Benny Hill Down Under (TV 1977)

A one-off special starring Benny Hill, filmed entirely in Australia. Among the highlights: "Hold Back the Wind," yet another of his Tennessee Williams parodies; "Archie's Angels," a takeoff... See full summary »

Directors:

Rod Kinnear, Richard McCarthy

Writer:

Benny Hill

Stars:

Benny Hill, Ron Shand, Victoria Quilter

Cast

Credited cast:
Benny Hill	...	Himself - Host / Various
Ron Shand	...	Various Roles
Victoria Quilter	...	Grieving Woman / Various
Max Phipps	...	Various Roles
Barry Otto	...	Various Roles
Lorna Lesley	...	Lucy Jardine / Various
Jim Clifford	...	Various Roles (as Jimmy Clifford)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Christina Danielle	...	Various Roles
Maurice Murphy	...	Various Roles
Marilyn Natty	...	Various Roles
Nat Nixon	...	Various Roles
Marie T. Ploski	...	Various Roles
Amber Rodgers	...	Various Roles
Stuart Wagstaff	...	Various Characters
Les White	...	Various Roles

Storyline

A one-off special starring Benny Hill, filmed entirely in Australia. Among the highlights: "Hold Back the Wind," yet another of his Tennessee Williams parodies; "Archie's Angels," a takeoff on "Charlie's Angels"; a sketch of two men who tended to Lady Godiva's horse; and, in a concession to his filming location, the saga of Benny Kelly, son of outlaw Ned Kelly.

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Plot Keywords:

female nudity | cheesecake | british comedy | sketch comedy | nudity | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 October 1977 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Benny Hill in Australia

Filming Locations:

Channel Ten Studios, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Network Ten

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Several sketches from this show appeared in various episodes of the U.S. syndicated version of The Benny Hill Show

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Connections

Edited into Benny Hill's V!deo S!deshow (1982)

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Soundtracks

"Hawaii Five-0"
(theme)
Written by Morton Stevens
Performed by Jack Grimsley and His Orchestra

User Reviews

Not yet available on DVD

Of all the episodes of "THE BENNY HILL SHOW" that Thames aired from 1969-1989,this is the lone entry not yet released on DVD.This is also the only one that was shot in Australia,which explains why it remains unavailable in that format.I saw most of this footage in syndication in the US,and there was even more made available on the video release titled "Benny Hill's Video Sideshow"(copyright 1982).It begins with a skit that he'd done before(the one performer stuck with ugly dance partners),singing "Les Girls." There were three musical selections,the "AVENGERS" theme,"Suicide is Painless"(from "M.A.S.H."),and hula-skirt wearing girls dancing to "Hawaii 5-0." The main sketch depicts the thieving exploits of Benny Kelly,son of famed Australian outlaw Ned Kelly."Archie's Angels" is his first of two takeoffs on "CHARLIE'S ANGELS"(not to be confused with "Charlene's Angels," in which Benny,Bob Todd,and Jack Wright are 3 male detectives).There is a skit depicting a sleeping bum who gets hit by a car and winds up being looked after by the two lovelies who hit him(at least until he awakens from the dream).Another skit depicts Benny as a groom readying Lady Godiva's horse,which he had done before for the BBC,but never repeated for Thames."Hold Back the Wind" has Benny as an old man who made his money by "cuttin' out the middle man," while dealing with an ugly wife who wants to go on a second honeymoon("what are you,a sadist or something?")and a dimwit son engaged to the voluptuous Lucy Jardine(father: "she's 16-year-old!" son:"I know...but she looks 12!") It ends with a typical romp on the beach,all with a cast that never appeared in any other shows,making this episode stand out even more.Not included on the 1982 "Video Sideshow" are the three musical numbers(the only one I saw was the girls doing "HAWAII 5-0"),along with "Archie's Angels" and "Lady Godiva." "Hold Back the Wind" was cut in syndication but intact on the video,while the final seaside romp was cut short on the video yet intact in syndication.Highly enjoyable.