It's no more Australian than 'The Battle of the Bulge' is Spanish. It is ridiculous, however, to talk of 'Weird Mob' as a genuine Australian effort. However, the comedy still comes across unimpeded.

The studio scenes are excellent, but some of the outdoor material was undoubtedly shot under far from ideal conditions. The film was obviously made on a very tight budget, resulting in very inconsistent photography (which doesn't look so bad on television, but is a distinct drawback in a theater). I particularly like the beautifully- lit scene when Culotta returns to his magazine-strewn office to pass the night and Slim de Grey's laconic remarks about Culotta's method of work. It is admittedly very slight, but often quite charmingly handled. Of course, nothing could be done with the movie's basic story line.

(Or that there's a surplus of great Australian adjectives). Or that the songs are a discordant intrusion. No longer can it be argued that individual scenes overstay their welcome, or that the film as a whole runs too long. Thanks to a number of intelligent suggestions in newspaper and magazine reviews, more than a quarter hour has now been intelligently edited out of the film's original running time of 112 minutes. The version released on DVD is the original version that played only in Melbourne and Sydney first-run theaters, before it was recalled.ĬOMMENT: It seems that critics can fill a useful function after all. NOTES: The top money-making movie released in Australia in 1966. SYNOPSIS: An Italian journalist, finding that his Sydney magazine job has folded, seeks employment as a builder's laborer. Powell recalled the film after its initial Melbourne and Sydney seasons and quickly re-edited and re-issued it in a 95-minute version for suburban, country, and all other capital city showings. Australian release through British Empire Films: 19 August 1966. release (in original 112-minute version) through Rank Film Distributors: 4 November 1966. Processed by Rank's Denham Film Laboratories.

Photographed on locations in Sydney in Eastman Color. Reviewed by JohnHowardReid 8 / 10 My rating applies to the re-edited theatrical version only! Not to the DVD! Nino starts to win him over with his charm & determination to marry Kay.-Steve Crook Kay takes Nino to meet 'Daddy' but daddy hates journalists, immigrants and bricklayers (he's now BOSS of a construction firm). Nino works hard & makes friends with lots of locals, Nino & Kay argue a lot, Nino & Kay fall in love. So Nino tries to get a job & finishes up. Nino Culotta is an Italian immigrant who arrived in Australia with the promise of a job as a journalist on his cousin's magazine, only to find that when he gets there the magazine's folded, the cousins done a runner & the money his cousin sent for the fare was borrowed from the daughter of the boss of a local construction firm.

They're a Weird Mob by Nino Culotta