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They're a Weird Mob

Director: Powell, Michael
Year: 1966
Type: Film
View Film Trailer

Synopsis

“Nino Culotta (Walter Chiari), an Italian sports journalist, arrives in Australia to find his cousin’s new magazine for migrant Italians has folded. He gets a job as a builder’s labourer, learns to talk and drink like an Australian, and falls in love with an Australian girl (Clare Dunne). He is bemused by this strange new country, where people abuse him on the street and strangers want to buy him a drink, but he sees a future.” – Australian Screen Online

Narrative Locations

Bondi Beach, Sydney region, New South Wales  

Temporal setting: Circa 1965

Location notes:

Nino travels to Bondi Beach on the weekends, where he sees Kay Kelly and later some Italian friends.

Shooting Locations

Bondi Beach, Sydney region, New South Wales

Shot on location at Bondi Beach.


Circular Quay, Sydney region, New South Wales  

Temporal setting: Circa 1965

Location notes:

Nino arrives in Australia via boat at Circular Quay.

Shooting Locations

Circular Quay, Sydney region, New South Wales

The wharves and views of Sydney Cove are shown.


Clark Island, Sydney region, New South Wales  

Temporal setting: Circa 1965

Location notes:

Nino and friends attend an evening beach party on an island. The location name "Clark Island" is mentioned in the movie. It is written in the note from Dixie to Nino. The shooting location was Clark Island, which is approximately one kilometre offshore from Sydney's Darling Point. 

Thanks to Joshua E. Hrouda for providing location information regarding the mention of Clark Island in the film.

Shooting Locations

Clark Island, Sydney region, New South Wales

The evening beach party scene was shot at Clark Island, which is approximately one kilometer offshore from Sydney's Darling Point. Information from Australian Screen Online.


Corner of Hunter and Elizabeth Streets , Sydney region, New South Wales  

Temporal setting: Circa 1965

Location notes:

Nino buys a newspaper at the corner of Hunter and Elizabeth Streets in Sydney.

Shooting Locations

Corner of Hunter and Elizabeth Streets, Sydney region, New South Wales

Shot on location.


Darlinghurst Road, Sydney region, New South Wales  

Temporal setting: Circa 1965

Location notes:

From the wharf, Nino is taken in a taxi to Darlinghurst Road in Potts Point, near the Bayswater Road intersection (as he is being taken to the former Hampton Court Hotel).

The camera focuses on strip clubs, accentuating the illicit connotations of the Kings Cross area.

Shooting Locations

Darlinghurst Road, Potts Point, Sydney region, New South Wales

Shot on location on Darlinghurst Road. The former Pink Pussycat (which closed in 2003) is shown.

(http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/05/30/1054177726125.html)


Hampton Court Hotel, Sydney region, New South Wales  

Temporal setting: Circa 1965

Location notes:

When Nino arrives in Australia, he spends his first night at Hampton Court Hotel.

The hotel was located at 9 Bayswater Road, Potts Point, in the Kings Cross area. Apartments are being established on the former site.

Shooting Locations

Hampton Court Hotel, Sydney region, New South Wales

Shot on location at the former hotel.

Gallery


Marble Bar, Sydney region, New South Wales  

Temporal setting: Circa 1965

Location notes:

Marble Bar was originally located on Pitt Street, and was there at the time of shooting They're a Weird Mob. Coordinates, however, have been given for its current location in George Street.

On Nino's first day in Australia, he wanders into the Marble Bar where another customer shouts him a schooner of beer and explains Australian colloquialisms to him. The ornate Victorian-style Marble Bar was built in 1893 at the former Adams Hotel in Pitt Street. The venue was dismantled and transported to its current location at the Hilton Hotel, reopening in 1973 (http://www.marblebarsydney.com.au/about-marble-bar.html). 

Marble Bar is located at 488 George Street, in the Hilton complex.

There is conflicting information about the history of the bar: the Powerhouse museum site states the Marble Bar was initially in Tattersall's Hotel, which later became known as Adams Hotel and this site gives the date it was built as 1892, not 1893 (http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/imageservices/2012/07/adams-marble-bar/#sthash.CfU0Bjy3.dpuf).

Shooting Locations

Marble Bar, Sydney region, New South Wales

Both exteriors and interiors were shot on location at Marble Bar, which was, at the time, housed on Pitt Street. Coordinates, however, have been given for its current location in George Street.

Gallery


Neutral Bay, Sydney region, New South Wales  

Temporal setting: Circa 1965

Location notes:

The final scene of the film, where Nino and Kay are awkwardly sitting with friends until they decide to drink beer, was shot at 9 Wallaringa Avenue, Neutral Bay. The street which a character runs down to get beer, shows a fence adjacent to 9 Wallargina which is still recognisable today. 

Shooting Locations

9 Wallaringa Avenue, Neutral Bay, Sydney region, New South Wales

Shot on location.


Nino's block of land, Sydney region, New South Wales  

Temporal setting: Circa 1965

Location notes:

The block of land Nino buys on which he plans to build a house is not geographically identified in the film, though it is clearly on a small escarpment overlooking the sea. In the documentary film, The Story of Making the Film They're a Weird Mob, the shooting location is identified as "Grotto Point." Coordinates have been given for this location. Other sources suggest the location is Dobroyd Point.

Shooting Locations

Grotto Point, Sydney region, New South Wales

The shooting location for Nino's block of land is "Grotto Point," which is located near Balgowlah Heights, north-east of Sydney. 


Punchbowl Railway Station, Sydney region, New South Wales  

Temporal setting: Circa 1965

Location notes:

At the time of the filming in the 1960s, it was possible to drive virtually right up to the train platforms at Punchbowl Station. Though the station has been renovated since filming, the location remains the same.

Nino gets picked up by Joe from the Punchbowl Train Station on his first day of work as a builder.

The Punchbowl Train Station is located on Punchbowl Road, Punchbowl NSW.

Shooting Locations

Punchbowl Railway Station, Sydney region, New South Wales

Shot on location at Punchbowl Station, though in the decades since the station has been renovated.


The house that Nino built, Sydney region, New South Wales  

Temporal setting: 1965

Location notes:

The location of the house that Nino and his colleagues build is not specified in the film. Coordinates have been given for the shooting location.

Shooting Locations

128 Greenacre Road, Greenacre, Sydney region, New South Wales

The house that Nino and his colleagues build was located at 128 Greenacre Road, Greenacre (IMDB). According to Wikipedia (Feb 2014), the actors dug trenches and poured concrete, while a professional building company finished the house, raising funds for The Royal Life Saving Society.


The Royal Hotel, Sydney region, New South Wales  

Temporal setting: Circa 1965

Location notes:

The Royal Hotel is a real pub in Bondi. Thanks to members of the public for contributing information about this location. For further information, please see the wonderful "then and now" location images from the film at: http://jsarkozi.blogspot.com.au/

Nino and his builder colleagues go to The Royal Hotel after work, where boss Joe is a regular patron, and drink beer.

The Royal Hotel is still in operation and is located at 

283 Bondi Rd, Bondi, NSW 2026.

Shooting Locations

The Royal Hotel, Sydney region, New South Wales

Shot on location.

Gallery




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