Digging into the archives for Crocodile Dundee

Sue sees a crocodile

Rushes are raw footage from a day’s shooting where the same scene is often repeated from various angles. These silent rushes show close-ups of Mick Dundee taking New York journalist Sue Charlton (Linda Kozlowski) out on the river with Walter (John Meillon). This short scene appears in the film and plays with music and no dialogue.

Hoges charms potential investors

The film was financed by Hogan and his business partner John Cornell, as well as a large group of private investors that included most of the cast and crew. Below are excerpts from the prospectus selling the ‘adventure comedy set in the Northern Territory and New York City’ to potential investors.

Hogan was already well known as ‘Hoges’ in Australia for his television comedy persona, and was famous in the US for the ‘shrimp on the barbie’ tourism campaign which began in 1984. It’s interesting to note how different the Mick Dundee costume and make-up was for the final shoot, compared with the prospectus cover – which shows Hoges chewing on a piece of wheat.

‘That’s not a knife…’

The film’s most famous joke ‘That’s not a knife…’ relies on the impressive bowie knife created by film armourer John Bowring. In this oral history excerpt Bowring tells the story behind the making of the knife.

All about sound

Sound recordist Gary Wilkins used this Nagra IV.2 Portable Sound Recorder (left) to record sound for Crocodile Dundee and Crocodile Dundee II (1988, Australia, John Cornell).

The NFSA collection also includes the Series III Fairlight CMI (Computer Musical Instrument) used by Peter Best to compose and arrange the soundtrack for the film.

International film posters

A look at the diverse designs for Crocodile Dundee’s posters reveals the different approaches to marketing around the world. Compare the US and Australian posters featuring Hogan, who was a known face, with the more abstract designs from Poland, Russia and Czechoslovakia. Artists in Eastern Bloc countries used to create posters for international films from scratch, free from having to reproduce US studio marketing materials.

Above: Australian and international posters for Crocodile Dundee, 1986. Images provided courtesy of Rimfire Films Limited.

‘A crocodile for kissing’

These German lobby cards show the story of the film, displayed in cinemas to entice moviegoers. The official subtitle of the film Crocodile Dundee: Ein Krokodil zum Küssen in Germany translates as ‘A crocodile for kissing’.

Above: German lobby cards for Crocodile Dundee: Ein Krokodil zum Küssen, 1986. Images provided courtesy of Rimfire Films Limited.

An a-peeling soundtrack

The wistful yet danceable rock song, ‘Live it Up’ by Australian band Mental As Anything, soundtracks a very 80s New York party scene in the film.

Propelled by the popularity of the film, ‘Live it Up’ was Mental as Anything’s most successful single, reaching number two on the charts in Australia. It was also a Top 10 hit in Ireland, the UK, Norway, Germany and New Zealand.

This limited edition banana-shaped vinyl picture disc (left) for the song was released in the UK by Epic Records. The b-side ‘Good Friday’ has a calypso feel to it which may account for the playful banana-shape.

Production stills

The gallery below features a selection of production stills from the film. Some of these are taken from the film’s 1986 press kit and include the original captions. Pre-dating the wide usage of email, the internet and digital photography, the press kit was a physical package that was sent out by the production company to film journalists and critics to help market the film.

Above: production stills for Crocodile Dundee, 1986. Images provided courtesy of Rimfire Films Limited.