Bud Tingwell’s dark side!
See Bud Tingwell wasn't always old!
Firstly, rest in peace big fella. But let’s cut to the chase. I’ve only ever known of Bud as the nice old, cauliflower eared, cute, fuzzy wuzzy grandad. At one point I wondered if there was a law that Bud MUST star in every piece of film made in Australia. From playing the hero QC lawyer in ‘The Castle’ to, er, everything else that called for an old fella.
Cut back to 1978 and a movie called Money Movers. It’s an Aussie movie about crooked armoured truck guards and even more crooked bosses, all trying to rip off the millions that pass through their hands every day. But this movie is so far ahead of it’s time, it’s like getting a birthday card from your children not born yet. So who does Tingwell play? He plays the security company boss – and a brutal one at that.
Some of you may not believe you’d find a middle aged Bud Tingwell doing a toe cutting scene, with some solid A Clockwork Orange overtones. Well he did and he’s bloody convincing at it too. Strangely I bought this movie for six bucks in Melbourne on DVD around the time Bud passed on.
Other actors in the flick such as Terrence Donovan (yes Jason’s dad) liken it to Reservoir Dogs. At least violence and crime wise, it’s bang on. But it was released almost 15 years before it when Tarantino was probably working the video store counter. Money Movers also stars Bryan Brown and seventies legend Lucky ‘Bargearse’ Grills. A bit kitsch sure, but it truly stands up on its own.
Sadly, I don’t think this movie got any props in Oz-sploitation doco Not Quite Hollywood, albeit it didn’t really fit in – which truly is the bane of this movie’s existence. This really is a brilliant action/crime flick without a scene. Produced by Bruce Beresford, he apparently shyed away from the action/crime genre after this movie as he claims it didn’t really excite him.
If you can find Money Movers anywhere, especially if you’re an Oz-kitsch or Tarantino fan, for the love of god check it out. It’s brilliant. Top work Bud!
You can find more info about Money Movers at Australian Screen.
Posted: May 25th, 2009 under Movie Reviews.
Tags: australian cinema, bud tingwell, money movers, tarantino
