Funny Things Happen Down Under Explained

Funny Things Happen Down Under
Director:Joe McCormick
Producer:Roger Mirams
Starring:Olivia Newton-John
Bruce Barry
Ian Turpie
Susanne Haworth
Cinematography:Roger Mirams
Editing:Lindsay Parker
Raymond Daley
Music:Horrie Dargie
Studio:Pacific Films[1]
Distributor:Pacific Films
Runtime:61 minutes
Country:Australia
New Zealand
Language:English

Funny Things Happen Down Under is a 1965 Australian-New Zealand musical film directed by Joe McCormick. It stars Olivia Newton-John, Ian Turpie and Howard Morrison, and is best remembered today for being Newton-John's first film.[2]

Plot

The film centres around a barn that is used by a group of children as a meeting place for singing practice. When the owner of the property experiences financial difficulties and considers selling the barn, one of the children comes up with an idea to raise money. The children dye sheep on his property and market the coloured wool as a naturally occurring phenomenon.

The coloured wool soon becomes sought after by buyers all over the world. However, when the coloured wool runs thin, the owner is still in danger of losing his barn. Two station hands, sympathetic to the plight of the children, decide to help by winning the remaining money in a sheep shearing contest.

Cast

Production

The film was a spin-off of the Terrible Ten TV series. It was shot entirely in Victoria, on locations in and near Melbourne and in the studio of Pacific Films.

Olivia Newton-John and Ian Turpie were dating during filming.[3]

Reception

Filmink magazine said that Joe Latona's choreography for the film's finale featured "the campest dancing shearers in cinematic history".[4]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Reade, Eric

    . History and heartburn: the saga of Australian film, 1896–1978 . Reade, Eric . 1980 . . 978-0-8386-3082-2 . 150 . 4 February 2010.

  2. Stephen. Vagg. Filmink. Australian Film Musicals You Probably Didn't Realise Existed. 23 December 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20210427072342/https://www.filmink.com.au/australian-film-musicals-probably-didnt-realise-existed/ . April 27, 2021 . live.
  3. Web site: Episode 64: Olivia Newton-John interview . . 13 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160718084300/https://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/transcripts/s1219832.htm . 18 July 2016 . web.archive.org . 18 October 2004.
  4. Stephen. Vagg. Filmink. Australian Singers Turned Actors. 14 July 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210225154642/https://www.filmink.com.au/australian-singers-turned-actors/ . 25 February 2021 . live.