''High Rolling'' (also called ''High Rolling in a Hot Corvette'') is an Australian

buddy comedy A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the olde ...

directed by Igor Auzins and written by Forest Redlich. Golden Globe Award winners Joseph Bottoms and

Judy Davis Judith Davis (born 23 April 1955) is an Australian actress in film, television, and on stage. With a career spanning over 40 years, she has been commended for her versatility and regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation. Frequen ...

are among the cast. The soundtrack for the film was provided by the Australian band, Sherbet. The film was released in Australia on 4 August 1977.

Plot

Tex (Bottoms) is an American working at a carnival in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. At the carnival he befriends a boxer, Alby (Taylor) and they decide to travel together to Surfers Paradise on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

. They hitch a ride with Arnold (Clayton) but problems arise when Arnold makes unwanted advances towards Alby. Alby beats up Arnold and he and Tex flee with Arnold's suitcase and car. However, the case is full of cash and the car is stocked with marijuana. So it comes as no surprise that Arnold and his friends want them back. Tex and Alby later give a lift to a sixteen-year-old hitch-hiker, Lynn and try to pick up two women, Barbie and Susie. Tex gets thrown out of a night club and beaten up by a bouncer so Alby takes both girls to bed. Arnold sends thugs to get them so they end up hijacking a tourist bus. They escape and go off into the sunset with Lyn.High Rolling (1977)
The Digital Fix. Retrieved on 8 June 2011

Cast

* Joseph Bottoms as Texas *

Grigor Taylor Grigor Weston Taylor also known as Greg Taylor, is an Australian former actor, best known for his parts in several television series including '' Matlock Police'' and ''Glenview High''. Early life, education and teacher Taylor was born in P ...

as Alby * Wendy Hughes as Barbie *

John Clayton John Clayton may refer to: Arts and entertainment Writing *John Clayton (architect) (died 1861), English architect and writer *John Bell Clayton and Martha Clayton, John Bell Clayton (c. 1907–1955), American writer *John Clayton (sportswriter) ( ...

as Arnold *

as Lynn *Susie Macgregor as Susie *

Simon Chilvers Simon Chilvers is an Australian actor. He won for the 1986 AFI Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Mini Series for his role in ''The Dunera Boys''. He was nominated for the same award in 1988 for '' True Believers'' and for the ...

as sideshow boss *

Gus Mercurio Augustino Eugenio Mercurio (10 August 19287 December 2010) better known as Gus Mercurio, was an American-born Australian character actor who appeared in radio, television, and film. Early life Mercurio, the eldest child of Vincent A. Mercurio ...

as Ernie *Robert Hewitt as Frank *

Roger Ward Roger Ward (born 1936) is an Australian actor who has had a considerable career in film and television, noted for "tough guy" roles in which he often did his own stunts. Biography Ward was born in Adelaide, South Australia in 1936. His care ...

as Lol *

Peter Cummins Peter Cummins (born 2 June 1931 in Melbourne) is an Australian retired character actor of stage and screen and chorister who was especially prominent in the 1970s and appeared in some of the most famous Australian films of the period. He was pa ...

as bus driver * Gil Tucker as shooter *

Christine Amor Christine Debra Amor (born 1952) is an Australian actress of stage, television and film. Career Amor was born in Brisbane, Queensland. She graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). She has acted extensively in television gu ...

as teenage girl *

Chantal Contouri Chantal Contouri (born 1950; sometimes credited as Chantal Cantouri, el, Σαντάλ Κοντούρη) is a Greek Australian television and film actress and former dancer, best known for her role in the 1970s soap opera ''Number 96'', as nurs ...

as bus hostess *

Sean Scully Sean Scully (born 30 June 1945) is an Irish-born American-based artist working as a painter, printmaker, sculptor and photographer. His work is held in museum collections worldwide and he has twice been named a Turner Prize nominee. Moving fro ...

as policeman *

Marilyn Vernon Marilyn may refer to: * Marilyn (given name) * Marilyn (singer) (born 1962), English singer * Marilyn (hill), a type of mountain or hill in the British Isles with a prominence above 150 m * 1486 Marilyn, a Main-belt asteroid * ''Marilyn'' (1953 ...

as teenage girl

Production

This was Judy Davis' feature film debut.

Reception

Tim Burstall later said of the film in 1979:

One couldn't describe ''High Rolling'' as a success, though it will finish breaking even four or five years after its release. I am very fond of ''High Rolling'' although in some ways it doesn't come off. There is a slight problem in Jo Bottoms' performance, which goes over a bit, and the bonding aspect works only fitfully. Still, I think Igor Auzins is a fine director and the film only narrowly misses capturing the spirit of a good AIP film. ''
Mad Max ''Mad Max'' is an Australian post-apocalyptic action film series and media franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It began in 1979 with '' Mad Max'', and was followed by three sequels: ''Mad Max 2'' (1981, released in the Unite ...
'' is certainly handled better, but one can easily see the progression from ''Stone'' to ''High Rolling'' to ''Mad Max''.Scott Murray, 'Tim Burstall', ''Cinema Papers'' Sept-Oct 1979 p577

David Stratton David James Stratton (born 10 September 1939) is an English-Australian award-winning film critic, as both a journalist and interviewer, film historian and lecturer and television personality and producer. Life and career Born in Trowbridge, ...

wrote that "the film is strangely unsatisfactory, even on the most basic entertainment level; it was one of the weakest non-endings imaginable."David Stratton, ''The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival'', Angus & Robertson, 1980 p37

Home Media

''High Rolling'' was released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in January 2013. The DVD is compatible with region codes 2 and 4 and includes special features such as the theatrical trailer, interviews with Igor Auzins and Robin Copping, and a bonus feature-length film titled

The Love Epidemic ''The Love Epidemic'' is a 1975 Australian semi-documentary about venereal disease directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith. It incorporates clinical case studies and sex health instruction with comedy sketches. It was shot on 16mm for $33,000 and blow ...

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0076144, title=High Rolling
''High Rolling''
at Oz Movies 1977 films 1970s buddy comedy films Australian buddy comedy films Films directed by Igor Auzins 1970s English-language films