The Set

The Set (1970)

Back in the 70s, The Set crossed all the lines!

Paul Lawrence is a working class man who dates Cara, sells shirts at a Sydney department store, and dreams of attending art school. Cara leaves for London and Paul becomes the protege of designer Marie Rosefield. Through this he enters the 'set', the world of Sydney art society. Rosefield is friends with Mark Broniski, an artist who commissions Paul to design a set for British stage director, John L. Fredericks. Paul is helped by art student Tony Brown, who is dating Paul's cousin, Kim Sylvester. Paul and Tony begin a homosexual affair. Kim's mother Peggy has an affair with Boronoski.

Date of release
1970-02-05
TMDB
5.0 / 10 (6)
Runtime
1h 42m
Genres
Drama
Director
Frank Brittain

Casting

Interesting facts

The Set is a 1970 Australian drama film directed by Frank Brittain and produced by David Hannay and adapted from the unpublished novel by Roger Ward. It was the first feature film in Australia to have homosexuality as a main theme.

Production

The script was based on an unpublished novel, written during the sixties, by Australian actor Roger Ward. It was based on diaries he had kept since 1954 reflecting on sexual mores in Australia. The original title of the novel was 'You can never please a people' and was based on Ward's experience in the theatrical world, using the lives of friends of his and his own experiences as a basis. Indeed, the character of John L.

Ward showed the manuscript to Ed Devereaux who suggested Ward take it to American producer Frank Brittain, who had just made Journey Out of Darkness (1967) and wanted to direct Australian films. Brittain asked Ward to rewrite the material and emphasise the homosexual content. It had not been Ward's goal to have the film made with an emphasis on the gay elements of the story.

Finance was reportedly obtained from a Newcastle industrialist, Richard Mawson.

The film was shot in early 1969. No sets were used, with filming taking place in private houses on Sydney's north shore and in Paddington. Production was highly publicised, in part due to a nude appearance by TV personality Hazel Phillips. Roger Ward later said he was unhappy with the experience:

I was devastated to see the ruination of a previously polished and highly tuned script and spent my short time on set leaping in front of the cameras yelling, "Cut! That is not the dialogue". It got to the stage that the actors were ignoring the director and coming to me in a clandestine manner to ask for interpretations and the correct lines to say.

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