Dick Down Under (1975)
"The True Story of Eskimo Nell" (original title)

Director:

Richard Franklin

Writers:

Richard Franklin, Alan Hopgood

Stars:

Max Gillies, Serge Lazareff, Butcher Vachon

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Max Gillies	...	Deadeye Dick
Serge Lazareff	...	Mexico Pete
Butcher Vachon	...	The Alaskan Kid (as Paul Vachon)
Jerry Thomas	...	The Sprunker
Kurt Beimel	...	Waldo the Great
Abigail	...	Esmerelda
Kris McQuade	...	Lil
Christine McClure	...	Ellie (as Elli Maclure)
Grahame Bond	...	Bogger
Max Fairchild	...	Posthole Jack
Tony Bazell	...	Prof. Brayshaw (as Anthony Bazell)
Ernie Bourne	...	Barman
Paddy Madden	...	The Real Eskimo Nell
Victoria Anoux	...	The Dream Eskimo Nell
Elke Neidhart

Storyline

---

Plot Keywords:

independent film | character name in title

---

Taglines:

The bawdy saga of the most infamous wowser of all time

---

Genres:

Comedy | Western

---

Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 March 1975 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Dick Down Under

Filming Locations:

Falls Creek, Victoria, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

AUD 200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Australian Film Development Corporation, The, Filmways Australasian, Quest

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

This picture was one of two 1975 movies based on the poem 'The Ballad of Eskimo Nell'. The other was Martin Campbell's Eskimo Nell.

---

Connections

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

User Reviews

Little to recommend in this ponderous film

The rebirth of the Australian film industry began in the early 1970's and with it a desire to make films in the "Carry On" mold. Some of the results were quite enjoyable but unfortunately some of them turned out like the "True Story of Eskimo Nell".

The movie follows two men who go on a journey in the Australian outback in search of the fabled prostitute Eskimo Nell and find themselves in a lot of not very interesting situations along the way. The pacing is very slow as the film meanders towards the predictable finale. This is not to say that the film is a complete waste of time; one of my favorite scenes of all time is in this film, when one character, in attempting to explain why Eskimo Nell was so renowned, said "Did you ever stick your d*** in a bucket of cream and churn it 'til it was butter?" The film also features a number of actors early in their career who have become mainstays of the Australian entertainment industry. However, this can't disguise the fact that viewers will find this film tough going.