Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

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This clip shows Barry Ryan (Bryan Brown) at Sydney airport, welcoming home his nephew Darcy (Sam Worthington), who has just returned from service in Vietnam. Barry introduces his crew, ‘Hollywood’ Riley (William McInnes) and Norm (Andrew S Gilbert), and says that he might have a job for Darcy. They drive away to the soundtrack of The Seekers’ version of ‘Oh sinner man’. Darcy tells Barry’s girlfriend, Margaret (Kestie Morassi), that the Americans cannot win the war in Vietnam. Meanwhile Mafia members Tony (John Goodman) and Sal (Felix Williamson) check into the Gazebo Motel in Kings Cross and are annoyed that there is no colour television.

Educational value points

• The clip shows scenes from Dirty Deeds, a film inspired by events that occurred in the Sydney crime scene in the late 1960s. Lenny McPherson (1921–96), also known as ‘Mr Big’, was the most powerful crime figure in Sydney. He attempted to facilitate the forming of close ties between himself, other leading Australian criminals and the US Mafia. In 1969 McPherson held a meeting with Mafia hit man Joseph Dan Testa in Australia. The final scenes in this clip show Mafia boss Tony soon after his arrival in Australia.

• The clip raises the issue of contact between the US and Australian cultures. Allies in war, including the Second World War and the Vietnam War, Australian and US soldiers mixed both at home and in theatres of war. In this clip, newly arrived Americans are annoyed by what they see as some backward aspects of Australian culture and one of the locals is equally puzzled by some US customs, such as tipping. Australian vernacular language and the version of ‘Oh sinner man’ released by popular Australian band The Seekers are both featured.

• The young man returning from Vietnam portrayed in this clip could have been conscripted into active service. Conscription for military service was reintroduced in Australia in 1964 and was based on a lottery draw of birth dates for 20-year-old males. This followed the passing in the same year of the National Service Act, which introduced compulsory military service, mandating that 20-year-old males carry out full-time service for two years followed by three years in the Army Reserve. The Act was amended in May 1965 to oblige national servicemen to serve overseas and 19,450 national servicemen were sent to Vietnam.

• The clip suggests a strong opposition to the war in Vietnam. Many Australians believed that Australia should not have become involved in the War, and by 1968 there was strong opposition being expressed in protests and moratorium marches. People protesting against the War often made no distinction between the War itself and the young soldiers, many of whom had been unwillingly conscripted and forced to fight in it. Young Australian conscripts returning from service in Vietnam were not welcomed back as heroes returning from war, but were shunned and sometimes attacked by some Australians. Many Vietnam veterans were made to feel ashamed of their military service and became alienated and embittered.

• The film is set in the 1960s and its highly stylised look evokes the music, dress, architecture and decor of the period. Director David Caesar, production designer Chris Kennedy, costume designer Tess Schofield, and cinematographer Geoff Hall created the look of the film. The Australian men wear thin-lapelled suits and pork-pie hats, reminiscent of the Australian television series Homicide (1964–75) and Division 4 (1969–75). The contemporary music, the lighting, which has a sharp, cartoonish look, the 1960s cars and the bright colours of the motel room’s decor all create a bright 1960s mood.

• Bryan Brown (1947–) coproduced Dirty Deeds and was the lead actor. His first film was The Love Letters from Teralba Road (1977) and other films in which he has appeared include Newsfront (1978), Breaker Morant (1980), F/X (1985), Gorillas in the Mist (1988), Cocktail (1988) and Two Hands (1999). He has appeared in the television series A Town Like Alice (1981), The Shiralee (1987), Twisted Tales (1996) and Two Twisted (2006), and was also producer of the last two.

• Dirty Deeds (2002) was written and directed by David Caesar, who graduated from the Australian Film Television and Radio School in 1987. He started his film career with documentaries such as Body Work (1988), which explored the funeral industry. He has also written and directed the feature films Greenkeeping (1992), Idiot Box (1996) and Mullet (2000). He has also directed Australian television programs such as Twisted Tales (1996), Stingers (1998) and RAN: Remote Area Nurse (2006).

A Qantas plane lands. A busy arrivals terminal.
Barry Ryan There he is. Dars! Hey, Darcy!
Darcy Hey, Uncle Barry.
Barry Just Barry, alright? How ya going?
Darcy I’m going good, yeah. Darcy.
Tom Riley Tom. Tom Riley.
Barry Hollywood runs most of me stuff for me. Wouldn’t know what to do without the show pony. This is Norm. He watches me back.
Norm Pleased to meet you.
Darcy Nice to meet you too, Norm.
Barry So what do you wanna do now you’re back?
Darcy What you got?
Norm What can you do?
Darcy I know how to shoot people and blow shit up.
Tom That might come in handy.
Barry Well, you sing out if you want work, won’t ya? I’m always looking for a bloke with a head on his shoulders.

In the airport car park.
Barry She asleep?
Tom Yep.
Norm See ya later.
Darcy gets into a car with Barry. There is a young woman waiting in the car. They drive off, a song playing on the soundtrack.
Barry Darcy, this is a friend of mine, Margaret.
Darcy G’day.
Barry How’s it going over there?
Darcy Oh, it’s pretty shithouse.
Margaret If the Yanks win it, right, then what?
Darcy What?
Margaret What are they going to do then?
Darcy They won’t win. The only way they’re going to win is if you kill every single one of ‘em.
Margaret Hm. Or leave ‘em alone.
Barry The Yanks are bombing the shit out of ‘em, aren’t they?
Darcy Yeah, but you have to kill ‘em all – the women, children, ducks. They’re all in on the joke.
Barry Mad bastards, eh?
Darcy Just got nothing to lose, mate.
Margaret It’s funny that, being their own country and everything.
Barry Hey, give him a bloody go.
Margaret You said you just had to pick somebody up and then you’d drop me off at the shops. You didn’t say nothing about waiting at the airport for a bloody hour.

Tense music. A Pan Am flight arrives. A taxi pulls up outside the Gazebo Hotel.
Sal Damn it, don’t they have winter down here?
Tony We’re in the southern hemisphere.
Sal So what now?
Tony We wait, they call on us.
Sal You be careful, that’s a prototype, alright?
Valet Yes.

Inside the hotel room.
Sal You think we can get a colour set?
Bellboy They only come in black and white, sorry.
Sal You’re kidding.
Tony Here you go, chief.
Bellboy What’s that for?
Tony It’s a tip.
Bellboy Oh, rightio. Ta.
Tony ‘Ta.’
Sal ‘Ta!’ Feel like we’re visiting hillbillies here.