The Club by David Williamson

David Williamson

Adapted by Frank Zeppel

“The Club” Explores the relationships amongst the committee members who run an Australian Rules football club.

Cast:

Gerry.........Peter Carroll

Ted.........Peter Whitford

Laurie.........John Ewett

Danny.........Bill Conn

Jock.........Richard Meikle

Jeff.........John Howard

Produced by Frank Zeppel

I am unsure as to whether the BBC produced this drama in Australia or whether it was by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Any information would be appreciated.

Size 19MB. Length 85 Minutes. Bitrate: a very poor 32kbps.

http://1drv.ms/1TX9ozq

If anyone has a better encode of this; please feel free to add a link. I will then amend the initial posting and give credit to the poster.

Some info:

This is definitely Australian in origin. It's also a 1980 film, written by Williamson. Here's the DVD cover:

and the IMDB page:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080546/

Film version of David Williamson's satirical play of the same name, that follows the fortunes of an Australian rules football club over the course of a season, and explores the clashes of individuals from within the club.

The Victorian Football League's Collingwood Football Club pays a then huge $125,000 transfer fee for a talented Tasmanian player Geoff Hayward (John Howard). But Haywards's early efforts at the club suggest that Collingwood might have wasted its money. He does not seem all that interested in playing football, and admits to smoking dope before a match. Meanwhile, the club is struggling on the field, and the board is pushing to sack coach Laurie Holden (Jack Thompson) at the end of the season, while there is also a push to remove club president Ted Parker (Graham Kennedy) after he assaults a stripper. There is also long-standing animosity between Holden and Jock Riley (Frank Wilson), a board member who was replaced as coach by Holden.

The Club is set at a time when VFL (AFL) football was still semi-professional and players did not receive the huge salaries of today. The film is centred on Collingwood Football Club, and much of it is filmed at the club's then home ground of Victoria Park. The original play was not based on any football team in particular, and it is not named in the play, and indeed none of the characters in the film refer to Collingwood by name, just 'the club'. However, the film makes extensive use of actual footage of Collingwood matches from the 1970s, with footage of actors like Howard spliced in to make it appear that he is in the actual game).

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Anson (Bob) Roberts July 25, 2015 at 3:09pm

Some info:

This is definitely Australian in origin. It's also a 1980 film, written by Williamson. Here's the DVD cover:

and the IMDB page:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080546/

Film version of David Williamson's satirical play of the same name, that follows the fortunes of an Australian rules football club over the course of a season, and explores the clashes of individuals from within the club.

The Victorian Football League's Collingwood Football Club pays a then huge $125,000 transfer fee for a talented Tasmanian player Geoff Hayward (John Howard). But Haywards's early efforts at the club suggest that Collingwood might have wasted its money. He does not seem all that interested in playing football, and admits to smoking dope before a match. Meanwhile, the club is struggling on the field, and the board is pushing to sack coach Laurie Holden (Jack Thompson) at the end of the season, while there is also a push to remove club president Ted Parker (Graham Kennedy) after he assaults a stripper. There is also long-standing animosity between Holden and Jock Riley (Frank Wilson), a board member who was replaced as coach by Holden.

The Club is set at a time when VFL (AFL) football was still semi-professional and players did not receive the huge salaries of today. The film is centred on Collingwood Football Club, and much of it is filmed at the club's then home ground of Victoria Park. The original play was not based on any football team in particular, and it is not named in the play, and indeed none of the characters in the film refer to Collingwood by name, just 'the club'. However, the film makes extensive use of actual footage of Collingwood matches from the 1970s, with footage of actors like Howard spliced in to make it appear that he is in the actual game).

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Classic & Contemporary Drama

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