Money Movers

In between wowing international audiences with 'The Getting of Wisdom' (1977) and 'Breaker Morant' (1980) Bruce Beresford shot this raw, extremely violent little crime drama with a high body count shot mainly in Adeleide. At the time it swiftly vanished without recovering even it's tiny budget, but deserves to be much better known.

It has a much bloodier climax than 'Reservoir Dogs' and laced with that dry humour one associates with even the grimmest Australian movie; as when crime boss Bud Tingwell wearily tells a henchman to "bring in the nail clippers" when simple persuasion isn't working.

(When I originally saw it I loved the music. So I should. It turned out to be the Adagio movement from Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta.)

It's an amazing film. The casting is amazing - notably Ray Marshall, Bryan Brown and Tony Bonne The planning of an armored car heist, you never quite know who's going to do right or wrong, until the very end when the sides are truly drawn and it culminates in an unbelievably violent finale. This, along with a toe clipping torture scene earlier on, gives it the feel of Tarantino/Avary and their ilk, but a good ten years earlier. The tension as the movies gets closer and closer to the actually heist is insane. Why this movie isn't as lauded as Beresford's films before and after this one is a mystery.

This excellent Aussie crime flick centers on the workers at Darcy, a money courier service. Things get tense when an anonymous note arrives stating that their counting room - which sometimes houses as much as $20 million - is going to get hit soon and a cargo van is robbed the same day. This speeds up the plans of Darcy workers and brothers Eric (Terence Donovan) and Brian Jackson (Bryan Brown) as they have been planning to rob the place for 5 years. To make matters more complicated, Eric is senior security told to look into this matter and he tries to move the suspicion onto newcomer Leo Bassett (Tony Bonner), who has just gotten partnered with honest ex-cop and old timer Dick Martin (Ed Devereaux). To say any more would reveal too much.

Where have you been all my life, MONEY MOVERS? I've never been a huge Bruce Beresford fan, knowing him mostly for BREAKER MORANT, DRIVING MISS DAISY and HER ALIBI (the latter two released the same year in a great example of cinematic diversity). So seeing this hard-hitting and violent crime flick from him was quite a shock. Not only is it quite different in subject, but this sucker moves thanks to some fantastic editing and a tight script (also by Beresford) with plenty of twists. Everyone in the cast is excellent with Devereaux being my favorite character as seemingly the world's last honest man. Definitely worth seeking out.

Money Movers is another highlight of Australian cinema of the 1970s. It is overshadowed by the more successful Mad Max and failed at the Australian box office when released.

This heist thriller is more inspired by British movies such as Get Carter or television shows of that era such as The Sweeney.

Brothers Eric Jackson (Terence Donovan) and Brian Jackson (Bryan Brown) work as security guards for Darcy's Security Services.

They plan to rob their own firm but crime boss Jack Henderson finds out about their plan and wants a big cut. He also plans to have them killed once the job is done.

Leo Bassett is an insurance agent who has gone undercover as a security guard suspecting something bad is about to take place. Dick Martin is a disgraced ex cop who gets a second chance at Darcy's.

Director Bruce Beresford has made a tough thriller adapted from a novel. You can sense there is a complex plot here as the disparate elements of the story start to converge.

The movie also explores police corruption. With all the subterfuge and double crosses, it has a ferocious bloodsoaked finale.

Money Movers really shows what can happen when greed and temptation come together. The money movers of the title handle millions of dollars each day in armored vans completely ready for an outside attack. But what happens when the danger comes from the inside? The answer is everything: Murder, double-cross of thieves, rival gangs, intrigue, suspicion, and the list goes on. This movie is packed with testosterone and has all the action you could ask for. Bruce Beresford directed who would latter come to America and did the Oscar winner Driving Miss Daisy. Based on the book of the same title by Devon Minchin this movie boasts one of the best robberies ever filmed – climaxing in the bloodiest, fastest, hottest shootouts ever put to film. This movie is hard to find in the US but if you come across a copy watch it!