Eccentric Stanley's father sends him to a Sanatorium to try and make him 'normal'. Desperate to fit in, Stanley finds the most normal family he can to model himself on.
Andrew Gaty had developed the original script. He had a man working for him called Steve Kibbler, who had worked with Esben Storm. Gaty asked Storm what he thought of the script and Storm did not like it. Gaty then hired him to rewrite and direct the movie, with Stanley Mann acting as script editor. Storm:
Andrew had certain things that he wanted, which I had to accommodate, but within that I was trying to make a comedy about acceptance and prejudice. But even though it was hugely unsuccessful, it was my first attempt at comedy, which I really enjoyed. Some people still come up and say they like it and have it in their collections and talk about it being hugely underrated.[2]
The producers originally wanted to import Tom Conti to play the lead but Actors Equity objected. Peter Bensley was cast instead.[1]
Releaseedit
The film was unsuccessful at the box office. Ebsen Storm later said:
I think the script was okay. It's very hard to do comedy, and it's either funny or it isn't. I learnt a lot about comedy on that one. I think we would've been better off if the budget hadn't been so high, if we hadn't been trying to be so glossy. Andrew was very intent on making a sort of glossy big-style movie, and in the beginning the whole thing was all predicated on getting an American or an international star to play the lead. We had Tom Conti but they wouldn't let us bring him in. That could've made the difference.[2]
Filmink later said "To understand how the lawyers and stockbrokers raised $4 million for this comedy, it helps to remember how big a hit Arthur was in 1981, so presumably investors were hopeful of a success with this similar tale of an amiable but dimwitted rich kid."[3]
Referencesedit
^ abDavid Stratton, The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry, Pan MacMillan, 1990 p331-332
^ ab"Interview with Esben Storm", Peter Malone, 22 August 1995 accessed 21 November 2012
^Vagg, Stephen (29 February 2020). "Top Ten 10BA Knock Offs". Filmink.
stanley, 1984, film, stanley, 1984, australian, comedy, film, directed, esben, storm, starring, peter, bensley, graham, kennedy, stanleydirected, byesben, stormproduced, byandrew, gatystarringpeter, bensley, graham, kennedymax, cullenharold, hopkinsbob, horner. Stanley is a 1984 Australian comedy film directed by Esben Storm and starring Peter Bensley and Graham Kennedy StanleyDirected byEsben StormProduced byAndrew GatyStarringPeter Bensley Graham KennedyMax CullenHarold HopkinsBob HorneryRelease date1984 1984 CountryAustraliaLanguageEnglishBudgetA 3 million 1 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Release 5 References 6 External linksPlot editEccentric Stanley s father sends him to a Sanatorium to try and make him normal Desperate to fit in Stanley finds the most normal family he can to model himself on Cast editPeter Bensley as Stanley Nell Campbell as Amy Benton Graham Kennedy as Norm Norris Max Cullen as Berger Harold Hopkins as Harry Bob Hornery as Dr Chambers Joy Smithers as Joy Smithers Willie Fennell as Herb the Fisherman Betty Lucas as Lady Dunstan Johnny Lockwood as Flasher Lorna Lesley as Sheryl BentonProduction editAndrew Gaty had developed the original script He had a man working for him called Steve Kibbler who had worked with Esben Storm Gaty asked Storm what he thought of the script and Storm did not like it Gaty then hired him to rewrite and direct the movie with Stanley Mann acting as script editor Storm Andrew had certain things that he wanted which I had to accommodate but within that I was trying to make a comedy about acceptance and prejudice But even though it was hugely unsuccessful it was my first attempt at comedy which I really enjoyed Some people still come up and say they like it and have it in their collections and talk about it being hugely underrated 2 The producers originally wanted to import Tom Conti to play the lead but Actors Equity objected Peter Bensley was cast instead 1 Release editThe film was unsuccessful at the box office Ebsen Storm later said I think the script was okay It s very hard to do comedy and it s either funny or it isn t I learnt a lot about comedy on that one I think we would ve been better off if the budget hadn t been so high if we hadn t been trying to be so glossy Andrew was very intent on making a sort of glossy big style movie and in the beginning the whole thing was all predicated on getting an American or an international star to play the lead We had Tom Conti but they wouldn t let us bring him in That could ve made the difference 2 Filmink later said To understand how the lawyers and stockbrokers raised 4 million for this comedy it helps to remember how big a hit Arthur was in 1981 so presumably investors were hopeful of a success with this similar tale of an amiable but dimwitted rich kid 3 References edit a b David Stratton The Avocado Plantation Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry Pan MacMillan 1990 p331 332 a b Interview with Esben Storm Peter Malone 22 August 1995 accessed 21 November 2012 Vagg Stephen 29 February 2020 Top Ten 10BA Knock Offs Filmink External links editStanley at IMDb Stanley at Oz Movies nbsp This article related to an Australian film of the 1980s is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Stanley 1984 film amp oldid 1213032786, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
