''The Clean Machine'' is a 1988 Australian tele movie about police corruption starring

Steve Bisley Steve Bisley (born 26 December 1951) is an Australian writer, film and television actor. He is best known for his roles in the films ''Mad Max'' (1979) and ''The Great Gatsby'' (2013). On television, some of his better-known roles include Dete ...

. It was one of four telemovies made by Kennedy Miller around this time, the others being ''

The Riddle of the Stinson ''The Riddle of the Stinson'' is a 1987 Australian television film about the 1937 Airlines of Australia Stinson crash at Lamington, Queensland, Australia and the rescue of its survivors by local Queenslander Bernard O'Reilly (author), Bernard O'Re ...

'', ''The Damien Parer Story'' and ''

The Year My Voice Broke ''The Year My Voice Broke'' is a 1987 Australian coming of age drama film written and directed by John Duigan and starring Noah Taylor, Loene Carmen and Ben Mendelsohn. Set in 1962 in the rural Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, it was the ...

'' (which was released theatrically).

Plot

Inspector Eddie Riordan is appointed to head a new anti-corruption squad.

Cast

as Inspector Eddie Riordan *

Grigor Taylor Grigor Weston Taylor, born 1943, 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 ...

as Detective Sgt. Warren Davis *

Ed Devereaux Edward Sidney Devereaux (27 August 192517 December 2003), better known professionally as Ed Devereaux, was an Australian actor, director, and scriptwriter who lived in the United Kingdom for many years. He was best known for playing the part of ...

*Reginal Gaigulas as Veronica Riordan *

Tim Robertson Tim Robertson is an Australian actor and writer. Early life Robertson was born in 1944 in Braintree, Essex, in the UK. He relocated to Australia in 1952. He is a graduate of the University of Western Australia (1965). After graduating, he ta ...

as Dr Michael Millius * Peter Kowitz as Stewart Byrne *

Sandy Gore Sandy Gore (born 28 June 1950) is an Australian film, stage and television actress. She has had an extensive stage career in Australia with the Melbourne Theatre Company and Sydney Theatre Company including playing Vivian in '' Wit'' (2000) and ...

as Marcia Irving *

Marshall Napier James Marshall Napier (22 October 1951 – 14 August 2022) was a New Zealand-born character actor, playwright and graphic artist. He is known for a succession of strong supporting roles in Australasian films and television shows. He also had a ...

as Keith Reid

Production

The film was written by Terry Hayes and Richard Mortlock, who were both former journalists. "Police corruption is an insidiuous and evil thing which disgusts us all," said Hayes. "I'd given up on politicians doing anything about it. This way I can at least channel my rage into a story." The director was Ken Cameron who later recalled:

They asked me did I want to make it on 35mm. Now, I've always wondered whether I made a big mistake by not doing it on 35mm. But I don't think it would have been a success in the cinema. It wouldn't have had the density that it had on television. In terms of big screen, I could not have had the production values; the money wouldn't have stretched that far. So I don't know. There's a turning point. You never know what these turning points mean. But I knew one of the factors was that we didn't have Mel Gibson in the lead. I think Steve's terrific in it, but to release it as a movie in that genre, you almost needed Mel or a star."Interview with Ken Cameron", ''Signet'', 12 April 1996
accessed 18 November 2012

Cameron did say doing the film revived his career after the box office failure of ''

The Umbrella Woman ''The Umbrella Woman'' (released in some areas as ''The Good Wife'') is a 1987 Australian film directed by Ken Cameron and starring Bryan Brown and Rachel Ward. It also features Steven Vidler (actor), Steven Vidler and Sam Neill. Premise The fil ...

''.

Reception

The ''Sydney Morning Herald'' called it "easily Kennedy Miller's best production to date... simply excellent."" Bisley won the Best Actor in a One-off Drama accolade at the 1988

Penguin Awards The Penguin Award was an annual award given for excellence in broadcasting by the Television Society of Australia. It was founded in 1954. The award trophy depicts an ear listening to a television tube, but strongly resembles a penguin, hence the ...

References

External links

* Australian television films 1988 films Films produced by Doug Mitchell Films directed by Ken Cameron 1980s English-language films 1980s Australian films {{1980s-Australia-film-stub