The Great Mint Swindle (2012)

It's the beginning of the 1980s boom in Western Australia. Larrikin brothers Ray, Brian and Peter Mickelberg spend their days abalone fishing, flying planes, looking for adventure and ... See full summary »

Director:

Geoff Bennett

Writers:

Paul Bennett, Reg Cribb

Stars:

Grant Bowler, Todd Lasance, Josh Quong Tart

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Grant Bowler	...	Ray Mickelberg
Todd Lasance	...	Peter Mickelberg
Josh Quong Tart	...	Brian Mickelberg
Shane Bourne	...	Don Hancock
John Batchelor	...	Tony Lewandowski
Maya Stange	...	Sheryl Mickelberg
Caroline McKenzie	...	Peg Mickelberg
Abby Earl	...	Diana (as Abbey Earl)
Talei Howell-Price	...	Fay Mickelberg
Phil Bennett	...	Detective Slipper
Adam Booth	...	Detective Burke
Troy Coward	...	Eddie Jones
Jenny Davis	...	Mrs. Lewandowski
Rhoda Lopez	...	Alison Fan
Andrew Hale	...	Malcolm McCusker

Storyline

It's the beginning of the 1980s boom in Western Australia. Larrikin brothers Ray, Brian and Peter Mickelberg spend their days abalone fishing, flying planes, looking for adventure and developing new ways of making money. Their most bizarre venture? Selling a huge fake gold nugget "The Yellow Rose of Texas" to tycoon Alan Bond. A tale about two innocent men who become embroiled in one of the most famous heists in Australia's history. It is a mysterious twenty-year saga about their fight to clear their names over a crime that has never been solved.

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Plot Keywords:

criminal justice | 

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Channel 9 [Australia] Official Facebook

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 March 2012 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Sundowner

Filming Locations:

Sunset Hospital, Dalkeith, Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

AUD 3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cordell Jigsaw Productions, Worldwide Production Services

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The bank scene was filmed at Gloucester Park, East Perth WA across the road from the WACA. The location manager found the location by luck after the previous best choice of the WACA was rejected for appearing 'too modern'.

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Goofs

The Fremantle prison admission is wrong. Prisoners are actually first taken through "reception" where they change to prison greens, not straight into the prison block as seen in this movie.

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Soundtracks

Power And The Passion
Written By James Moginie, Rob Hirst (as Robert Hirst) and Peter Garrett
Performed By Midnight Oil

User Reviews

Excellent

Not sure how to start as i did know these brothers. Hard doing a review when you know more than the movie gives but here goes.~ Firstly, a thumbs down for channel nines review as you missed a big important part in your review which is ~ the story of 2 innocent men.?? Brian was also innocent and it should have been- the story of 3 innocent men.Brian was incarcerated also and was a highly experienced pilot with both helicopter and fixed wing aircraft.For such an experienced pilot to die in such a crash is ~??????? I found it quite hard to relate to the characters as i know the real characters but persevered with that and i did enjoy the whole movie and recommend it highly. Raymond was without doubt a great SAS soldier and served his country well. Also had a hobby smelting, and used a crucible to smelt -bronze-gold etc to make bronze -brass -gold sculptures and ornaments such as candlestick holders.The movie shows how easy it was to get the gold from the Perth mint. But the brothers were framed. If you haven't seen this movie, do it as it goes into the corruption of the legal system and how innocent people can do years and years in prison for something they did not commit. I highly recommend the book~ The Mickelberg stitch.