Four hundred real bikers participated as extras in the famous highway funeral procession sequence seen at the beginning of this film.
A number of the cast from this movie appeared later in the similar Australian cult movie Mad Max (1979). This included actors Hugh Keays-Byrne, Roger Ward, Vincent Gil, David Bracks and Reg Evans.
This movie is somewhat considered a precursor to Mad Max (1979). David Stratton in his book 'The Last New Wave' states that this movie " . . . bears many similarities to the [later] Mad Max (1979) and is, in a sense, its forerunner. Both deal with anti-social bikie gangs, both have as their title protagonist a policeman who is as rough as the criminals he's trying to capture, both feature characters with bizarre names . . . ". Even DVD releases of this movie have boasted a tagline suggesting this: "Before MAD MAX and THE ROAD WARRIOR There Was STONE".
This movie's original theatrical cut ran 132 minutes. Reportedly, director Sandy Harbutt was relatively unhappy with this version. During the 1980s, when the movie was optioned for home video release by Roadshow Home Video (a division of Roadshow Film Distributors), Harbutt requested that he be able to re-cut his film so that it reflected his original vision. The original Australian video release (circa 1985) runs 98 minutes and carries a "Director Approved" message coupled with Harbutt's signature. It is this significantly shorter "Director's Cut", inclusive of Premium Film's 1995 21st Anniversary re-release, that has replaced all previous versions of the film. The Australian DVD releases also run at this shorter hour-and-a-half length. Harbutt has said of the half-hour shorter version, the only one available on video: "I just look at the picture as it is and as it was and as far as I'm concerned, the picture should be as it is. That's what I want the world to see".
The Grave Diggers bikie gang featured a number of characters who had colorful names. Theses included Bad Max, Blue, Boots, Buzzard, Captain Midnight, Dr Death, Euridyce, Ferret, Go Down, Hooks, Karma, Midnight, Pinball, Scrag, Septic, 69, Skunk, Stinkfinger, Sunshine, Tiger, Toad, Undertaker and Zonk.
Garry McDonald: The popular Australian comedian as a motorcycle mechanic. In 1975, McDonald became well known on television in Australia for starring as the comic character Norman Gunstan. This was McDonald's second feature film after Avengers of the Reef (1973).