''Barnaby and Me'' is a 1978 Australian

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

film about a girl and her talking koala Barnaby who are pursued by criminals.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p11 The film was one of six TV movies made in Australia by Transatlantic Enterprises along with the ABC. ''Barnaby and Me'' was made in association with

Six Flags Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any a ...

, presented as the theme park company's first foray into the movie business. It was the final film directed by Norman Panama.

Cast

Sid Caesar Isaac Sidney Caesar (September 8, 1922 – February 12, 2014) was an American comic actor, comedian and writer. With a career spanning 60 years, he was best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: ''Your Show of Shows'' (1950� ...

as Leo Fisk. *

Juliet Mills Juliet Maryon Mills (born 21 November 1941) is an English-American actress. She is the daughter of actor Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell and the eldest of three siblings; her younger siblings are actress Hayley Mills and director Jonathan ...

as Jennifer, a young widow of a famed traveler and hunter. * Sally Boyden as Linda, daughter of Jennifer. *

Hugh Keays-Byrne Hugh Keays-Byrne (18 May 1947 – 2 December 2020) was a British-Australian actor and film director. A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he was best known for playing the main antagonist in two films from the ''Mad Max'' franchise ...

as Huggins, employee at an international syndicate. Additionally, Rangi Nicols plays Ko, a native of the mysterious outback colony of Happy Valley. John Newcombe also appears as himself in a scene where competes with Barnaby in a frenzies match on the court.

Production

It was the second film from Transatlantic Enterprises, following '' No Room to Run''. The film was announced in November 1976 as ''Billy''. Another working title was ''Fuzzy''. Australian singer Sally Boyden turned down the chance to tour with

Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordi ...

to make the movie. John Newcombe has a cameo where he plays a game of tennis against Caesar. Filming took place from mid November 1976 to mid January 1977. Caesar was addicted to alcohol and pills and the time and later wrote in his memoirs that on the flight out "I took my usual ration of booze and pills and passed out completely. When the plane landed in New Zealand Caesar could not be woken up so they took him to hospital.Caesar p 6 His wife Florence was flown to Auckland but by the time she arrived Caesar had gone to Sydney. Norman Panama requested Florence stay on the set to ensure Caesar completed the film. Caesar wrote "she did and she got me to work every day, in reasonably usable condition."Caesar p 188 However Caesar said he could not remember anything about making the movie or any of the time he spent in Australia.

References

Notes

External links

*
Barnaby and Me
at Letterbox DVD
''Barnaby and Me''
at AustLit
Barnaby and Me
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Australian television films Australian crime films 1978 television films 1978 films 1978 crime films Australian adventure films 1970s adventure films 1970s English-language films Films directed by Norman Panama {{Australia-tv-film-stub