''BMX Bandits'' (released as ''Short Wave'' in the United States) is a 1983 Australian

crime comedy Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...

directed by

Brian Trenchard-Smith Brian Medwin Trenchard-Smith (born 1946) is an English-Australian filmmaker and author, known for his idiosyncratic and satirical low-budget genre films. His filmography covers action, science fiction, martial arts, dystopian fiction, comedy, ...

and starring

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

Plot

After a successful Sydney bank robbery, with the robbers wearing pig masks and wielding shotguns, the man in charge, "The Boss", plans a further and larger payroll robbery for two days later worth at least $1.5 million, hoping that he can trust his less-than-competent gang headed by Whitey and Moustache to do the job properly, with anyone who doesn't answering to him. Two young BMX experts, P. J. and Goose, meet Judy, who is working as a trolley collector at the

Warringah Mall Westfield Warringah Mall (previously known as Warringah Mall or colloquially as The Mall) is a large indoor/outdoor shopping centre in the suburb of Brookvale in the Northern Beaches region of Sydney. Transport Westfield Warringah Mall h ...

during the school holidays in order to be able to buy her own BMX bike, and accidentally get Judy fired from her job when they crash into trolleys pushed away by the local "Creep". The three go out in Goose's dad's runabout on the harbour searching for cockles to sell in order to fix their own crashed bikes, as well as getting Judy her own, and stumble onto and steal a box of police-band

walkie talkie A walkie-talkie, more formally known as a handheld transceiver (HT), is a hand-held, portable, two-way radio transceiver. Its development during the Second World War has been variously credited to Donald Hings, radio engineer Alfred J. Gross, ...

s that the bank robbers were hoping to use to monitor on police traffic. After stealing the box, the kids pass Whitey and Moustache who are on their way in their high-powered motorboat to pick it up. Judy, P.J. and Goose sell the walkie-talkies to other kids in the area. The Bayside Police are able to hear the kids using the walkie talkies. Judy, P.J. and Goose are also unaware that the robbers know who stole the box. After they are spotted and chased late at night through a cemetery by Whitey and Moustache wearing monster masks (going formal, according to Whitey), they manage to escape. The next day, P.J. and Goose pick up their newly repaired bikes while Judy buys her bike. Judy is caught the next day by Whitey and Moustache while getting a second walkie talkie for The Creep, but escapes with the help of P.J. and Goose. The goons chase the Bandits in a cartoonish chase across various sites around Sydney, including a memorable escape down the Manly Waterworks

water slide A water slide (also referred to as a flume, or water chute) is a type of slide designed for warm-weather or indoor recreational use at water parks. Water slides differ in their riding method and therefore size. Some slides require riders to s ...

s, complete with BMX bikes. The trio are finally arrested but escape police custody and, with the help of the local kids, launch their own plan to foil the planned payroll robbery. Using the walkie-talkies, the Bandits pinpoint the meeting place for the robbers, then proceed to ambush and apprehend the robbers. The Boss, Whitey and Moustache escape in a removal truck with Judy as a hostage, with P.J. and Goose taking chase. They cause the truck to crash, with police soon arriving to arrest The Boss, Whitey and Moustache. The police build a BMX track as thanks for the capture. In its opening meeting, the BMX Bandits sweep the main awards.

Cast

as Judy *Angelo D'Angelo as P.J. *James Lugton as Goose *

David Argue David J. Argue (born 1959) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his role as Snowy in '' Gallipoli'' as well as the lead role in the 1993 film ''Hercules Returns'' and Dicko in the 1983 film ''Razorback''. Filmography Films Televisio ...

as Whitey *John Ley as Moustache * Bryan Marshall as The Boss *Brian Sloman as The Creep *Peter Browne as Police Constable *Bill Brady as Police Sergeant *Linda Newton as Policewoman *Bob Hicks as Heavy #1 *Guy Norris as Heavy #2 *Chris Hession as Heavy #3 *Norman Hodges as The Drunk *Brian Best as Supermarket Manager *Ray Marshall as Foreman *Patrick Mansfield as Crane Operator *De Vuong as BMX Stunt Rider

Filming locations

Northern Beaches The Northern Beaches is a region within Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, near the Pacific coast. This area extends south to the entrance of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), west to Middle Harbour and north to the en ...

* Waverley Cemetery, Bronte * Manly Oval * Manly Waterworks * The Corso *

Manly Beach Manly Beach is a beach situated among the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia, in Manly, New South Wales. From north to south, the three main sections are Queenscliff, North Steyne, and South Steyne. Etymology The beach was named by Capt. A ...

* Sydney Harbour *

Lane Cove Lane Cove is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lane Cove is nine kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governmen ...

Flour bombing scene * Hickeys lane bmx track, penrith in the end credits

Production

The film was originally going to be written and directed by Russell Hagg, only it was going to be about nine-year old characters. He was unable to raise finance. The project passed to producer

Tom Broadbridge Thomas Frederick Broadbridge (born 1943) is a British-Australian film producer. Early life He grew up in Grantham in England. He attended the Boys' Central School. His parents lived Grantham, and his sister Betty Allen lived on Manor Drive in G ...

who hired Hagg's frequent collaborator Patrick Edgeworth to rewrite the script and make it about teenagers.

was hired after the producers had been impressed by his handling of action in ''

Turkey Shoot A turkey shoot is an opportunity for an individual or a party to take advantage of a situation with a significant degree of ease. The term likely originates from a method of hunting wild turkeys in which the hunter, coming upon a flock, intention ...

''. He says the script was originally set in Melbourne but he persuaded them to re-set it in Sydney to take advantage of that city's locations. He set it on the northern beaches and wrote action sequences based on "my concept for the BMX action being putting BMX bikes where BMX bikes aren’t meant to be."Brian Kelly, "Interview: Genre film virtuoso Brian Trenchard-Smith discusses upcoming BMX BANDITS Blu-ray", ''Gordon and the Whale'' 11 March 2011
accessed 8 February 2013 The movie was shot over 41 days, a longer than normal shoot because of the labour restrictions caused by the fact many of the cast were under 16. Trenchard-Smith:

I wanted to capture the spirit of the
Ealing comedies The Ealing comedies is an informal name for a series of comedy films produced by the London-based Ealing Studios during a ten-year period from 1947 to 1957. Often considered to reflect Britain's post-war spirit, the most celebrated films in the ...
and British films of the '50s and '60s that were clearly aimed at children and delivered action and fun in a largely cartoonish way. If you look at the basic premise of the plot, the crooks clearly want to or intend to kill the children at some point, so how do you disguise that and make that palatable to an audience of kids and parents? You make the crooks buffoonish, the gang that couldn’t shoot straight, so that takes the curse off the underlying purpose.

sprained her ankle during filming. No female stunt double that looked like her could be found so her bike stunts were performed by an 18-year-old man in a wig.

Awards

Box office

Director Trenchard-Smith states during the Blu-ray commentary that ''BMX Bandits'' grossed more than $1 million in its first 6 weeks and was the 5th highest-grossing film in England for the year of its release. Kidman's performance led to her being cast in the TV series ''Five Mile Creek'' where she was directed by Trenchard-Smith in some episodes.

Critical reception

The film was released in the UK. ''The Guardian'' wrote: "there's a girl called Nicole Kidman who's rather good".

Home media

''BMX Bandits'' was released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in August 2010. The DVD is compatible with all region codes and includes special features such as the trailer and audio commentary with Brian Trenchard-Smith, Eric Trenchard-Smith & Chalet Trenchard-Smith. A bonus disc includes a photo gallery, press clippings,

discussing the film on ''Young Talent Time'', and a featurette titled ''BMX Buddies'' with Brian Trenchard-Smith, Tom Broadbridge, Patrick Edgeworth, Russell Hagg and James Lugton. In 2013 region free DVD and Blu-ray was released as an updated version which includes all footage and bonus material from previous versions on one disc. A regular edition was released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in January 2012 without the bonus disc.

References in popular culture

American rock band

Wheatus Wheatus are an American rock band from Northport, New York, formed in 1995. They are known principally for their 2000 single " Teenage Dirtbag", which appeared in the films '' Loser'' and ''Bully'', as well as the HBO miniseries '' Generation ...

has a song titled "BMX Bandits" on their album '' Too Soon Monsoon''. The song has been dedicated to Nicole Kidman, and includes the lyrics "Hey Nicole" in the chorus. In the song's animated

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

, there is an animated caricature of Kidman. The show ''

That Mitchell and Webb Look ''That Mitchell and Webb Look'' is a British sketch comedy television show starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb that ran from 2006 to 2010. Many of its characters and sketches were first featured in the duo's radio show ''That Mitchell and W ...

'' parodied the film in the recurrent adventures titled "Angel Summoner and BMX Bandit". The Scottish Indie-rock band BMX Bandits are named after the film.

References

External links

* *
''BMX Bandits''
at Oz Movies *
''BMX Bandits'' at the National Film and Sound Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bmx Bandits (Film) 1983 films 1980s action comedy films 1980s adventure comedy films 1980s action adventure films 1980s crime comedy films Australian action adventure films Australian crime comedy films 1980s English-language films Films directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith Cycling films Films set in Sydney Films shot in Australia BMX mass media Australian action comedy films Australian sports comedy films Teensploitation 1983 comedy films