Malcolm Review (Australia Day 2016)

Malcolm


Release Date: 2nd October 1986 - Australia


Production Companies
Cascade Films
Film Victoria

Distribution
Umbrella Entertainment


Genre: Comedy/Crime

Rating: PG

Runtime: 90 minutes


Budget: A$1,000,000

Box Office Gross: $3,842,129 (Australia)


Plot Summary

Malcolm is an inventor, awkward and shy, but has a gift for making unbelievable devices. One day, for building his tram engine, he loses his job and is forced to bring in a few tenants for accommodation to help pay the bills. He gets Frank, a small-time crook, released from jail and his girlfriend, Judith, to move into his home. His mechanical expertise comes in handy with Frank's criminal knowledge as the trio begins to pull off the most outrageous heist of the decade.

Cast
Colin Friels - Malcolm Hughes
Lindy Davies - Judith
Chris Haywood - Willy
John Hargreaves - Frank Baker
Beverly Phillips - Mrs. T
Judith Stratford - Jenny

Charles 'Bud' Tingwell - Tramways Supervisor

Crew
Producer/Casting/Director - Nadia Tass
Mechanical Devices
Designer and Constructor/
Writer/Producer/Director of
Photography - David Parker

Associate Producer - Timothy White
Executive Producer - Bryce Menzies

Costume Designer - Linda McGuigan

Mechanical Devices Designer and

Constructor - Steve Mills

Mechanical Devices Designer and

Constructor/First Assistant Director -

Tony Mahood

Camera Operators: Second Unit - Clive Duncan,

Ian Jones and Rob Murray

Unit Manager - Chris Haywood

First Assistant Director - Tony Mahood

Second Assistant Director - Paul Grinder

Stunt Coordinator/Stunts - Bill Stacey

Special Effects - Brian Pearce

Visual Effects - Peter Stubbs
Film Editor - Ken Sallows

Assistant Film Editor - Simon James

Sound Editors - Craig Carter and

Dean Gawen

Sound Mixers - Bruce Emery and

Roger Savage

Music - Simon Jeffes


Review

Hello again; many of you didn't watch MALCOLM (or, at least, you would have mistaken it for MALCOLM X). It is not the movie based on a historical figure that you expect. It is a different movie made in Australia in late 1986. It is a comedy caper of sheer inventiveness and is ingenious for its setup, but based on comedies that came out in an era before MALCOLM was way ahead of its existence. You might miss a few jokes on MALCOLM. I liked how the filmmakers perfected the robbery sequences with these amusing gadgets and a vehicle split into two halves. Filmmaking can't get better at pulling these fake robberies bent with sheer comic genius.

I liked how they portrayed the title character as someone with a knack for building these machines, has an interest he's fixated and suffers from either Asperger's or high-functioning Autism (thanks to Colin Friels' acting). The profound yet naive and comical character is the main focus.

It's been quite a movie I've revisited after thirteen years since I last saw it. MALCOLM is a semi-decent, low-budgeted comedy that isn't quite as clever as the movies we've seen through theatres, television, et cetera. It is simple by Aussie cinematic standards that the film would come close as a great movie produced in the land of Down Under, so cheers, mates!

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

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