AustLit
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Adaptations
-
form
y
The Great McCarthy
( dir. David Baker
)
Australia
:
Stoney Creek Films
,
1975
Z1342728
1975
single work
film/TV
Based on Barry Oakley's popular 1970 novel, The Great McCarthy is a satire concerning not only Australia's obsession with sport but also the perception that city folk are amoral, corporate, and greedy, while their country brethren are virtuous, innocent, but somewhat slow witted. As comedy, The Great McCarthy is a pastiche of styles suspended somewhere between Alvin Purple and Barry McKenzie, while the concept of the hero as a recessive figure, acted upon rather than acting, is reminiscent of other Australian films of the 1970s, such as Between Wars.
The storyline revolves around McCarthy, a country lad with tremendous football talent, who is pursued by a number of first-grade Victorian Football League (VFL) clubs, to the dismay of the townsfolk with whom he grew up. McCarthy is abducted and brought to Melbourne to play for a team run by Colonel Ball-Miller, who also puts McCarthy to work in his insurance company. But the young footballer finds more to life after he embarks on a series of affairs with a secretary, a night-school teacher, and the colonel's daughter.
Notes
-
Epigraph: 'Notwithstanding the sight of all our miseries, which press upon us and take us by the throat, we have an instinct which we cannot repress, and which lifts us up.' - Pascal, Pensées.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also sound recording.
Works about this Work
-
Footy - the Passion, the Poetry and the PhDs
2006
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 11 April 2006; (p. 12) -
Paperbacks
1995
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 22 January 1995; (p. 24)
— Review of A Salute to the Great McCarthy 1970 single work novel -
Criticism v Egotism
1993
single work
criticism
biography
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 27-28 February 1993; (p. rev 6) -
The Coffee on the Moviola
1985
single work
criticism
biography
— Appears in: Island Magazine , Autumn no. 22 1985; (p. 18-20) -
The Picaro in Disguise : The Novels of Barry Oakley
1980
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Westerly , June vol. 25 no. 2 1980; (p. 51-57)
-
Fiction Chronicle
1971
single work
review
— Appears in: Meanjin Quarterly , Autumn vol. 30 no. 1 1971; (p. 125, 127, 129, 131, 133, 135, 137, 139)
— Review of Let's Hear It for Prendergast : A Novel 1970 single work novel ; The Age of Death 1970 single work novel ; Clean Straw for Nothing : A Novel 1969 single work novel ; A Salute to the Great McCarthy 1970 single work novel ; The Tea-Time of Love : The Clarification of Miss Stilby 1969 single work ; The Survivor 1969 single work novel ; The Vivisector 1970 single work novel -
The Melbourne Thing
1970
single work
review
— Appears in: Nation , 25 July 1970; (p. 20-22)
— Review of A Salute to the Great McCarthy 1970 single work novel ; The White Thorntree : A Novel 1968 single work novel -
Untitled
1970
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 15 August 1970; (p. 22)
— Review of A Salute to the Great McCarthy 1970 single work novel -
Living by Rules
1970
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 12 September vol. 92 no. 4721 1970; (p. 50-52)
— Review of A Salute to the Great McCarthy 1970 single work novel -
Untitled
1970
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian , 25 July 1970; (p. 20)
— Review of A Salute to the Great McCarthy 1970 single work novel -
Footy - the Passion, the Poetry and the PhDs
2006
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 11 April 2006; (p. 12) -
The Picaro in Disguise : The Novels of Barry Oakley
1980
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Westerly , June vol. 25 no. 2 1980; (p. 51-57) -
Barry Oakley and the Satiric Mode
1975
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , May vol. 7 no. 1 1975; (p. 50-63) -
Criticism v Egotism
1993
single work
criticism
biography
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 27-28 February 1993; (p. rev 6) -
The Coffee on the Moviola
1985
single work
criticism
biography
— Appears in: Island Magazine , Autumn no. 22 1985; (p. 18-20)
- Melbourne, Victoria,