All titles in the ‘Crime’ genre
65 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 next
1910s
The Man from Kangaroo feature film – 1919
John Harland, a bush parson, is dismissed from his job for teaching children how to box. Harland moves to another town, where he combats ruffians and rescues his girlfriend from a forced marriage.
1920s
Sunshine Sally feature film – 1922
The working-class Sally falls in love with the adopted son of wealthy parents from whom she was kidnapped as a child.
The Cheaters (silent) feature film – 1929
Paula Marsh decides to end her career as a thief after falling in love with Lee Travers, son of a wealthy businessman.
1930s
The Cheaters (sound version) feature film – 1931
Paula Marsh decides to end her career as a thief after falling in love with Lee Travers, son of a wealthy businessman.
1950s
The Felt Hat short film – 1951
Arguably the first real attempt at film drama made in South Australia, The Felt Hat draws on 1940s crime fiction and Hollywood film noir to good effect.
King of the Coral Sea feature film – 1954
A pearler in the Torres Strait uncovers an illegal people smuggling operation.
1960s
Clay feature film – 1965
Nick, a killer on the run from the police, takes shelter in an isolated artists’ colony. He falls in love with Margot, a sculptress.
Homicide – The Decimal Point television program – 1965
When Homicide first aired, Australian television drama, complete with Australian cops and accents, was a novelty on screen.
Journey Out of Darkness feature film – 1967
In 1901 Constable Peterson arrives in Central Australia to arrest an Arrernte man who has committed a ritual killing.
1970s
Homicide – The Superintendent television program – 1970
This extraordinary episode breaks away from many of the usual Homicide conventions and dispenses with the customary police investigation in record time.
Division 4 – The Return of John Kelso television program – 1971
This superb hour of drama was Division 4’s most awarded individual episode. It sustains a mood of simmering tension and the supporting cast deliver deliciously malicious performances.
Matlock Police – Episode 1, Twenty-six Hours television program – 1971
From an opening sequence strongly reminiscent of Easy Rider (1969) to a rollicking country car chase at its climax, this is a bumper first episode.
Homicide – The Friendly Fellow television program – 1973
This was star Charles 'Bud’ Tingwell’s favourite Homicide episode.
Mad Dog Morgan feature film – 1976
Mad Dog Morgan updates the bushranging movie conventions, by seeing Morgan as a modern media phenomenon.
Beyond Reasonable Doubt – Alexander McLeod Lindsey television program – 1977
Criminologist Hawkins presents the case of Alexander McLeod Lindsey, jailed for the brutal bashing of his wife. A series on possible miscarriages of justice.
Beyond Reasonable Doubt – The Case of Ronald Ryan television program – 1977
In 1967 Ronald Ryan was the last man to be hanged in Australia. With the public outrage about his execution, Australia ended capital punishment.
Cop Shop – Episode 109 television program – 1978
This episode of Cop Shop is notable for bringing together Mel Gibson, Steve Bisley and Joanne Samuel a short time before they all starred in George Miller’s landmark Mad Max (1979).
Money Movers feature film – 1979
Money Movers was ahead of its time, and may have suffered because of that. It’s a 'crime procedural’, a genre that is now much more popular.
1980s
The Chain Reaction feature film – 1980
The lives of car mechanic Larry and his wife Carmel are placed in danger following an accident at a nuclear waste facility in central Australia.
Goodbye Paradise feature film – 1981
This evocative picture of the Gold Coast as paradise lost includes a gaudy, sleazy fun park, tawdry politics and busloads of old ladies singing.
BMX Bandits feature film – 1983
A young Nicole Kidman stars in a story of BMX bikes and wannabe bandits.
Cop Shop – Episode 485 television program – 1983
This episode is a good example of the relatively adventurous single-episode stories featured in Cop Shop at this point in its run. These appeared alongside the more usual crime and soap-oriented plotlines.
Scales of Justice television program – 1983
The quasi-documentary style of this series adds a gritty reality to the typical car patrol of a police crew on any evening shift around Sydney streets.
Malcolm feature film – 1986
Malcolm is one of the most charming modern Australian comedies, and probably the closest we’ve come to matching the joyful silliness of Britain’s 1950s Ealing comedies.
The Surfer feature film – 1986
Vietnam veteran Sam Barlow uncovers a conspiracy in Surfers Paradise involving police, politicians and a Vietnamese gang.
Grievous Bodily Harm feature film – 1988
Movie critic David Stratton described Grievous Bodily Harm as 'one of the most satisfying thrillers made in Australia’.
Incident at Raven’s Gate feature film – 1988
Strange things are happening around the remote homestead of Raven’s Gate.
Police State television program – 1989
The script for this docudrama-style telemovie was developed using the transcripts from the Fitzgerald Inquiry into Queensland Police corruption.
1990s
Fatal Bond feature film – 1991
Fans of iconic 1960s cars will be able to see a Valiant S series take on a Citroen Goddess in the final scenes.
Phoenix – Top Quality Crims television program – 1991
Seminal procedural police drama, loosely based on the bombing of Victoria’s Russell Street Police Station in 1986.
Blue Heelers – A Woman’s Place television program – 1993
This first episode of Blue Heelers combines police drama with soap elements and introduces us to the show’s key country locations and the central 'family’ of contrasting characters.
Metal Skin feature film – 1994
Social misfit Joe is befriended by the cool and confident Dazey. Their shared passion for drag racing leads to conflict and tragedy.
Correlli – Rat Tamer television program – 1995
Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness star in a drama about a psychologist and her relationships with the staff and inmates of an all-male prison.
Idiot Box feature film – 1996
Idiot Box argues that bored men who spend years watching television, desire catharsis on a theatrical scale.
Romeo + Juliet feature film – 1996
Baz Luhrmann’s radical update of Romeo + Juliet boldly shattered conventional wisdom that said Shakespeare as he wrote it would never appeal to a mass audience.
Water Rats – Dead in the Water television program – 1996
This feature-length pilot packs in more action, location shoots and story strands than a standard episode of Water Rats.
Halifax f.p. – Afraid of the Dark television program – 1997
A forensic psychiatrist finds she has to solve a petrol station shooting without getting too personally involved.
Kiss or Kill feature film – 1997
This Australian film stood out from others of the time because of its fresh mixture of genre thrills, narrative intrigue and black humour.
Murder Call – Black Friday television program – 1997
Murder Call’s take on the crime genre combines a slick look and feel with offbeat story-lines that hark back to the clue-puzzle tradition of fictional sleuths.
Wildside – Series 1 Episode 1 television program – 1997
The raw style of Wildside is characterised by intense, semi-improvised performances, observational camerawork and sometimes frenetic editing.
Stingers – Ratcatcher television program – 1998
The first episode of Stingers wastes no time setting up its premise, diving straight into the action, allowing us to get to know the characters as the crime story unfolds.
Two Hands feature film – 1999
Desperate for a swim, Jimmy (Heath Ledger) buries an envelope containing $10,000 in the sand at Bondi beach…
Water Rats – Goes With the Territory television program – 1999
This episode marks the introduction of Steve Bisley’s character to the long-running crime drama. Of note is the economy with which this major change in cast is addressed.
2000s
Chopper feature film – 2000
The killer who feels no remorse is a movie cliché, but Chopper is about a killer whose remorse is as strong as his desire to wound.
Lantana feature film – 2001
Lantana is distinctly different to most contemporary Australian films: sparser, darker and more emotionally mysterious.
Dirty Deeds feature film – 2002
A photograph from the 1960s of a prominent Sydney criminal pig-shooting with two American mafiosi helped inspire this drama.
The Hard Word feature film – 2002
The Hard Word is both a comical crime fable and a story of brotherly love, an unusual mix of elements.
White Collar Blue – Series 1 Episode 21 television program – 2002
White Collar Blue follows the lives and criminal cases of the police at a Sydney beachside police station.
