Stork (film)

Not to be confused with Storks (film).

1971 Australian film

Stork

Directed by| Tim Burstall
Written by| David Williamson
Based on| The Coming of Stork by David Williamson
Produced by| Tim Burstall
Starring| Bruce Spence
Jacki Weaver
Graeme Blundell
Cinematography| Robin Copping
Edited by| Edward McQueen-Mason
Music by| Hans Poulsen

Production
companies

Tim Burstall and Associates
Bilcock and Copping Film Productions

Distributed by| Tim Burstall and Associates (initial release)
Roadshow Films
Umbrella Entertainment

Release date

* 27 December 1971 (1971-12-27)

Running time

| 85 minutes
Country| Australia
Language| English
Budget| A$60,000[1] or $80,000"[2]
Box office| A$224,000 (Australia)[1]

Stork is a 1971 Australian comedy film directed by Tim Burstall. Stork is based on the play The Coming of Stork by David Williamson. Bruce Spence and Jacki Weaver make their feature film debuts in Stork, being honoured at the 1972 Australian Film Institute Awards, where they shared the acting prize. Stork won the prize for best narrative feature and Tim Burstall won for best direction.[3] Stork was one of the first ocker comedies.[4] Stork was the first commercial success of the Australian cinema revival called the Australian New Wave.[5][6]

## Plot

[edit]

Stork is a 6-foot 7 hypochondriac who dreams of revolution and works at Holden's. He is sacked from his job after doing a strip tease at work and goes to live in a share house in Carlton with his friend Westy and two trendy young men, Tony and Clyde, who share the same girlfriend, Anna. Stork loses his virginity to Anna and falls in love with her.

Anna falls pregnant and Clyde decides to marry her. Stork interrupts the wedding.

## Cast

[edit]

* Bruce Spence as Graham 'Stork' Wallace
* Jacki Weaver as Anna
* Graeme Blundell as Westy
* Sean McEuan as Tony
* Helmut Bakaitis as Clyde
* Madeleine Orr as Stork's mother
* Peter Green as clergyman
* Peter Cummins as sculptor
* Michael Duffield as judge
* Alan Finney as tailor
* Robin Copping as explorer
* David Bilock Jnr as explorer
* Larry Stevens as farmer
* Nanette Good as farmer's wife
* Kerry Dwyer as nun
* Brendan Cassidy as gallery manager
* Lynne Flanagan as matron
* George Whaley as businessman
* Jan Friedl as woman's libber
* Dennis Miller as uni lecturer
* Terry Norris as Anna's father
* Max Gillies as Uncle Jack
* The Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band
* Brian Moll as priest
* Jane Clifton as student (uncredited)

## Production

[edit]

The play The Coming of Stork had premiered in 1970 at La Mama Theatre, run by Betty Burstall. Her husband Tim Burstall saw the play and hired Williamson to adapt it, commenting that:

> It had a kind of gaiety and brio. It was good-natured and it celebrated our own lives in a very straightforward way. It wasn't the precious or arty. It was Australian comedy of a pretty straightforward sort, but also of a pretty well-observed and accurate sort.[7]

Most of the budget was raised privately; Burstall had obtained $7,000 from the Experimental Film and Television Fund to make a film called Filth which project manager Fred Schepisi allowed him to transfer over to Stork; $5,000 came from Bilcock and Copping, a company of Burstall's, with $21,000 from the sale of Burstall's Arthur Boyd paintings.[1] Everyone was paid $200 a week.[1] The film was shot in Melbourne in March and April 1971 on 16mm stock and a crew of twelve.[8]

Williamson later said he felt Burstall directed Spence "a little bigger than I would have liked" and clashed in a few places with the director but on the whole the collaboration was a good one.[9]

## Release

[edit]

Tim Burstall and his associates initially released the film themselves at St Kilda Palais, where it ran for a six-week season, earning $50,000 and returning $20,000 to the producers.[1] They expanded the number of cinemas it played in, moving into Sydney. Hoyts and Greater Union refused to distribute but the film was picked up by Roadshow, who played it throughout Australia, using 35 mm prints blown up from the original.[10] The film was popular at the box office, taking $224,000 in film hire and returning $150,000 to the producers.[1] It proved that low-budget films could be made and released profitably in Australia. This success led to Burstall and Roadshow establishing the production company Hexagon Productions.

## Awards

[edit]

The film won the following awards:

* 1972 Australian Film Institute Awards:
* AFI Award for Best Direction (Tim Burstall)
* Grand Prix Award to Tim Burstall
* Hoyts Prize for Best Performance for Best Actor (Bruce Spence)
* Hoyts Prize for Best Performance for Best Actress (Jacki Weaver)
* $5,000 prize from Australian Film Development Corporation for best narrative feature

## Home media

[edit]

Stork was released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in September 2011. The DVD is compatible with region codes 2 and 4 and includes special features such as interviews with Tim Burstall, Alan Finney, Bruce Spence, David Williamson, Betty Burstall, Jacki Weaver and Rob Copping, a short film title Three Old Friends and the making of Three Old Friends.[11]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f Scott Murray, 'Tim Burstall', Cinema Papers Sept-Oct 1979 p493-494
2. ^ Souter, Gavin. "Australian film, makers take on all comers". 4 December 1976. p. 8.
3. ^ Stork (at IMDb), retrieved 12 January 2018
4. ^ Murray, Scott, ed. (1994). Australian Cinema. St.Leonards, NSW.: Allen & Unwin/AFC. pp. 76, 295. ISBN 1-86373-311-6.
5. ^ McFarlane, Brian; Mayer, Geoff (1992). New Australian cinema: sources and parallels in American and British film. Cambridge University Press. p. 149. ISBN 978-0-521-38363-9.
6. ^ Reade, Eric (1979). History and heartburn: the saga of Australian film, 1896-1978. Harper & Row. pp. 175–176\. ISBN 978-0-8386-3082-2.
7. ^ Interview with Tim Burstall, 30 March 1998 Archived 15 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 14 October 2012
8. ^ David Stratton, The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival, Angus & Robertson, 1980 p25
9. ^ Jones, Dave (1 January 1974). "David Williamson". Cinema Papers. No. 1\. p. 7.
10. ^ Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998 p262
11. ^ "Umbrella Entertainment". Retrieved 8 May 2013.

## External links

[edit]

* Stork at IMDb
* Stork at the Australian screen
* Stork at Oz Movies

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Tim Burstall

Feature films|

* 2000 Weeks (1969)
* Stork (1971)
* Libido \- The Child (1973)
* Alvin Purple (1973)
* Petersen (1974)
* End Play (1975)
* Eliza Fraser (1976)
* The Last of the Knucklemen (1979)
* Attack Force Z (1981)
* Duet for Four (1982)
* The Naked Country (1985)
* Kangaroo (1986)

TV|

* The Adventures of Sebastian the Fox (1961)
* Sculpture Australia '69 (1969)
* A Descant for Gossips (1983)
* Great Expectations: The Untold Story (1987)

* v
* t
* e

Works by David Williamson

Plays|

* The Indecent Exposure of Anthony East (1968)
* You've Got to Get on Jack (1970)
* The Coming of Stork (1970)
* The Removalists (1971)
* Don's Party (1971)
* Jugglers Three (1972)
* What If You Died Tomorrow? (1973)
* The Department (1975)
* A Handful of Friends (1976)
* The Club (1977)
* King Lear (1978)
* Travelling North (1979)
* Celluloid Heroes (1980)
* The Perfectionist (1982)
* Sons of Cain (1985)
* Emerald City (1987)
* Top Silk (1989)
* Siren (1990)
* Money and Friends (1991)
* Brilliant Lies (1993)
* Sanctuary (1994)
* Dead White Males (1995)
* Heretic (1996)
* Third World Blues (1997)
* After the Ball (1997)
* Corporate Vibes (1999)
* Face to Face (2000)
* The Great Man (2000)
* Up for Grabs (2001)
* A Conversation (2001)
* Charitable Intent (2001)
* Soulmates (2002)
* Flatfoot (2003)
* Birthrights (2003)
* Amigos (2004)
* Operator (2005)
* Influence (2005)
* Lotte's Gift (2007)
* Scarlett O'Hara at the Crimson Parrot (2008)
* Let the Sunshine (2009)
* Rhinestone Rex and Miss Monica (2010)
* Don Parties On (2011)
* At Any Cost? (2011)
* Nothing Personal (2011)
* When Dad Married Fury (2011)
* Managing Carmen (2012)
* Happiness (2013)
* Rupert (2013)
* Cruise Control (2014)
* Dream Home (2015)
* Jack of Hearts (2016)
* Odd Man Out (2017)
* Credentials (2017)
* Sorting Out Rachel (2018)
* Nearer the Gods (2018)
* The Big Time (2019)
* Family Values (2020)
* Crunch Time (2020)
* The Great Divide (2024)
* Aria (2024)
* The Puzzle (2024)
* Sleeping Dogs (2025)

Screenplays|

* Stork (1971)
* Libido (1973)
* Petersen (1974)
* The Removalists (1975)
* Eliza Fraser (1975)
* Don's Party (1976)
* The Department (1980) (TV movie)
* The Club (1980)
* Gallipoli (1981)
* Duet for Four (1982)
* The Year of Living Dangerously (1983)
* Phar Lap (1983)
* The Last Bastion (1984) (TV series) - also produced
* The Perfectionist (1987) (TV movie)
* Emerald City (1987)
* Travelling North (1987)
* Touch the Sun: Princess Kate (1988) (TV)
* A Dangerous Life (1988) (TV mini-series)
* The Four Minute Mile (1988)
* Sanctuary (1995)
* Brilliant Lies (1996)
* Dog's Head Bay (1999) (TV series)
* On the Beach (2000) (TV series)
* Balibo (2009)
* Face to Face (2011)

* v
* t
* e

AACTA Award for Best Film

1958–1975|

* Conquest of the Rivers / Hard to Windward (1958)
* Edge of The Deep / The Power Makers (1959)
* Three in a Million (1960)
* No Award (1961)
* Bypass to Life / Night Freighter (1962)
* The Land That Waited (1963)
* The Dancing Class / I, the Aboriginal (1964)
* The Legend of Damien Parer / Stronger Since The War (1965)
* Concerto for Orchestra (1966)
* Cardin in Australia (1967)
* The Change at Groote / The Talgai Skull (1968)
* Jack and Jill: A Postscript (1969)
* Three to Go: Michael (1970)
* Homesdale (1971)
* Stork (1972)
* Libido: The Child / 27A (1973)
* Sunday Too Far Away (1974/75)

1976–2000|

* The Devil's Playground (1976)
* Storm Boy (1977)
* Newsfront (1978)
* My Brilliant Career (1979)
* Breaker Morant (1980)
* Gallipoli (1981)
* Lonely Hearts (1982)
* Careful, He Might Hear You (1983)
* Annie's Coming Out (1984)
* Bliss (1985)
* Malcolm (1986)
* The Year My Voice Broke (1987)
* The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey (1988)
* Evil Angels (1989)
* Flirting (1990)
* Proof (1991)
* Strictly Ballroom (1992)
* The Piano (1993)
* Muriel's Wedding (1994)
* Angel Baby (1995)
* Shine (1996)
* Kiss or Kill (1997)
* The Interview (1998)
* Two Hands (1999)
* Looking for Alibrandi (2000)

2001–present|

* Lantana (2001)
* Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
* Japanese Story (2003)
* Somersault (2004)
* Look Both Ways (2005)
* Ten Canoes (2006)
* Romulus, My Father (2007)
* The Black Balloon (2008)
* Samson and Delilah (2009)
* Animal Kingdom (2010)
* Red Dog (2011)
* The Sapphires (2012)
* The Great Gatsby (2013)
* The Babadook / The Water Diviner (2014)
* Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
* Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
* Lion (2017)
* Sweet Country (2018)
* The Nightingale (2019)
* Babyteeth (2020)
* Nitram (2021)
* Elvis (2022)
* Talk to Me (2023)
* Better Man (2024)

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