''Alvin Rides Again'' is a 1974

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n sex-comedy film sequel to ''

Alvin Purple ''Alvin Purple'' is a 1973 Australian sex comedy film starring Graeme Blundell in the title role; the screenplay was written by Alan Hopgood and directed by Tim Burstall, through his production company Hexagon Productions and Village Road ...

''. It was directed by

David Bilcock David Bilcock (6 December 1937 – 4 July 2009) was an Australian producer and editor who was an important player in the re-emergence of the Australian film industry in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a close collaborator with Robin Coppin ...

and

Robin Copping Robin Copping (1934 – August 2022) was an Australian cinematographer and producer. He was part of the Australian New Wave, a revival of the Australian film industry in the 1960s and '70, forming notable partnerships with David Bilcock and Ti ...

, who were regular collaborators with

Tim Burstall Timothy Burstall AM (20 April 1927 – 19 April 2004) was an English Australian film director, writer and producer, best known for hit Australian movie '' Alvin Purple'' (1973) and its sequel '' Alvin Rides Again'' (1974). Burstall's films f ...

.David Stratton, ''The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival'', Angus & Robertson, 1980 p30 It was rated M unlike its predecessor which was rated R. ''Alvin Rides Again'' still features a lot of full frontal nudity.

Plot

Alvin Purple is unable to hold down a job because of his appeal to women. He and his friend Spike help a team of women cricketers win a match by playing in drag, and decide to spend their share of the prize money in a casino. Alvin discovers he is identical in appearance to gangster Balls McGee. When Balls is killed, Alvin is forced to take his place.

Cast

Graeme Blundell Graeme Blundell (born 7 August 1945) is an Australian actor, director, producer, writer, playwright, lyricist and biographer. Early life Blundell was born on 7 April 1945 in Melbourne; he grew up in the suburb of Clifton Hill. He was educated ...

as Alvin Purple / Balls McGee * Alan Finney as Spike Dooley *

Gus Mercurio Augustino Eugenio “Gus” Mercurio (10 August 19287 December 2010) was an American-Australian chiropractor, actor, boxing referee, boxing judge, and sports commentator. He was equally prominent as a character actor on film and television, and ...

as Jake *

Noel Ferrier Noel Ferrier Member of the Order of Australia, AM (20 December 193016 October 1997) was an Australian television personality, comedian, stage and film actor, raconteur, and theatrical producer. He was a regular panelist in Graham Kennedy's popu ...

as The Hatchet *

Abigail Abigail () was an Israelite woman in the Hebrew Bible married to Nabal; she married the future King David after Nabal's death (1 Samuel ). Abigail was David's third wife, after Ahinoam and Saul's daughter, Michal, whom Saul later married to ...

as Mae *

Jon Finlayson Jon Douglas Finlayson (23 March 1938–12 September 2012) was an Australian stage and screen character actor, radio performer, writer, director, producer and singer Early life Jon Finlayson was born in Coburg, Victoria to Clorine and Ron Finl ...

as The Magician *

Kris McQuade Kris McQuade (born 1952) is an Australian actress who has had many film, television and theatre roles. Career McQuade's film credits include '' The Love Letters from Teralba Road'', '' Kostas'', '' Fighting Back'', '' Lonely Hearts'', '' Goodby ...

as Mandy *

Chantal Contouri Chantal Contouri (; born 8 April 1950), sometimes credited as Chantal Cantouri, is a Greek Australian television and film actress. She has acted in many films and TV series as well as on stage, with one of her best known roles being in the 197 ...

as Boobs la Touche * Jeff Ashby as Loopy Snieder * Frank Wilson as House Detective * Ross Bova as The Dwarf *

Briony Behets Briony Behets (born 1951) is an English-born Australian actress who found fame acting in television soap operas of the 1970s and 1980s. She is known for her early roles in '' Birds in the Bush'', '' Number 96'', '' The Box'', '' Bellbird'', and ...

as Girl in Taxi *

Arna-Maria Winchester Arna-Maria Winchester was an Australian actress, appearing on film, TV and in the theatre. Career Winchester played the main role in the 1980 film '' The Chain Reaction'' and the 1983 TV series ''Kings''. Other featured screen roles include ...

as Nancy *

Frank Thring Francis William Thring IV (11 May 1926 – 29 December 1994) was an Australian character actor in radio, stage, television and film; as well as a theatre director. His early career started in London in theatre productions, before he starred i ...

as Fingers * Clare Balmford as Employment Clerk *

Dina Mann Dina Mann (born c. 1950), also credited as Diana Mann, is an Australian former actress and later casting director recognised for several television soap opera and film roles from 1970 until 1985, after which she worked as a casting director un ...

as Woman Cricketer +cat *

Candy Raymond Candida Raymond (born 1950) is an Australian actress of film and television during the 1970s and early 1980s. Biography She attended St Ives High School in Sydney. As a teenager she played small guest roles in Australian television soap oper ...

as Girl in Office *

Esme Melville Esme Melville (born Esme Grace Mount-Melville, 23 July 1918 – 14 September 2006) was an Australian theatre, television and film actress. At the Tropfest awards for 2003 she won Best Actor – Female for her role of Granma in the short film, '' ...

as Cleaning Lady *

Reg Gorman Reg Gorman (2 August 1932 – 5 August 2021) was an Australian television and film actor, and comedian, he was known best for his role in TV serial ''The Sullivans'', as Jack Fletcher. and children's series ''Fergus McPhail'' as Harry Patters ...

as Bookmaker * Terry Gill as Male Barracker *

John Michael Howson John-Michael Howson (born 8 August 1936) is an Australian writer, reporter, entertainer and Melbourne radio commentator. His involvement in the Australian entertainment scene as a writer, producer and performer spans more than 50 years. Earl ...

as Bell Boy *

Maurie Fields Maurice Fields (born Maurice Sheil, 4 August 1926 – 18 December 1995) was an Australian vaudeville performer, actor and stand-up comedian. Career Fields became a well-known face on television first thanks to his comic sketches on live progra ...

as Garage Proprietor *

Penne Hackforth-Jones Penne Hackforth-Jones (5 August 194917 May 2013) was an American-born Australian actress and biographer. Early life Penelope Beatrix Hackforth-Jones was born in August 1949 in Greenwich, Connecticut, to Paul and Susan Felicity (née Gullett) ...

as Woman Cricketer

Production

Tim Burstall said neither he, Alan Hopgood nor Graeme Blundell was particularly interested in making a sequel to ''Alvin Purple'' but the film was so successful, Hexagon Productions wanted a follow-up. Blundell wanted to avoid being typecast so a story was created which gave him a chance to play a double role. Burstall, who claims he wrote most of the script with Al Finney, says that:

When it came to the crunch, Blundell failed to differentiate between paying Balls and playing Alvin pretending to be Balls. In my view, the film fails for precisely that reason, i.e. Alvin is lost.Scott Murray, 'Tim Burstall', ''Cinema Papers'' Sept-Oct 1979 p495

Release

''Alvin Rides Again'' was the recipient of some more controversy when it was released, but was only rated M. It did not perform as well as its predecessor, but still grossed $600,000 by the end of 1977 and ended up taking $1,880,000 at the box office in Australia, which is equivalent to $12,690,000 in 2009 dollars. John D. Lamond, who worked on the film's release, thought the filmmakers made a mistake making it "less sexy, because they didn’t want to lose any potential audience...so the second one wasn’t rated R and it flopped, fell on its arse after the first month".Interview with John Lamond, ''Mondo Stumpo'', early 2002
Retrieved 14 October 2012

Home media

''Alvin Rides Again'' was released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in April 2011. The DVD is compatible with region codes 2 and 4 and includes special features such as the theatrical trailer, picture gallery and interviews with Tim Burstall, Alan Hopgood and Robin Copping.

References

External links

*
''Alvin Purple Rides Again'' at the National Film and Sound Archive

''Alvin Rides Again''
at Oz Movies {{Alvin Purple 1974 films Australian sex comedy films Australian sequel films 1970s English-language films Films set in Australia 1970s sex comedy films 1974 comedy films Works by Alan Hopgood English-language sex comedy films