Don's Party (1976)

The movie Dons Party is about a wild house party in a suburban Australian neighbourhood. Don Henderson convinces his wife to have another party so that their friends can gather to watch the... See full summary »

Director:

Bruce Beresford

Writers:

David Williamson (play), David Williamson

Stars:

Pat Bishop, John Hargreaves, Graham Kennedy

6 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ray Barrett	...	Mal
Clare Binney	...	Susan
Pat Bishop	...	Jenny
Graeme Blundell	...	Simon
Jeanie Drynan	...	Kath Henderson
John Hargreaves	...	Don Henderson
Harold Hopkins	...	Cooley
Graham Kennedy	...	Mack
Veronica Lang	...	Jody
Candy Raymond	...	Kerry
Kit Taylor	...	Evan
John Grey Gorton	...	Himself (Prime Minister of Australia 1968-1971)

Storyline

The movie Dons Party is about a wild house party in a suburban Australian neighbourhood. Don Henderson convinces his wife to have another party so that their friends can gather to watch the election, drink and carry on. Dons wife, Kath sees the party as just more work, while Don sees it as a chance to break his boring routine. The year is 1969 and some of Dons friends have jumped on the bandwagon of sexual freedom and experimentation. However, others at the party are more conservative about their politics and sex, and naturally, arguments break out over politics and fist fights erupt over the seduction of others wives.

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Plot Keywords:

party | friend | politics | sex | election | 

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Taglines:

What a night

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 November 1976 (Australia)

Filming Locations:

Elouera Road, Westleigh, New South Wales, Australia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Australian Film Commission, The, Double Head

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Wendy Hughes was originally cast in the role of Kerry. Allegedly, a dispute about her salary meant that Hughes did not appear in this film, and the part was cast with Candy Raymond.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Kath Henderson: Could you put Richard in the car?
Don Henderson: Right.

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Connections

Featured in Crashing the Party: The Making of 'Don's Party' (2005)

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Soundtracks

"She's My Baby"
Sung by Johnny O'Keefe

User Reviews

Behind every suburban garden wall...

Don's Party, thankfully, turns more to tears, sex, argument and some painful home truths for this group of Australian suburbanites, in the 1970's. Don uses the General Election results on TV as an excuse to get his mates round, who all have 'interesting' wives.

Like many a similar escapade into the lower echelons of human civility, the sexual innuendos and chauvinism is flowing as fast as the wine and beer and the election results fade from our attention.

It's often hilarious, frequently bitter and with a fair amount of full nudity, male and female, not least of which stems from the "borrowing" of next door neighbour's swimming pool. Bruce Bereford's slinging attack on what everyday people say and do when inhibitions slip is as far a cry from Picnic at Hanging Rock as is possible.

I only use that as a reference because this film is one of the DVDs in my Australian Cinema Collection 12 disc boxed set, as is 'Picnic at...' not because Beresford directed it. Beresford did direct a good number of Australia's most noted films - and not always for their quality, either. However, Don's Party is as good as this sort of adult sex comedy drama gets and could equally be set in the UK, US or indeed, anywhere. It's certainly one of Bruce's best.