... "That Little Something Extra!"
Congratulations for stumbling on to this Easter Egg page, full of small observations that were too obscure or geeky to include in the main body of the website.
To anyone who grew up in Sydney during the early 1980s, one of the most enjoyable aspects of Starstruck is the way it provides a glimpse of the city of our childhood - one that is rapidly being transformed today. Do you have some further memories to add?
To anyone who grew up in Sydney during the early 1980s, one of the most enjoyable aspects of Starstruck is the way it provides a glimpse of the city of our childhood - one that is rapidly being transformed today. Do you have some further memories to add?
Telephones
Before there was Telstra, there was Telecom! Sometimes you will still spot an old Telecom logo somewhere on the outskirts of Sydney - or one of these old green public phones, both as seen in the film. Those phones mightn't have been pretty, but they were virtually vandalism proof, and had a red light that would alert you if your money was about to run out.
The shelf underneath was designed to hold a pair of phone books, but of course, those are becoming extinct at an even greater pace than public phones are themselves.
The shelf underneath was designed to hold a pair of phone books, but of course, those are becoming extinct at an even greater pace than public phones are themselves.
The other kind of public phone you would sometimes see in those days was this fire engine red number. Many pubs would have them sitting on the bar like this one (yes, sometimes complete with an honesty box!) or more usually, in a little phone booth on their own, so that you could call a cab in relative privacy.
Note the ironic headline at the newsstand in that last picture - hopefully Jackie's not about to undergo her own 'death plunge'! - and also the old 'Go Lotto' logo for NSW Lotteries.
Note the ironic headline at the newsstand in that last picture - hopefully Jackie's not about to undergo her own 'death plunge'! - and also the old 'Go Lotto' logo for NSW Lotteries.
Angus' Room
You could spend weeks, months and years sourcing all of the pictures on Angus' walls - but here's a few of the more obvious things that I spotted in his room.
That's a copy of the 1973 Guinness Book of Records on Angus' shelf, along with a bottle of good old Clag Paste, with its instantly recognisable conical bottle that hasn't changed in 30 years. Generations of Australian school children have used Clag Paste (as well as eating more of it than most will care to admit). Just the thing for putting together a collage, as Angus seems very fond of doing.
That's a copy of the 1973 Guinness Book of Records on Angus' shelf, along with a bottle of good old Clag Paste, with its instantly recognisable conical bottle that hasn't changed in 30 years. Generations of Australian school children have used Clag Paste (as well as eating more of it than most will care to admit). Just the thing for putting together a collage, as Angus seems very fond of doing.
Aside from a copy of Marilyn Monroe's classic 1955 calendar, Angus has a daybill poster on his wall for a very obscure 1967 Western called Africa: Texas Style. Why? Your guess is as good as mine.
More in keeping with Jackie's beach-themed bedroom is a small poster from the 1963 Annette Funicello-Frankie Avalon film Beach Party. By coincidence, one of the projects Gillian Armstrong was offered after making Starstruck was Back to the Beach (1987), which reunited Annette and Frankie in a 1980s setting.
Versions of the Municipality of Rockdale shark warning sign behind Jackie used to be able to be seen on the Cooks River and Brighton near Sydney Airport (presumably for anyone foolhardy enough to attempt to swim to or from the runway). I wouldn't be surprised if a few are still there.
More in keeping with Jackie's beach-themed bedroom is a small poster from the 1963 Annette Funicello-Frankie Avalon film Beach Party. By coincidence, one of the projects Gillian Armstrong was offered after making Starstruck was Back to the Beach (1987), which reunited Annette and Frankie in a 1980s setting.
Versions of the Municipality of Rockdale shark warning sign behind Jackie used to be able to be seen on the Cooks River and Brighton near Sydney Airport (presumably for anyone foolhardy enough to attempt to swim to or from the runway). I wouldn't be surprised if a few are still there.
Beer, Wine and Spirits
Foster's Beer was never 'Australian for Beer' as overseas advertisements would have it. That title belonged to KB Lager, produced by Tooth & Co. I suspect that the big advertisement for the company that can be seen in the film was designed solely for the screen, but it's a good facsimile of the old-style advertisements for which Tooths is best known today.
Tooth & Co had just been bought out by an asset stripping company when Starstruck was filmed, the beginning of a slow, inexorable decline for the brand, which was wound up in around 2010. At about the same time, the iconic Kent Brewery for which the beer was named (later bought out by Carlton-United Breweries), which had sent malty fumes down Sydney's Broadway for generations, was demolished for luxury apartments.
Carlton-United continued to produce KB Lager in small quantities until about 2011 when the brand - one of Australia's oldest, and for decades its most popular - was consigned to history.
Tooth & Co had just been bought out by an asset stripping company when Starstruck was filmed, the beginning of a slow, inexorable decline for the brand, which was wound up in around 2010. At about the same time, the iconic Kent Brewery for which the beer was named (later bought out by Carlton-United Breweries), which had sent malty fumes down Sydney's Broadway for generations, was demolished for luxury apartments.
Carlton-United continued to produce KB Lager in small quantities until about 2011 when the brand - one of Australia's oldest, and for decades its most popular - was consigned to history.
Whatever happened to the McWilliams Wines Friar? He was a popular advertising figurehead who was immortalised in all sorts of memorabilia - ashtrays, salt and pepper shakers, signs and newspaper advertisements, all in promotion of McWilliams' unique brand of ultra-cheap, bottom-shelf Royal Reserve Cream Sherry.
Though the friar is gone, the sherry's still available today. Not only has the label not changed since 1982 (and maybe not even since 1972), but you'll still receive change from $10 if you buy a bottle.
Though the friar is gone, the sherry's still available today. Not only has the label not changed since 1982 (and maybe not even since 1972), but you'll still receive change from $10 if you buy a bottle.
Australiana
Terry Lambert's vest doesn't just celebrate a Sydney icon - it would also have made a political point for Starstruck's original audiences.
Luna Park had been shut down in 1979, after a tragic fire in the Ghost Train ride claimed the lives of seven people. Just before Starstruck began filming in June 1981, an auction was held in which most of the park's rides and other assets were sold. With property developers circling, the danger that the lucrative harborside location may be given over to luxury apartments was very real. A protest group, Friends of Luna Park, was formed to lobby the government to prevent any further loss of the park's heritage. Fortunately, their efforts saw much of Luna Park given formal heritage protection. It was eventually reopened, as it remains today.
I have a suspicion that the design on Terry's vest was based on a poster by Martin Sharp, one of the most prominent of the Friends of Luna Park. It's quite likely that some members of Starstruck's cast or crew followed the cause, too.
Luna Park had been shut down in 1979, after a tragic fire in the Ghost Train ride claimed the lives of seven people. Just before Starstruck began filming in June 1981, an auction was held in which most of the park's rides and other assets were sold. With property developers circling, the danger that the lucrative harborside location may be given over to luxury apartments was very real. A protest group, Friends of Luna Park, was formed to lobby the government to prevent any further loss of the park's heritage. Fortunately, their efforts saw much of Luna Park given formal heritage protection. It was eventually reopened, as it remains today.
I have a suspicion that the design on Terry's vest was based on a poster by Martin Sharp, one of the most prominent of the Friends of Luna Park. It's quite likely that some members of Starstruck's cast or crew followed the cause, too.
We don't see so many public service announcements nowadays, but here are two that snuck in to Starstruck - the Advance Australia campaign, and the Do The Right Thing anti-littering campaign. The former was an industry and union initiative to encourage Australians to buy locally made products.
The latter - well, that television ad with its memorable jingle says it all.
The latter - well, that television ad with its memorable jingle says it all.
I'm glad to see that somebody in Jackie and Angus' household is a fan of the mighty Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks rugby league team. We'll win the premiership some day. Some day (UPDATE, 2016 - WE DID IT !!!!!)
Meanwhile, it's interesting to think that this Channel 7 logo, used from the mid 1970s to the late 1980s, was so damned colourful because it was designed to celebrate the arrival of colour television in Australia in 1975.
Meanwhile, it's interesting to think that this Channel 7 logo, used from the mid 1970s to the late 1980s, was so damned colourful because it was designed to celebrate the arrival of colour television in Australia in 1975.
Cabs
All cabs in Sydney once looked like this. A lot of them were bright orange, too. You can see the whole spectrum in this not-especially-politically-correct documentary about Sydney's taxi drivers, which was shot at around the same time as Starstruck and gives you a view of some similar areas of Sydney.
Parts 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are also available at YouTube.
Parts 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are also available at YouTube.
Angus' Parentage?
A little fan theory that some viewers have noted ... is Angus really Jackie's cousin, or is he her brother? Because Angus and Jackie share the same surname, we can assume that their fathers are brothers. When Pearl goes on her holiday to Queensland, she cannot have just bumped into Angus' father by coincidence ... how long has their relationship gone on? Where is Angus' mother? Is the reason he is living with Pearl and Jackie because he is actually Pearl's son? Questions, questions ...
Pearl's Former Career
Speaking of Pearl - here's one last little detail.
Notice all of the trophies and pennants around the pub and in the upstairs apartment where Angus and Jackie live? Look closely, and you'll see them everywhere. Whose are they, and what are they awards for?
You'll get a clue when you see Jackie's mother Pearl arrive back from Queensland with Angus' Dad. A pretty good dancer, isn't she?
Look very closely at the 'new image' that Angus presents to Jackie for Christmas - the one made out of Pearl's favourite picture. She's wearing a sash showing that she was a champion ballroom dancer in the 1950s - when she was around the same age as Jackie, in fact.
Not only does this explain the existence of the ballgown Pearl passes on to Jackie to wear to the New Years' Eve concert, but it reveals a whole new dimension to Pearl's character. Perhaps she too once aspired to fame and fortune, but she had to set aside all her dreams to look after her daughter. Perhaps she's secretly more sympathetic to the idea of Jackie following her ambitions than she lets on ...
This plot point, which I suspect might have been clearer in earlier drafts of the movie, also makes for an interesting linkage to Strictly Ballroom (1992), a thematic and stylistic sequel to Starstruck. Can you imagine Pearl up on the podium next to Shirley and Doug Hastings? I certainly can.
Notice all of the trophies and pennants around the pub and in the upstairs apartment where Angus and Jackie live? Look closely, and you'll see them everywhere. Whose are they, and what are they awards for?
You'll get a clue when you see Jackie's mother Pearl arrive back from Queensland with Angus' Dad. A pretty good dancer, isn't she?
Look very closely at the 'new image' that Angus presents to Jackie for Christmas - the one made out of Pearl's favourite picture. She's wearing a sash showing that she was a champion ballroom dancer in the 1950s - when she was around the same age as Jackie, in fact.
Not only does this explain the existence of the ballgown Pearl passes on to Jackie to wear to the New Years' Eve concert, but it reveals a whole new dimension to Pearl's character. Perhaps she too once aspired to fame and fortune, but she had to set aside all her dreams to look after her daughter. Perhaps she's secretly more sympathetic to the idea of Jackie following her ambitions than she lets on ...
This plot point, which I suspect might have been clearer in earlier drafts of the movie, also makes for an interesting linkage to Strictly Ballroom (1992), a thematic and stylistic sequel to Starstruck. Can you imagine Pearl up on the podium next to Shirley and Doug Hastings? I certainly can.