The Adventures of Eliza Fraser (1976)

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Eliza Fraser is a 1976 Australian bawdy adventure drama film, directed by Tim Burstall and starring Susannah York, Trevor Howard, Noel Ferrier and John Castle. The screenplay was written by David Williamson.

Production

Tim Burstall had been interested in telling the story of Eliza Fraser for a long time, writing a script back in 1969.

He envisioned the film as a picturesque piece in the vein of an 18th-century novel like Humphry Clinker or Tom Jones, as he felt this was closer to the Australian ocker sense of humour. Originally the movie was to have a Rashomon type structure with Eliza's story told three times from three different points of view. But eventually it was decided to turn Eliza into a comic figure.

The script was written by David Williamson. Williamson says his second draft was historically accurate "and it turned out a history of the Aborigines in North Queensland in 1836, and Hexagon didn't want to film it." So it became a comedy. Williamson said

"It was fun to write because I could write gross stereotypes, villains and good guys and use classic plot devices like the reunion of lovers, which I could never do in a play."

The budget was originally $750,000. The Australian Film Commission loaned Hexagon $187,000, invested another $187,000 and Hexagon would put in the rest. Burstall had originally intended to use Wendy Hughes in the lead role, supported by Frank Thring, but Roadshow felt the movie needed an international film star. "They had what we call in the business 'a touch of the Hollywoods'", said Burstall.

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