Gone to Ground

Gone to Ground
Gone to Ground
Directed by	Kevin James Dobson
Written by	Bruce A. Wishart
Produced by	Robert Bruning
Starring	Charles Tingwell; Eric Oldfield
Cinematography	Russell Boyd
Edited by	Rod Hay
Production; company	Gemini Productions
Distributed by	Network 7
Release date	1977
Running time	74 mins
Country	Australia
Language	English
Budget	$90,000

Gone to Ground is a 1977 Australian TV movie about a man pursued by a killer.^[2]

It was one of a series of TV movies Bruning made for Channel 7. Although he sold them to Paramount for worldwide distribution, he found making them was not profitable, so sold his company to Reg Grundy.^[3]

Plot[]

Jimmy Flemming, the owner of a surfing supply store has been receiving death threats. After he is beaten up by surfers he "goes to ground" with his wife Angela and the house of an old friend. However they are followed there by a mysterious motorcyclist.

Harry Ferguson is married to Grace but is sleeping with his secretary Kathleen.

Cast[]

Eric Oldfield as Jimmy Flemming
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell as Harry Ferguson
Elaine Lee as Grace Ferguson
Robyn Gibbes as Angela Flemming
Marion Johns as Ma Bishop
Dennis Grosvenor as Bart
Judy Lynne as Kathleen
Allan Penney as Peters
Marcus Haleas as Anderson
John Orcsik

Production[]

The film was shot in Sydney.^[1]

Reception[]

The Sydney Morning Herald said that "Eric Oldfield conies off exceptionally well" and the script has "more twists than a corkscrew" but the direction "involves a conglomeration of quick scene changes, flashbacks and slow motion that does nothing more than confuse. So swiftly do the scenes change that dialogue often overlaps into the next frame. It takes about 40 minutes to get some idea of what the film is about."^[4]

Another review in the same paper said the script "reduces a taut thriller to a limp farce" where the dialogue was "ineffably silly."^[5]

References[]

^ ^a ^b "First Look for a Thrill". Sydney Morning Herald. 8 August 1976. p. 89.
^ Ed. Scott Murray, Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995, Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p69
^ Beilby, Peter; Murray, Scott (September–October 1979). "Robert Bruning". Cinema Papers. pp. 517–519.
^ Shelley, Gary (21 May 1979). "More twists than a corkscrew". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 18.
^ Groves, Don (20 May 1979). "Ground script goes to slush". Sydney Morning Herald.

External links[]

Gone to Ground at Peter Malone site
Gone to Ground at IMDb
Gone to Ground at the British Film Institute

http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7201a7c5

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[thrill-1] "First Look for a Thrill". Sydney Morning Herald. 8 August 1976. p. 89.

[scott-2] Ed. Scott Murray, Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995, Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p69

[3] Beilby, Peter; Murray, Scott (September–October 1979). "Robert Bruning". Cinema Papers. pp. 517–519.

[4] Shelley, Gary (21 May 1979). "More twists than a corkscrew". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 18.

[5] Groves, Don (20 May 1979). "Ground script goes to slush". Sydney Morning Herald.

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