Goodbye Pork Pie (1981)

Interesting facts

• Filmed in: New Zealand

Goodbye Pork Pie is a 1981 New Zealand comedy film directed by Geoff Murphy, co-produced by Murphy and Nigel Hutchinson, and written by Geoff Murphy and Ian Mune. The film was New Zealand's first large-scale local hit. One book described it as Easy Rider meets the Keystone Cops.

Production

Goodbye Pork Pie was filmed chronologically over six weeks in late 1979, following the north to south route taken by the film's protagonists. Filming began in the northern town of Kaitaia and ended in Invercargill, near the bottom of the South Island. Director Geoff Murphy, who co-produced the film with Nigel Hutchinson, had been good friends with star Tony Barry (Smith) as well as Bruno Lawrence before Goodbye Pork Pie.

Geoff Murphy cameos in the film as a man working at the second petrol station. Co-producer Nigel Hutchinson sells a banana milk shake "with an egg in it" to John a short time before Gerry falls off the car.

New Zealand band Street Talk provided most of the music heard in the film and formed a large part of the soundtrack, but the group had already broken up by the time the movie was released.

The yellow mini was a 1978 Mini 1000, registered IZ6393. Characters' names (Gerry) Austin and (Leslie) Morris echo British Leyland marques under which Minis were sold. Three 1978 Minis were used during filming. They were sourced from the New Zealand Motor Corporation (assemblers of British Leyland products in NZ). After filming was completed, two of the Minis that were undamaged were returned to The New Zealand Motor Corporation.

An early scene in the film shows John and his partner in a taxi, after she has left him, crossing the old Mangere Bridge. The new bridge, at the time of the film's production, was on hold for a couple of years in an unfinished state due to prolonged industrial action.

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