Mr. Reliable: A True Story Movie Review 1995

A "truth is stranger than fiction" comedy about Australia's first hostage situation. During the summer of 1968, recently released car thief Wally Mellish (Friels) rents a rundown cottage in a Sydney suburb. He finds a girlfriend in Beryl Muddle (McKenzie), who moves in with her two-year-old daughter. When Wally steals some trifles to brighten up the place, the cops come 'round and Wally, who's still on probation, pulls a gun. The authorities think Beryl and the baby are hostages and are afraid to storm the cottage while the standoff becomes hot media news. Wally and Beryl are thrilled with the attention but there's increasing political pressure to put an end to the farcical situation.

Distribution

USA Home Entertainment, 1 W. Forest, Englewood, NJ 07631-4004, Phone: (201)871-1000, URL: http://www.polygram-us.com

Available on VHS
Running time 112 minutes.
Originally from Australian.

Cast and Crew

Genres

True Stories, Cops, Hostage!, Down Under, Mass Media

Screenplay

Terry Hayes, Don Catchlove

Cast

Colin Friels, Jacqueline McKenzie, Paul Sonkkila, Frank Gallacher, Barry Otto, Lisa Hensley, Ken Radley, Neil Fitzpatrick

Cinematography

David Parker

Director

Nadia Tass

Music

Phil Judd

Producer

Jim McElroy, Terry Hayes, Michael Hamlyn, Australian Film Finance Corp., Polygram Filmed Entertainment