Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

The Last of the Knucklemen (1979)

play
clip ‘This has got to stop’

Original classification rating: R. This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

Tarzan (Gerard Kennedy) attempts to halt a high stakes poker game between Pansy (Mike Preston) and Methuselah (Michael Duffield).

Curator’s notes

The dramatic centrepiece of The Last of the Knucklemen is this poker showdown between Pansy and Methuselah. Tarzan is acutely aware of the potentially disastrous consequences but is powerless to stop two born gamblers from raising the stakes and risking it all. The calm, almost gentlemanly discussion between Pansy and Methuselah is radically different from the rough talk generally spoken in the shed. Long before the cards are shown, the ethos of gambling is potently laid out. Pansy’s stinging observations about the dynamics of the group’s relationships undermines Tarzan’s authority. It is a victory for Pansy with words rather than fists.