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Preview
| Synopsis | Cast | Production
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On
a lazy day at Sunday flat in rugged mountain country in Northern Victoria,
Sally Jones and her class are looking forward to the few remaining
days to the end of term. Pleasant anticipation turns to stark horror
as four grotesquely masked men descend on Sally and the children and
whisk them away at gunpoint. A damp and dark cave becomes prison for
Sally and her nine young charges until they manage to grope their
way to freedom by way of an underwater exit. Their newfound freedom,
however, is short-lived as their captors are waiting for them at a
nearby farmhouse, where they have overpowered the old farmer and his
wife. The comic masks of the kidnappers cannot hide their brutal nature
as the children are manhandled and the old lady is viciously attacked.
In protective defiance, the farmer puts up a brave struggle and is
fatally shot. With blood on their hands, the gunmen lock Sally and
the children in an old shed. A shotgun blast echoes through the stillness
of the night. The old lady too, has been callously murdered. Now Sally
has no illusions as to their probable fate. They must escape at any
cost. Only one man has been left to guard them and the children devise
a plan to lure him into the shed. Thanks to Narelle’s feminie charms
and Sid’s piece of fencepost, they are soon free and run into the
night. Stumbling and clawing their way forward with no sense of direction
and ever fearful of the nearness of their oppressors, they at last
find shelter…a cave to use as a makeshift camp. Hungry and frightened,
they settle for an uneasy night. Morning brings the shock realisation
that the kidnappers have found them. The taunting voices of their
pursuers cut through the chill of early dawn. “We’re coming to get
you!” With time running out, they must convert the cave into a fortress
of sorts. A pooling if potential weapons sees a pathetic arsenal of
penknives, sharpened pencils, scissors, a tomahawk…and a bayonet,
which Derek fashions primitive spears from saplings. The older boys
then busy themselves positioning the spears and the bottom of the
ditch-moat in front of the cave. Leaves and branches provide camouflage.
The unwelcome mat is ready for the kidnappers. Now, Sally and the
children can only wait - and hope… When Narelle wanders from the cave,
Sally makes a fanatic search for her. She is confronted by one of
the gunmen and a desperate struggle develops. The kidnapper topples
into the moat and meets an agonising death when spears impale him.
Only the last and most feared of the abductors remains and the group
readies itself for a final stand. On finding his accomplice dead,
the man charges the cave in a rage, but is overpowered and beaten
to death. Back in the familiar surrounds of the schoolhouse, Sally
and the children are reticent to elaborate on their ordeal. The inquiring
Police fail to notice the interest the pupils are showing in a jar
of formaldehyde, containing a large bleached object. If one cannot
understand the criminal mind, perhaps it is better to analyse his
heart. |
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SALLY
JONES … Rachel Ward
SID O’BRIEN … Sean Garlick
NARELLE … Rebecca Rigg
DEREK … Robin Mason
TOMMY O’BRIEN … Marc Gray
LEANNE … Beth Buchanan
SUE … Asher Keddie
RICHARD … Bradley Meehan
SARAH … Anna Crawford
TOBY … Richard Terrill
With:
FATHER CHRISTMAS … Peter Hehir
PUSSY CAT … David Bradshaw
DABBY DUCK … Vernon Wells
MAC THE MOUSE … Roger Stephen
MRS O’BRIEN … Elaine Cusick
MR O’BRIEN … Laurie Moran
OLD LADY … Wendy Playfair
OLD MAN … Ed Turley
DET.SGT.COTTER … Nick Waters
DET.SGT.MITCHELL … Terence Donovan |
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Produced in 1985
Executive Producers: Hector Crawford CBE, Ian Crawford & Terry Stapleton
Screenplay: Everett DeRoche
From the novel by: Gabrielle Lord
Director: Arch Nicholson
Producer: Raymond Menmuir
Associate Producer: Michael Lake
Shot on location in the Bainsdale area.
Some cave scenes were shot in the Buchan Caves. The fortress cave
was constructed after failing to find a satisfactory location. It
was built in the Grampians countryside - using 27 tonnes of scaffolding,
5 trucks of concrete, 3,500 metres of chicken wire, countless wooden
boxes, 2,000 metres of hessian, 300 litres of paint, 1,000 metres
of fencing wire and 12 drums of polyurethane. It took eight weeks
with a crew of nine living in the bush working about 12 hours a
day. Warner, the designer, also built a series of man-made interiors
for the inside of the Fortress and two spectacular caves. These
were built in a large warehouse outside Beveridge, Melbourne.
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