Money Movers (1979)

Here's one solid action crime pic, that does Adelaide proud, brilliantly cast, with so many lovable Aussie actors, two of them from Skippy, Armaguard drivers who side together, to go up against some bad apples in the company. Actually there's a few, as well as a few outside influences too, some of them ruthlessly violent and manipulative. The whole engrossing affair, that involves Armaguard employee brothers, Brown and Donovan showing raw acting style, planning a brilliant robbery, building a replica van and all, is thwarted, when outside influences, led by Charles Bud Tingwell, hear of it. Fatally defying the big guys, Donavan pays for it big, resulting in that notorious toe cutting scene, with a big oaf torturer, more than happy to do it. Very researched and solidly structured as a brick wall, the movie never dulls. It just keeps on moving. So caught up in it, you forget where the 101 minutes went. Although filmed in Sydney also, Adelaide'ns will recognize numerous locations, like Rolley Park, West Terrace cemetery, and Port Road, opposite Bonython Park, where on instinct, two mentioned Armaguard guys, foil a break in, by showing some Dirty Harry tactics. Devereux and Bonner were great to watch here, Bonner a favourite Oz actor of mine, who I still remember clearly, buying it big, in a fatal episode of Cop Shop. There's a little guilty humour too, mostly on Tingwell's part as the untouchable honcho of the corrupt operation, where bent PI, a smooth natured Cassell, who I really liked in this, is the only one who walks away, untarnished. The Money Movers is very violent in parts, even for it's day, and it's great to the better half of Candy Raymond naked, who has her own reasons for getting nice and cosy with Bonner. Lucky Grills is fun too and must have one ditzy female employee. I mean, who doesn't know who Errol Flynn is. Slick crime Aussie pic, an always memorable classic oldie.

The story of an armored car robbery, apparently based on a true case. The acting is solid and the action, especially for a small budget film, is deftly handled, There are a number of good twists and turns along the way. On the other hand, there's a bit of a feeling something's missing, like a unifying theme or underlying ideas. Or even character development. Unlike (for example) Ben Affleck's recent The Town", this is a pretty simple film, just telling you an exciting story as solid B movie entertainment, and not aiming for much more. But there's certainly room for that alongside more 'thoughtful' or character orientated crime flicks. Well shot, well directed by a young Bruce Beresford, and worth seeing if you're a fan of the genre.

The opening credit sequences show an armoured van on Gladesville bridge in Sydney (not Sydney Harbour Bridge as an earlier review states), then at White Bay above the Rozelle freight yard with all its huge billboards, then Pyrmont Bridge (now a public walkway) very close to the heart of Sydney. The Cahill Expressway above Circular Quay Railway Station (which signage can clearly be seen) also appears in the opening minutes. However, the scene depicting the robbery of an armoured van by masked villains and the subsequent getaway was certainly shot in Adelaide. It is unclear why this film was made in two different cities 1200km apart.The basic story of an insider robbery of a counting house is fairly simple but the subplots get quite complex, and as someone indicated earlier it is sometimes hard to know who is double crossing whom. The director Beresford is obviously a student of film and appears to have gone to great lengths to give this film a tough "noir" edge. I think really he has over-compressed things a little too much. It is fairly short at barely 90 minutes and could have been fleshed out more in places. The final reel gets quite out of control, and its very difficult to discern which of the major players survive to the end of the film. To say the least, the film is extremely tough and violent, sort of like an Aussie cop show of the era with huge helpings of gore. I get the feeling from the "making of" that comes on the DVD, that Beresford might have played the final reel rather differently if he were remaking this film.Many of the lead actors here had achieved fame in Australian television. Ed Devereaux, Tony Bonner, Charles Tingwell, Lucky Grills, Candy Raymond and Frank Wilson were all well known to Australian audiences of the day. Alan Cassell plays a very similar smarmy character to that he later portrayed in The Club (1980). Candy Raymond was a stylish, attractive actress whose main drawback appears to have been a rather small bustline (the actress's own words in the accompanying interviews). It didn't stop her reprising her nude scenes from Dons Party (1976) in this film. Nonetheless, I feel she is underutilised here.The funeral procession scene shot in central Sydney involving numerous Datsun 120Y's and equally numerous armoured vans (all of them white), shot with a very long lens, presents a striking scene, which may have been a nod to the famous motorcycle funeral procession in Stone (1974), made four years earlier in the very same city.I believe Money Movers is some sort of slightly flawed but unique piece of art, not really held in high esteem by its director these days, and certainly not perfect, and extremely hard to find, but well worth tracking down.

You can almost smell the sweat and testosterone !This is a movie for the blokes. It's full of tough blokes, violent blokes, bossy blokes, union blokes, angry blokes and blokes who tell the sheilas to go away and let the blokes get on with important blokey business.Hugely talented Australian cast with an equally talented director. This is what Aussie society was like before we all became middle-class and comfortable.Oh, the plot? Crooked blokes are practically lining up to rob an armoured-car security firm. The siege mentality builds as the story progresses, as the company tries to work out where the next hit is coming from.If I had to pick a fault, it was sometimes hard working out who was double-crossing who, some of the dialogue was up to "Law and Order" fast snappy talking standard, but it mostly all makes sense towards the end.Three stand-out treats - 1. Jeanie Drynan (the mum from Muriel's Wedding) looking very trim & terrific, not at all like the side of a house.2. The Beaurepaires Tyre man playing a sadistic henchman. (He played a similar scary character in Mad Max).3. Lucky Grils being excellent light relief as a "Bluey" character.It was also interesting seeing a young Bryan Brown (un-imaginatively cast as "Brian" !) playing against (later) type ie having a lack of confidence and really feeling the pressure, almost the opposite of his roles in "Cocktail" and "Risk".So crack open a beer, send the wife out of the room, turn up the volume and enjoy this under-rated Aussie movie.