Wake in Fright (1971)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Ted Kotcheff

Writers:

Kenneth Cook (novel)
Evan Jones (writer)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Have a drink, mate? Have a fight, mate? Have some dust and sweat, mate? There's nothing else out here.

Plot Keywords:

Hooligan | Violence | Teacher | Immigrant | Kangaroo

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Donald Pleasence	...	'Doc' Tydon
Gary Bond	...	John Grant
Chips Rafferty	...	Jock Crawford
Sylvia Kay	...	Janette Hynes
Jack Thompson	...	Dick
Peter Whittle	...	Joe
Al Thomas	...	Tim Hynes
John Meillon	...	Charlie
John Armstrong	...	Atkins
Slim DeGrey	...	Jarvis
Maggie Dence	...	Receptionist
Norm Erskine	...	Joe the cook
Owen Moase	...	First controller
John Dalleen	...	Second controller
Buster Fiddess	...	Charlie Jones

Also Known As:

Outback

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

Australia | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:18 | New Zealand:R16 | Australia:M (2009) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Ajax Studios, Bondi, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Group W

Trivia:

Two beer brands feature in the film. West End Bitter is a South Australian beer. Courage Bitter was an attempt by an English brewer to enter the Australian market - the attempt failed.

Goofs:

Continuity: Inside Doc Tydon's hut, there is a window near the back door seen when Grant wants to go to the toilet. However, from outside, the window is at least a meter from the door.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008)

Soundtrack:

She'll be coming around the mountain

highly recommended

i first saw this in New York City in the early 1970's. it was one of the very few movies i have seen in my life that deserved a second viewing. for some reason i have always been fascinated by Australia. it just seemed to have animals and scenery that didn't exist anywhere else. another plus was that they spoke English there which is the only language i know. i did finally get to Australia in 1997 and it was every bit as fascinating as i had expected. this film is also fascinating although it paints a very dark and disturbing picture of the island continent. it is about a schoolteacher who for some reason becomes stranded in a tiny town in the remote outback. until he is able to leave he decides to socialize with the locals. they are a rough and tumble group unlike the teacher who is somewhat timid and sensitive. the main entertainment in this region is drinking, fighting and killing kangaroos. the latter scenes are the most disturbing with heads being blasted off the cute creature's bodies. sadly,it all ends tragically.