period drama mini-series like Stormy Petrel.
Adventure Unlimited is a 1965 Australian anthology TV series. It was produced by Lee Robinson and associate produced by Joy Cavill. The directors included Ken Hannam.
"The Affair" is a 1965 Australian television play based on the novel by C. P. Snow. It starred Roger Climpson, Richard Meikle and Anne Haddy and aired on the ABC as part of Wednesday Theatre.
Marvel's Most Wanted is an unaired American television pilot created by Jeffrey Bell and Paul Zbyszewski for ABC, based on the Marvel Comics characters Bobbi Morse and Lance Hunter. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and acknowledges the continuity of the franchise's films and other television series. A spin-off from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the pilot was written by Bell and Zbyszewski, and directed by Billy Gierhart.
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