The Clean Machine
{{about|the telemovie|the album by Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson|the "Clean" Machine}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Clean Machine
| image =
| caption =
| director = Ken Cameron
| writer = Ken Cameron
Terry Hayes
Richard Mortlock
| based_on =
| producer = Terry Hayes
Doug Mitchell
George Miller
| starring = Steve Bisley
Grigor Taylor
Ed Devereaux
| narrator =
| cinematography = Dean Semler
| editing =
| music =
| studio = Kennedy Miller
| distributor = Network Ten
| released = {{Film date|1988|05|22|df=y}}
| runtime = 90 minutes
| country = Australia
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
The Clean Machine is a 1988 Australian tele movie about police corruption starring Steve Bisley. It was one of four telemovies made by Kennedy Miller around this time, the others being The Riddle of the Stinson, The Damien Parer Story and The Year My Voice Broke (which was released theatrically).Ed. Scott Murray, Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995, Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p26
Plot
Inspector Eddie Riordan is appointed to head a new anti-corruption squad.
Cast
- Steve Bisley as Inspector Eddie Riordan
- Grigor Taylor as Detective Sgt. Warren Davis
- Ed Devereaux
- Reginal Gaigulas as Veronica Riordan
- Tim Robertson as Dr Michael Millius
- Peter Kowitz as Stewart Byrne
- Sandy Gore as Marcia Irving
- Marshall Napier as Keith Reid
Production
The film was written by Terry Hayes and Richard Mortlock, who were both former journalists. "Police corruption is an insidiuous and evil thing which disgusts us all," said Hayes. "I'd given up on politicians doing anything about it. This way I can at least channel my range into a story."{{cite news|first=Barbara|last=Hooks|newspaper=The Age|date=1 July 1986|page=2|title=Bicentennial dramas reveal warts and all}}
The director was Ken Cameron who later recalled:
They asked me did I want to make it on 35mm. Now, I've always wondered whether I made a big mistake by not doing it on 35mm. But I don't think it would have been a success in the cinema. It wouldn't have had the density that it had on television. In terms of big screen, I could not have had the production values; the money wouldn't have stretched that far. So I don't know. There's a turning point. You never know what these turning points mean. But I knew one of the factors was that we didn't have Mel Gibson in the lead. I think Steve's terrific in it, but to release it as a movie in that genre, you almost needed Mel or a star.[http://www.signis.net/malone/tiki-index.php?page=Ken+Cameron&bl "Interview with Ken Cameron", Signet, 12 April 1996] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130721123758/http://www.signis.net/malone/tiki-index.php?page=Ken+Cameron&bl |date=21 July 2013}} accessed 18 November 2012
Cameron did say doing the film revived his career after the box office failure of The Umbrella Woman.
Reception
The Sydney Morning Herald called it "easily Kennedy Miller's best production to date... simply excellent.""{{cite news|newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|date=28 May 1988|title=Dick, a dinkum eccentric, goes barmy|page=72|first=Richard|last=Coleman}}
Bisley won the Best Actor in a One-off Drama accolade at the 1988 Penguin Awards.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69368246/doogue-aside-penguins-look-good/|title=Doogue aside, Penguins look good|last=Hook|first=Barbara|date=21 November 1988|work=The Age|accessdate=4 February 2021|via=Newspapers.com}}{{free access}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0217322}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clean Machine}}
Category:Australian television films
Category:Films produced by Doug Mitchell
Category:Films directed by Ken Cameron
Category:1980s English-language films
Category:1980s Australian films
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