Uncle Scoopy's Fun House

(All comments by Johnny Moronic)

Here we go again with a couple of mid 80s Australia dramas off VHS tape. As always with VHS releases, the quality is down although both of these movies are actually pretty decent quality. I was hoping that One Night Stand would be on DVD as planned by Umbrella 2+ years ago as a part of the John Duigan director collection, but that hasn't happened and doesn't look like happening soon. I was hoping to get a lighter version of the Cassandra Delaney nude scene, although there's no guarantee of that on a DVD release. And knowing my luck, an One Night Stand DVD will be released sometime soon.

One Night Stand

1984

One Night Stand (one of the laziest titles ever) is a pre-apocalyptic drama set in Sydney just as a nuclear war has broken out between America and Eastern Europe/Russia. Best friends Sharon and Eva (Cassandra Delaney and Saskia Post) are picked up by Santa Claus attired friends Brendan (Jay Hackett) and Tony (David Pledger) and they go on a double date to a Midnight Oil concert, which doesn't end well. Meanwhile, American naval officer Sam (Tyler Coppin) goes AWOL, missing his lover and just sick of the whole navy thing. The next night while leaving her job as an usherette at the Opera House for the night, Sharon awakens Sam, who is hiding out in the Opera House. Sharon and Eva are going out, but begin talking to Sam. They spy Brendan singing and dancing as he works as a cleaner at the Opera House and they all start talking. Then they get word that a nuclear bomb has been dropped North of Sydney and they are stuck in the Opera House trying to figure out what to do next and pass time by dancing, dressing up and playing strip poker with fragments of news coming through of the world being blown apart. Will they survive the night?

One Night Stand is a movie very much of it's time with nuclear war paranoia at it's peak, punctuated with a Midnight Oil concert, who were in the thick of this paranoia. And this movie absolutely ramps up the paranoia at one stage suggesting 6 nuclear bombs had been dropped in Australia alone (Wow!). Most of the movie is just the four passing the time, not exactly exciting or all that illuminating on the characters, but isn't boring. The final act of the movie is very haunting and well and truly the best part of the movie, but it's hard to take this movie seriously when none of the nuclear war paranoia came to fruition and the movie shows an incredibly extreme and unbelievable example of this.

Cassandra Delaney film clip (collage below)

Death of a Soldier

1986

Death Of A Soldier is a drama set in Melbourne in 1942 where American troops were stationed during the war. The dead, naked body of a woman is found and local detectives Adams and Martin (Bill Hunter and Maurie Fields) think that it could be an American soldier and alert the army where Major Patrick Dannenberg (James Coburn) takes an interest although his superior Major Fricks (Max Fairchild) isn't convinced. Meanwhile, hulking American soldier Private Leonski (Reb Brown), who is harrassing women around town, kills his second victim, a policeman's wife, and all hell breaks loose between Australian and American troops, including a massacre which is hushed up by Dannenberg. Now the local police and American army attempt to stop the tension by finding the murderer, but after another victim gets away from Leonski, she fails to recognise him when the troops are lined up. Leonski finds another woman, who he chokes to death, but this time his friend is convinced that Leonski is the killer and dobs him in. Leonski admits to the murders and when questioned, says that he did it to capture the woman's singing voices and then proceeds to sing in a feminine voice. Leonski is clearly insane but is rule competent to stand trial as a quick trial is pushed by the American army to get a conviction so that Leonski can be hung and apparently appease everyone. But, Dannenberg is convinced Leonski should get a fair trial and be tried as not sane, but time is running out and no one agrees with him.

Based on true events, Death Of A Soldier is a pretty solid movie, but one that is also very odd possibly due to oddball director Philippe Mora (Howling 2 and 3, Mad Dog Morgan). The murder scenes are very strange and the train massacre is truly bizarre scene (and very shocking if actually true). Then there's Leonski, who is one strange character. Reb Brown is very intriguing as the psychotic killer, especially during the scene where he is singing like a little girl, The final shot in the movie is every bit as strange as the final shot in Mad Dog Morgan. The film is intriguing and James Coburn is very good here and so are Bill Hunter and (strangely) vaudeville comedian Maurie Fields in a serious role (although he gets to do some singing and piano work). A pretty decent movie that seems to have been sadly forgotten.

Kathy Gordon film clip (sample below)