Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Scobie Malone

Collapse
X
Collapse
  •  
    Horace Cordier
    Senior Member

  • Scobie Malone



    Released by: Umbrella Entertainment
    Released on: May 3rd, 2017.
    Director: Terry Ohlsson
    Cast: Jack Thompson, Shane Porteous, Judy Morris, James Condon, Jacqueline Knott, Noel Ferrier
    Year: 1975

    The Movie:

    Aussie actor Jack Thompson is probably best known for his sensitive portrayal of a crusading lawyer in the classic BREAKER MORANT, but apparently he has a few skeletons in his acting closet - like this cheerful bit of low-rent Ozpoloitation.

    Mike Hammer. Hercule Poiret. Matt Houston. Scobie Malone isn't even up to door number three on that list in term of name recognition. The character - a swinging single homicide detective - was the staple of a number of bestselling novels in Australia in the 1970's but was never captured on film until this outing.

    Opening with a hilariously inappropriate theme tune that recalls a featherweight sitcom like "Three's Company", we are treated to Scobie cruising the freeway and pulling up to his sex bungalow no-couples apartment. Then he hops into bed wth a cute girl and starts beavering away at making the old beast with two backs. Then we get down to brass tacks. Scobie is at police headquarters assigned a case - a lady of loose morals has been murdered. Killed gruesomely at the famous Sydney Opera House, this is sensitive stuff - dead body Helga Brand (Judy Morris) had quite the list of lovers. The most interesting being a very married politician named Walter Helidon (James Condon).

    You've seen this movie quite a few times. Though mostly on YV. The film is structured like a "Colombo" episode with tits and some fun special regional sauce layered over the clichés. Scobie has a comical partner. Model/actress/gold digger Helga is a blackmailer. Scobie has a stick up the ass police commander who orders him to back off the case at one point and Scobie ignores him. Scobie slaps around a couple of suspects and eventually wins the day and the truth wills out.

    So why is this so much fun? Mostly it's the boyish Thompson who manages to make a rather sleazy horndog appealing. He's just too wink-wink nudge-nudge to get offended at. Then there's Morris - she plays the gold digger with just enough range to make her likable. Sure she's screwing a politician for cash, but he's such an insufferable hypocrite you WANT her to fleece him. Mix in a couple of surprisingly effective murder scenes and music that cracks you up and you've got.. well, maybe not a winner but a fun outing.

    Fans of Australia will certainly lap this up. The vistas are pretty nice, and everybody has the right accent. And the whole thing bleeds the 70's aesthetic. It also helps if you love catchy sugary pop - the whole soundtrack pulsates like the loins of Olivia Newton John at an aerobics class.

    Video/Audio/Extras:

    Umbrella have delivered a watchable standard def transfer here. The 1.78:1 anamorphic image has a number of issues - occasional wonky color correction, some light banding and minor print damage. It also looks like an automated cleaning program may have been run over the image. But none of these issues is overbearing.

    The Dolby 2.0 Digital Stereo audio is a little weaker. This seems to be a mono track processed into fake stereo which makes for a strange echoey effect at times. Range is also compromised with the high end getting somewhat tinny during the soundfield's more energetic moments. No crackles or pops though and I never had a problem understanding the dialog. There are no subtitles and the only extras are a group of decidedly ropey looking trailers for other films - with dodgy print damage.

    The Final Word:

    A fun diversion for those so inclined, SCOBIE MALONE is an entertaining trifle presented in an acceptable transfer. With plenty of tits and a fun and playful performance from a very likable Jack Thompson, this one comes mildly recommended.


























    • LeeN
      #1
      LeeN
      Junior Member
      LeeN commented
      Editing a comment
      Just one correction: this was not the first representation of the Scobie Malone character in a film. He was featured in the 1968 film 'Nobody Runs Forever' which was based on the Jon Cleary novel 'The High Commissioner' (actually the film's release title in some territories) and starred Rod Taylor as Scobie Malone.
    Posting comments is disabled.

Latest Articles

Collapse

  • Roommates (Quality X) Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: Quality X
    Released on: February 28th, 2024.
    Director: Chuck Vincent
    Cast: Samantha Fox, Vernoica Hart, Kelly Nichols, Jerry Butler, Jamie Gillis
    Year: 1982
    Purchase From Amazon

    Roommates – Movie Review:

    Directed by Chuck Vincent and released in 1982, Roommates opens with a scene where a young woman named Joan Harmon (Veronica Hart) gets a hotel room with an older man named Ken (Don Peterson, credited as Phil Smith),
    ...
    03-15-2024, 01:10 PM
  • The Bounty Hunter Trilogy (Radiance Films) Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: Radiance Films
    Released on: March 26th, 2024.
    Director: Shigehiro Ozawa, Eiichi Kudo
    Cast: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Minoru Ôki, Arashi Kanjuro, Bin Amatsu, Chiezo Kataoka
    Year: 1969-1972
    Purchase From Amazon

    The Bounty Hunter Trilogy – Movie Review:

    Radiance Films gathers together the three films in Toie Studios’ Bounty Hunter Trilogy, starring the inimitable Tomisaburo Wakayama. Here’s how the three movies in this
    ...
    03-13-2024, 11:30 AM
  • Nemesis (MVD Rewind Collection) Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: MVD Rewind Collection
    Released on: January 8th, 2019.
    Director: Albert Pyun
    Cast: Olivier Gruner, Jennifer Gatti, Tim Thomerson
    Year: 1992
    Purchase From Amazon

    Nemesis – Movie Review:

    Albert Pyun's 1992 film Nemesis takes place in the future of 2027. Here it's common for criminals and cops alike to ‘upgrade' themselves using cybernetic bits and pieces in an effort to make themselves more than human. In this world
    ...
    03-13-2024, 11:22 AM
  • Bloodmoon (Severin Films) Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: Severin Films
    Released on: February 1st, 2024.
    Director: Alec Mills
    Cast: Leon Lissek, Christine Amor, Helen Thomson, Ian Williams
    Year: 1990
    Purchase From Amazon

    Bloodmoon – Movie Review:

    The directorial debut of Alec Mills, the cinematographer on such films as Polanski’s MacBeth and Return Of The Jedi, 1990’s Bloodmoon, a later period slasher film, is set around St. Elizabeth’s, an all-girls Catholic School
    ...
    03-07-2024, 03:55 PM
  • The Shining (Scream Factory) Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: Scream Factory
    Released on: March 12th, 2024.
    Director: Mick Garris
    Cast: Steven Weber, Rebecca De Mornay, Melvin Van Peebles, Courtland Mead
    Year: 1997
    Purchase From Amazon

    The Shining – Movie Review:

    Stephen King somewhat famously didn’t like Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of his novel, The Shining, so he signed on to work with Director Mick Garris on this three-part TV mini-series take which hit the airwaves
    ...
    03-07-2024, 03:50 PM
  • Tenacious D In The Pick Of Destiny (Shout! Factory) Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: Shout! Factory
    Released on: February 13th, 2024.
    Director: Liam Lynch
    Cast: Jack Black, Kyle Gass
    Year: 2006
    Purchase From Amazon

    Tenacious D In The Pick Of Destiny – Movie Review:

    Tenacious D In The Pick Of Destiny opens with a prologue where we meet a young man named Jables (JB, played by Jack Black) who, despite his strict religious upbringing, only wants to rock n roll. When his father tears down all of his posters
    ...
    02-29-2024, 06:17 PM
Working...
X